Chapter 4 Blink and you'll miss it.

The party had been going well for the Greengrass family, sure they had to wake up earlier than usual but they'd been warned at least. Rodrick had been quite glad to find out that both Blaise and Tracey had been invited. He had gotten them both gifts. He wasn't worried about what Tracey might think of her gift, but he was well aware that Blaise would probably hex him there and then if he'd figured it out. Tracey had gone off to talk to Daphne and Astoria, leaving the two boys alone.

"So, what's it like staying with her family?"

Rodrick questioned who, feigning ignorance.

Blaise stared back at him confused before he realized the boy was joking.

"Professor McGonagall," Blaise quipped

Rodrick simply stared back, amused.

"Really? that was the best you could come up with?"

"Answer the question," Blaise rolled his eyes.

"It's been an experience... I'll say that much, they're certainly an excitable lot,"

Their conversation slowly changed over to Rodrick's vault.

"Really? You found it cursed?" Blaise asked, his eyes wide after hearing the description of the vault.

"Yea, you wouldn't believe it, even the goblin looked terrified of entering it!"

Blaise had a thoughtful look on his face, Rodrick was a little unnerved to see the serious side of his friend, he quickly asked whether Daphne knew to which he shook his head.

"I didn't want her thinking badly of my family."

Blaise raised an eyebrow at this.

"You don't care about how I see it," he stated in mock hurt.

Rodrick snorted at the words.

"Well, are you going to tell me your family name?"

He stared at him before he shook his head, Blaise frowned slightly but shrugged it off. He'd already told him quite a lot about the vault, besides it was more fun trying to figure it out.

The two students eyes quickly darted to the nearby Slytherin, Draco Malfoy.

"Too bad his dad didn't show up," Spoke Blaise.

Rodrick agreed, he'd been hoping to try and talk to the Malfoy head. It was Mrs. Malfoy and Draco that showed up.

"Think it has anything to do with your vault?" asked Blaise.

Rodrick turned his head towards his friend, a bemused look on his face.

"Malfoy, think he wanted something from your vault?"

Rodrick shook his head and explained that if it that were the case, Lucius would've attempted to access his vault when he'd been with him at Gringotts, there was no better time.

Their conversation, however, cut short when Roxanne Greengrass had opened up the ballroom for dancing, Rodrick and Blaise stared around the hall and saw people making their way over to the center. Rodrick was scanning around the room trying to find a dance partner much to Blaise's amusement. When his eyes landed on one, he hadn't known, Rodrick made his way over and spoke to her.

Blaise stared with amusement at his friend attempting to get a girl to dance with him; he had been a little surprised at his choice, she wasn't good looking. However, it was then that he noticed the girl move away from Rodrick, Rejected? Blaise thought almost about to laugh before a sinking feeling went to his stomach, the girl was approaching him.

Rodrick couldn't help the laughter. His moment of elation however disappeared when he was pulled from behind, he turned, and his eyes landed on green eyes set on a girl wearing a black dress.

"Hello, Daph," Rodrick spoke amused.

Daphne had raised an eyebrow before she saw a small smirk appear on his face.

"Shut up and grab my waist," she'd spent most of the morning with Tracey running away from some boy who wouldn't leave them alone, kept on spouting nonsense about his important mother or something. As soon as the dance started she tailed out of it and found her line of defense. It seemed Tracey was dancing with someone from their school, a Diggory.

Rodrick took the hint and grabbed Daphne before starting their dance, he couldn't help but notice some pudgy boy scowling at him before he realized what had happened.

"I don't like been used for this sort of thing, Daph," he said, a small frown on his face. To her credit, Daphne looked slightly upset.

"Sorry, but you know I would've danced with you either way," she spoke.

Rodric raised an eyebrow at the words.

"I don't know, no."

Daphne rolled her eyes.

Tradition said that they would have to change partners now and then, he'd seen Blaise happily trade away his at the first moments notice, everyone was currently on their 3rd partner. Blaise had managed to dance with Tracey and Pansy from their year, Tracey had managed one with Malfoy to his surprise. He'd still not changed his own. Daphne seemed completely at peace with the way she was moving; a small smile lit up her face. On their fourth Dance, Rodrick noted a bemused look on Roxanne's face and an annoyed one on Cyrus's, They both mouthed the words 'change' to them. Both Daphne and Rodrick saw it and decided to listen; they changed on the 6th dance. It seemed the pudgy boy had given up on the girls and started on food. Daphne found a partner in Neville Longbottom to everyone's amusement.

Rodrick was still looking for a partner; he saw Blaise talking to the girl he'd trapped him with earlier before he realised he was in trouble. Panicking, Rodrick grabbed the first girl he saw and asked her for a dance. She accepted, he turned to find a dismayed look on Blaise's face.

"Thanks, I am Rodrick by the way," he spoke to the blonde in front of him.

She seemed to stare at him slightly wide-eyed. A moment later and she answered.

"No problem, Luna Lovegood."

Rodrick felt slightly put off; it wasn't the fact that girl was wearing a bright yellow dress that could blind a bird, it was the way the girl stared at his face. He felt his stomach churn when she smiled and spoke. Yet something in her eyes seemed almost haunted. There was a tone of sadness in her voice.

"You might look better you know?" she spoke.

Rodrick raised an eyebrow at this.

"I mean when you're not trying to hide your real face."

Time seemed to slow for Rodrick. How!? How did she know?

Before he could ask, the girl stated his head was full of Wackspurt's, and it randomly lit up like a Lumos to her.

Rodrick didn't say anything he just stared at the girl in front of him; he went along with it, there really wasn't much to say at this point besides.

"Don't tell anyone."

"They wouldn't believe me."

"Don't try to test that."

"I can only promise for around nine months."

Rodrick raised an eyebrow at this before he asked why.

"I will be starting school then so I'll probably be too occupied with you to remember."

Rodrick narrowed his eyes slightly at this before he asked a question he'd regret.

"What would you be occupied with exactly?"

"Trying to figure out why I keep seeing images of a large dark shadow every time I look into your eyes," she answered cheerfully

Time stopped for Rodrick. He could only stare ahead of him at the two silvery eyes staring back at him. Rodrick's mind went through a whirl before he remembered the dream he'd had before, his mind seemed to collapse onto itself. He was no longer hearing the music or anything the girl in front of him was saying; his body was moving on autopilot.

Soon enough his mind was back into the place he'd seen, only this time he realized something else. The Manor he'd seen in his dream was the Greengrass's home. There was something else there this time. In front of it stood a young man, who stared back at him defiantly. Rodrick shuddered when he saw the man's eye's; they were cold, they promised vengeance on something or another, he heard screams, unnatural screams fill the silence. He saw, laid out in front of the man, dozens upon dozens of people crumpled on the floor, some in pain, some silent, some had looked like they'd Melted into the floor. The young man was staring at him now; he pointed behind him.

Rodrick turned around and saw the same young man, only he had a different look in his eyes, they were neither cold nor warm, they looked emotionless to everyone else, but he knew it, it wasn't a lack of emotion but merely hidden. Rodrick looked at the castle behind the man; it was Hogwarts. In front of the man were the same bodies as earlier but instead of being crumpled on the floor, they were standing straight, staring at the man with a look of reverence? Respect? Rodrick wasn't sure. Two things he was certain of, both men had distinct yellow eyes.

It wasn't long before Rodrick was taken out of the place and back into consciousness, he was still dancing with the blonde. She looked like she hadn't even noticed he wasn't paying attention. She was speaking about something he didn't understand; it wasn't long before the partners were about to change. She stared up at him and smiled and thanked him for the three dances. Rodrick nodded his head and moved away. It had taken a few moments before he took in her words correctly and silently cursed he turned and found Daphne, she was sitting down, pretending to be tired. He saw the look in her eyes though when she met his, she was annoyed with him, apparently.

...

Something could be said about the way time seemed to slip through without a person noticing, it was a rare moment for someone to experience it. Unfortunately for Rodrick, this rare moment appeared to happen far too often.

When it had started, it was due to his dreams where he'd met his grandfather. Those dreams passed in a blur for Rodrick but he knew they were real, half the time he woke up with new spells ingrained into his head, spells he'd never even heard off. It seemed that the more advanced the spell was, the faster time appeared to pass. Rodrick almost never had to dream about learning the same spell. His grandfather had made it clear that he should practice on his own. There were only three exceptions to this rule. He could hardly practice those in public view after all. In the end, however, he remembered all those dreams, when time had slipped past him like nothing, it was because of those memories that he didn't panic.

In the past month, however, he had a few strange instances where he would fall asleep, only to wake up, what felt like seconds later, in the next morning with no memories at all. He had passed it off at first deeming it only a lack of sleep. Right now was an entirely different matter, he'd completely dozed off without realizing it. He'd spent three dances with a girl he'd never seen before with no memory of them occurring.

He knew he'd started to speak to her, but anything after that was blank. He'd attempted to ask the girl after their dance was over on what they'd talked about before she went off listing things that made no sense at all. Giving up on that part he said his good bye's and moved away. It was then that he'd realized that his Occulemency shields were in complete disarray, his grandfather was sure to reprimand him for this.

He turned towards Daphne.

"So... did anything happen since we stopped dancing..." he started.

Daphne gave him a deadpan look, Rodrick tilted his head.

"Not a clue," She said this with a false smile.

Rodrick stared at her before admitting that he actually had no memories since they split off.

Daphne's glare softened slightly. When she saw the serious look on his face, she got somewhat worried.

He added on, saying it wasn't the first time he had missing memories and assured her that it happened very rarely. Which only seemed to worry her more.

It was at that point they saw Tracey and Blaise show up.

Rodrick snorted at his friend's face; he'd had to deal with that girl far too often for his likes.

Blaise had scowled at him before he noticed the worried look on Daphne's face.

She went on to explain what the boy had told her to the other two.

The next 10 minutes consisted of theories from them. Tracey had considered a lack of sleep, Blaise thought the blonde had drugged him, and then a passing Astoria mentioned sweets. The sweets comment got the group to stare at the nine-year-old girl before they saw her hands brought out in front of them, the group chuckled at the sight slightly before they decided to find some to enjoy. Rodrick stayed behind in his seat as he saw the rest go, Daphne turned around when she noticed the missing and found him staring down onto the floor. Rodrick looked up and urged her to follow the group stating Blaise as a bad influence on her sister. This brought out laughter from Tracey and a well-natured growl from Blaise. Daphne nodded slightly before telling him to wait there.

...

Luna Lovegood was currently sitting down at one of the tables enjoying a drink, her father had, of course, made sure she didn't drink anything bad. She saw her father in conversation with an uptight looking wizard. She turned her attention elsewhere, and they landed on the boy who'd danced with her earlier. She had honestly never seen anyone like him before; there was a strange glow about his body that made no sense. She had at first assumed that he was using magic to hide his face, but when they'd broken off she found the glow encompassing his whole body, she was curious if he changed everything. That wasn't what intrigued her, however, it was his eyes. There was something about them that entranced her and frankly frightened her. When she'd danced with him, she had stared into them accidentally with him being a little taller. She couldn't quite explain why, but as soon as she saw them, the glow surrounding him seemed to grow more and more until eventually, it looked like a dark shadow had encompassed him, his eyes the only thing visible. When she blinked, it had disappeared, and the boy looked normal.

Honestly, she really shouldn't have mentioned it; the boy seemed like he'd had a panic attack, although he did remain silent for the rest of their dances. She had enjoyed all three of them much more when she wasn't seeing the shade; he didn't interrupt her at all as she spoke about her father's newspaper. Curiously when their dance ended, and she searched his eyes, the shade didn't appear again. She wanted to go over and speak to him about it, but he seemed preoccupied. 'Oh well, maybe next year when I join his school,' the blonde girl thought before she turned her attention back to her upside-down newspaper.

The rest of the day passed off uneventful, Rodrick had said his goodbye's to his friends before they floo'd back to their homes. The children spent the rest of the day in the backyard playing around with different spells Rodrick showed them. Once night came Rodrick made his into his bed before he heard Daphne open the door. She was currently standing near Rodrick side of the bed before she put her hand out in front of him. Rodrick stared at the hand.

"One more," she asked.

He sat still on his bed for a few moment's longer.

"Well?" She remarked, her arms crossed in front of her.

He sighed, wasn't she the one that suggested he sleep early?

...

Christmas seemed to pass in a blur. His gift to Daphne was accepted with a broad smile on her face although she refrained from doing anything, it was a silver bracelet lined with green snakes. Astoria's smile was probably even larger if anything, Rodrick had given her a large bag of magical sweets.

The girl's parents had gifted him with brand new dragon hide gloves. They'd given Astoria a brand new training broom much to the girl's delight. Daphne was given a brand new dress. Rodrick rolled his eyes at the girl's happy reaction; he'll never understand either of them.

Much to his surprise, both Greengrass girls had given him a gift of their own. A brand new wand holster came from Daphne who stated if he kept the wand in his pocket he was bound to break it, Rodrick feigned mock hurt at the words before he thanked her for the gift.

Astoria had drawn him a picture of himself, at least tried to anyway. The art style made him laugh far too much. When everyone else saw it they joined in leaving a pouting Astoria. He thanked her and promised her more sweets, eliciting a smile from her and a grimace from her parents.

The family much to the children's surprise and enjoyment spent the day in Hogsmeade, Rodrick enjoyed the place evenly, never having seen so much magic happen openly. They'd visited most of the buildings in the area, Cyrus and Roxanne seemed to stare wistfully at some tea shop they passed.

"So is there something special about this place?" He questioned bemused.

"I'll tell you in a couple of years..." When Rodrick raised an eyebrow at this, the girl whispered for him to shut up and some other things he couldn't quite make out.

Daphne hook ehr ehad as she followed on.

Much to the children's amusement and slight annoyance, the adults vehemently avoided the practical jokes shop they encountered.

When they returned to the Greengrass Manor, night had already fallen, on his way there the family had found an owl waiting for them with a letter, addressed to Rodrick.

Rodrick opened it and found only two words. "NOT FUNNY!" He quickly started laughing, knowing who it was from.

When the adults saw it and questioned it, Rodrick explained.

He had brought a history of magics textbook for Blaise so as to help him in his struggle. Daphne couldn't help laughing, knowing how bad it was while the parents looked at him bemused. Rodrick sent back a letter telling him he owled the wrong person.

...

That night Rodrick woke up in front of the mirrors once again.

"It has been a while since you've come here," The old man's voice spoke, Rodrick turned to face him and nodded slowly.

Before he could say anything, however, Gellert quickly grabbed him when he saw his eyes, Rodrick was startled, his grandfather was worried about something.

"W-what is-" however he was cut off before he could finish.

"Have you had any moments you can't seem to remember?" The old man asked exasperatedly.

Rodrick quickly nodded his head, fearful.

Gellert stared at him for a few moments longer before a grave look took over and let, the old man crashed into the ground seating himself with a heavy look on his face.

Rodrick was at this point fearful. Before he could say anything, Gellert spoke first.

"The prophecy...."

"What?"

Gellert took a long look at him before sighing, and he spoke.

On the day he'd been born Gellert had given a prophecy to his mother, through her mind. It had been the last time Gellert had spoken to his only daughter. It took Rodrick a few moments to process the information before he asked him what the prophecy was, Gellert shook his head stating that whoever makes it wouldn't be able to remember it.

Rodrick sighed before realising that his mother was the only one who knew and, well, she was dead. Gellert explained that there was a possible chance of the prophecy appearing in the department of mysteries but also stated that attempting to take that was practical suicide. Rodrick simply stared at the floor. He perked up slightly before asking him what the dreams had anything to do with it. Gellert looked at him gravely before stating that the dreams confirmed the Prophecy's existence.

When Rodrick tried to question him on why he knew, Gellert refused to answer, telling him it was far too early for him to know. Rodrick narrowed his eyes dangerously at his grandfather for the first time in his life.

"I was 8, when you taught me the killing curse." He stated without emotion.

Gellert's face, however, was resolute.

"This is not about something as trivial as murder, this is far bigger than you could imagine, your mind is not ready." His grandfather spoke, calmly. Before he stood up.

Rodrick looked up and for the first time in his life, saw his grandfather for who he was. The Dark Lord Grindelwald was standing in front of him; his eyes thundered down on the boy before they softened.

He questioned whether he would be told.

"In time, I still have a few years left before I am gone."

There was something ominous about the way he spoke, the finality of it seemed almost too real for Rodrick, but he didn't say anything. He asked his grandfather about how he was able to make prophecies in the first place.

"Several of the years before my defeat I spent my time researching through Divination to learn its limits."

The sentence didn't make any sense to the boy, 'Why would grandfather worry about that? in the middle of a war... What could have been more important?' When he asked for more information, however, Gellert changed the subject. Rodrick asked him about the vault, and why he collected so much, he already understood why it was cursed, albeit a little too much, but he understood.

Gellert looked at his grandson and wondered how much he should tell him, he knew the boy would need to know eventually but he wasn't ready, he had plenty of time left to ensure he would be, he settled for the middle ground.

"I started collecting it several years before my defeat."

Rodrick had stared at him before he realized something. "You received a prophecy?"

Gellert shook his head at this reluctantly before stating he received a lot more.

Rodrick saw the look on his grandfather's face before gulping and adding the next part, somewhat fearful.

"You knew you were going to lose."

...

Time flew by after his conversation with his grandfather; it had ended with his grandfather promising to tell him in the future. Rodrick had argued about it but was rebuffed, in the end, he agreed reluctantly.

He'd seen his grandfather the previous night, the memory still gnawed at the back of his mind, but he'd kept it in place, he had recently started learning about dueling. Rodrick knew plenty of spells but using them in a fight was an entirely different matter, the troll he'd fought had swung his club around meaninglessly and so wasn't something he could factor on too much.

Morning came by quickly, and Rodrick found himself awake earlier than Daphne for once, he knew because green eyes didn't greet him that morning. He showered quickly before dressing in one of his better-looking robes; today was the day of the Malfoy party. It was also his chance to speak to the head of the Malfoy family, although he wasn't looking forward to it, if he was honest.

After getting ready, he went down to the living room and found Roxanne in one of the armchairs reading a newspaper. She greeted him with a friendly smile before complimenting him on his appearance, Rodrick nodded before taking a seat.

Roxanne eventually left to make sure the girls were ready, they would leave in two hours. Rodrick closed his eyes before laying his head on the couch; he felt a breeze wash over him, he wasn't sure if one of the windows was open or it was magically made. He welcomed it either way.

He wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but he felt two hands pull at his hair, when he turned he saw a beaming Astoria behind the sofa. Rodrick had smiled at the girl's antics before he heard another speak.

"Tori! yours supposed to get ready not give other people more work," chastised Daphne although there was a hint of amusement when she saw Rodrick's ruffled hair.

Rodrick made to fix his hair before he saw an approaching Daphne.

"Let me," she spoke, Rodrick quickly shook his head.

"It's fine," she added.

Rodrick shook his head anyway,

The girl had huffed in response before she made to reach for his hair, Rodrick pulled himself back. She looked to frown for a second before she sighed.

"Fine, suit yourself," she said exasperatedly

Rodrick raised another eyebrow before he shrugged it off and fixed his hair, there was too much magic on it, and frankly, he didn't have any plausible reason for his hair suddenly changing colour.

...

Their journey to Malfoy Manor didn't take very long; it was a simple matter of flooing. When they arrived, Rodrick found it similar to the Greengrass Manor, although the Malfoys certainly made more use of silver. The Manor looked more luxurious, but then again the Greengrass likely weren't ones to openly flaunt their wealth, the Malfoy's certainly were.

It looked like they were the first family to arrive, Rodrick greeted Draco Malfoy and his mother first, having already met them. He caught Lucius's eyes, the man seemed to nod approvingly at his state, if Rodrick had to guess it was probably both due to his clothing and associates. When he made to shake Lucius's hand, however, he felt something inside get passed to him. Rodrick closed his hands as he moved a step back, the paper hidden properly. Daphne was eyeing the Malfoy patriarch and so didn't notice Rodrick disappear.

He moved away from the group before he noticed more families coming through the fireplace. 'Good,' at least there was a distraction. Roxanne eyed him move away but said nothing; it wasn't exactly expected of him to greet them, he was still an orphan at the end of the day. The thought made the woman frown; she'd grown fond of him over the holidays.

...

Rodrick made sure there were no eyes around him when he opened the piece of paper, what he saw inside made him hitch a breath. All he could think of at that moment was that Lucius Malfoy knew he was a Grindelwald.

'I hope our future endeavors coincide in The Greater Good for all.'

Rodrick closed his eyes before he burnt the letter with a nonverbal fire spell. He knew very well who 'all' stood for, anyone with a wealthy name and the right blood. However he was slightly glad, Lucius considered him a potential ally or at the very least he didn't think him an enemy. It meant he could rely on the man in the future, long as he had something of his own to give. Rodrick sighed before he went over to Draco Malfoy, 'Well, best start building some foundation I suppose.'

...

The party was quite dull if Rodrick was honest, the only people he really knew there were the Greengrass's and Draco Malfoy, he spent some time talking to the Malfoy heir before he got agitated by the boy's obsession with Harry Potter. He always found something to complain about, not that he blamed him. He agreed, but he really needed to stop showing that. When the dance started Rodrick grabbed and stuck with Daphne throughout most of it, he was expected to atleast make an effort, her parents didn't look surprised; Daphne had been quite happy about it. He did wind up changing much to her annoyance but it was to her little sister, the poor girl looked lost in the party. After a dance with her which was more amusing than professional, the three children made their way outside to enjoy the scenery.

Astoria was chased by a flamingo. It was a good day.

...

By the time the party was over, everyone felt drained, the three children made their way upstairs and relaxed on Rodrick's bed, Astoria fell asleep in Daphne's arm, the back of her head laid on the girl's chest. Daphne, in turn, left her head on Rodrick's shoulder putting him in an uncomfortable position but unable to move lest he wakes up two devils.

He stayed like that for a while before he used his wand to send sparks downstairs to get someone's attention. Roxanne showed up to see the two girls and the uncomfortable boy. She had to cover her mouth to avoid laughing. She went to Rodrick side and asked him if he wanted a picture taken. He gave her a pointed glare in return. The smile on her face had increased before she grabbed him into a hug to make him even more uncomfortable. Roxanne stopped his torture before she picked up Astoria in her arms and proceeded to leave.

Rodrick stared at the retreating woman before he raised and used his wand to send a spark at her to grab her attention, she turned to him with an amused smile on her face.

Rodrick pointed his finger at the head on his shoulders. Roxanne stared at him with a twinkle in her eyes before winking and leaving the boy's room.

Rodrick was dumbfounded at the situation, 'how the hell did it to get this point?'

He wound up having to force himself to stay awake, if he fell asleep with her there, there was no telling if he could keep his transfiguration in check, it was difficult enough as is. The closer a wizard was, the clearer magic showed, some were more sensitive than others, such as the blonde Lovegood girl, but at this close distance, even a squib had a chance of seeing through it.

He could've just woken her up but he wasn't sure what sort of reaction that would've gotten him. Best play it safe and let her feel bad. It was easier.

She was bound to wake up soon, he doubted that position was all that comfortable.

...

Daphne woke up two hours later.

"I am glad you decided to wake up," She heard a hoarse voice speak.

Squinting her eyes before she realized the state she was in, she felt herself flush red quickly before she saw Rodrick's face, he looked tired, completely drained. 'Was he waiting for me to wake up?' The girl thought fondly.

Rodrick turned when he didn't hear the girl reply.

"So... Can I go to sleep or?

Daphne stared at him incredulously. She sighed and made her way off the bed.

...

He sighed as he stared at the girl leave. He wondered how long it would take before his secret went out, he was rather careless when he really thought about it.

He was the grandson of one of the most dangerous Dark Wizards in history. It was at that point that the transfiguration wore off, he stared blankly at the mirror beside his bed, 'When did that appear?'.

He stared at the strands of yellow hair that fell, surrounded by black. He stared at the face he got from his grandfather. The face that could cost him everything he had. What would that leave him? Dark families? who would covet his history? Blaise might stay friends with him, maybe.

He knew Daphne could look past it, but her parents were a different matter, they weren't a dark family, Rodrick couldn't in good conscious let her family fall apart because they both took different sides. He cursed his luck at that moment. He was born to one of the most hated families in Europe; he was cursed with a prophecy his grandfather wouldn't tell him, one that had given him sleepless nights and had him wake him up in screams. He had remembered Lovegood's words before he lapsed, she'd seen some sort of darkness around him.

And what had that strange dream been about? He knew the two places shown were Hogwarts and the Greengrass manor. Was it based on a choice? A choice he'd made when he'd decided to show up to the Greengrass manor for the holidays?

Rodrick sighed in defeat. He transfigured his face back to what the others knew.

...

The rest of the holiday flew by. When they'd gotten back onto the train... There had been a certain shift in tone. Blaise seemed to sense the tension in the mood, he'd taken glances towards Rodrick every now and then but said nothing, he saw the boy stare blankly outside the window, with a book in his hand. Tracey had thanked him for the scarf he'd bought her, but all he gave back was a nod. She and Blaise had pooled their money to buy him a new spell book.

He saw the questioning look the others gave him when he'd tried to open one of his textbooks to read through some chapters. He sighed before flicking through some of the spells in the new book. At least it was spells he'd yet seen, mostly because his grandfather probably considered them useless.

...

It had been months since the Christmas holidays, Rodrick's mood had improved significantly after the first couple of weeks. For the first time in the whole year, it seemed his friends had finally decided it was time for some actual studying. To top it off Blaise hadn't complained at all!

Rodrick found himself confident enough for each exam aside from Herbology, And god did he hate that subject... He wasn't overly fond of Astronomy either, but still spent some time on it in the library with his friends. He helped make sure each one was ready for their own struggles having long given up on his; he figured merely passing his distasteful subjects would be enough.

Strangely he'd been approached several times while in the library by a group of Gryffindors, particularly one called Harry Potter. The boy had asked him numerous times to help teach him a certain illegal spell. Each time Rodrick rebuffed them stating they had no business knowing dangerous magic. They were persistent though.

They'd tried to stop after their unfortunate incident that resulted in them losing a large number of points. It didn't last for very long though, they returned once more on this day and pleaded for him to show them. Granger, however, wasn't in sight. Rodrick had threatened to tell on them asking about the Imperius curse, Ron Weasley had in turn rebuffed him, telling him that he would be in far more trouble having already known it. Daphne had returned to the table at that point and threatened to hex the boys if they didn't leave. Harry had stomped off with a glare on his face.

"What did they want?" she questioned.

Rodrick raised an amused eyebrow at her for acting Gryffindorish, rushing in without information.

Daphne's cheeks tinged slightly before she remarked: "It clearly didn't look pleasant, I figured it was the gingers fault."

Tracey, as well as Blaise, had returned with more books, a majority of them were on potions and History, their struggles respectively.

Rodrick explained what the two Gryffindors wanted; the reactions were mixed. Daphne frowned at them openly talking to Rodrick about the Imperius curse, Tracey gasped at the recklessness of the boys wanting to learn an illegal curse. Rodrick was amused by her reaction the most, considering he knew two spells far worse.

Blaise had ranted on that Rodrick had no right to teach them the spell seeing as he hadn't even taught his friends. In simple terms, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Rodrick chuckled at his friend's antics; sometimes he wasn't even sure if they were serious or not. Well, he was sure Blaise was never serious, it was the girls that he had trouble with. The group started discussing the upcoming Quidditch game at which point Rodrick promptly shut down his brain and put his head on the table; Daphne patted him playfully while laughing.

Malfoy's little group, (Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy) had decided to join their table at that point; he'd been on more civil terms with Rodrick ever since the party at Malfoy Manor.

However, since the forbidden forest incident, Malfoy had been unbearable, even his friends seemed to groan when he started complaining about some plant he'd stepped on or whatever.

He'd taught his friends a silencing spell so they could tone out his complaints, it made for funny instances but also tended to make Malfoy angrier, even worse was when Malfoy's own friends had asked Rodrick if he could teach them that spell. Blaise seemed to dislike the two burly boys, though Rodrick couldn't blame him. Tracey got on well with all of them. Daphne couldn't stand Pansy Parkinson although Rodrick failed to understand that part. The girl was on good terms with him after all. He'd asked Tracey once why Daphne seemed to hate the other girl and all he got was a laugh from the red head. Even Blaise seemed to notice, but the boy refused to indulge him, he called it payback, although for the life of him he couldn't figure out what he could've possibly done to the dark skinned wizard to deserve any form of revenge.

It took five minutes before Pince promptly kicked them all out. The groups split off at that point, Rodrick's group decided to go back to the common room to finish their studies, Malfoy's went... somewhere, Rodrick hadn't really paid attention. When they reached the locked door, Rodrick's stomach growled, earning sniggers from his friends.

Rodrick sighed, "I'll join you guys in a bit then, I am gonna get something to eat."

His friends nodded along before they uttered the password and went in.

...

Rodrick went back towards the great hall. On his way, however, he stumbled on an open classroom, thinking nothing of it, he passed it by before he heard someone whimper. Rodrick recognized the voice; it belonged to his DADA teacher. He felt his spine stiffen slightly before he decided to back trace his steps but stayed hidden, when he peeked inside he found an unsettling sight. Professor Quirrell was talking to himself. Rodrick was torn between confronting the crazed Professor or reporting it to the headmaster; it was hardly a good quality for a teacher to have.

His thoughts froze.

Something was definitely unsettling him, Rodrick could've sworn there was a charm or two hidden inside the Professors turban but what really freaked him out was the fact he heard a very dark and hoarse voice respond to the teacher. Rodrick's mind froze at the voice; it settled on running, he did not come to this school to deal with a cursed teacher. He quickly moved away from the wall but wound up tripping. The sound alerted the DADA teacher; the man quickly turned before he made his way over to the door, bent on finding the source of the accident. Rodrick was currently on the floor hidden by a wall when he heard the approaching footsteps, he took out his wand and cast his strongest Disillusionment charm on himself.

The professor came out the room and looked around trying to find the source of the accident, seeing nothing the man seemed to give up but as soon as he was about to turn, the dark voice spoke again.

"He's hidden by magic!" the voice whispered.

The DADA teacher turned again before taking out his wand, he was about to cast a revealing spell before another set of footsteps were heard, the man quickly hid his wand and went away from the area when he noticed who the student was.

Rodrick turned, still hidden, and saw Harry Potter slowly approaching. The boy looked about to enter the classroom before he changed his mind half way and returned the way he came.

When Rodrick was sure there was no one else around, he took off his charm and ran back to the common room, his hunger dead. He was torn between alerting the headmaster or his head of house; he ended up settling on Snape simply because the man's office was closer to the common room. The potions Professor took in his words before giving him an approving nod for bringing the matter to him instead of interfering; he told him he'd take care of it but made sure Rodrick kept the matter secret before sending him off.

Rodrick had no intention of bringing up this issue with his friends, who knows what kind of problems that door would open. Although he did still have a visible shake to himself when he finally saw them again, Daphne tried to question him about it, he blamed the cold, she didn't believe him, None of his friends did for that matter. Hell, even Draco, who was for the most part unhealthily obsessed with Potter had disbelief written on his face. But they all knew he was stubborn and so left it at that, except Pansy who decided to act like Madam Pomfrey all of a sudden, she continually tried to question him about it. Rodrick slowly but steadily lost patience, Daphne's face seemed to glow each time the girl asked him what was wrong. By the evening Rodrick felt compelled to send the girl directly to the cursed teacher, Daphne looked like she was about to explode from sheer amusement. Blaise decided to continue the questioning at their dorm throughout the night. Rodrick put up several silencing spells around his bed, Blaise prattled on without realizing Rodrick couldn't hear him. He felt a sense of satisfaction from that until the morning, where his laughter had died as he realized he'd missed Transfiguration.

...

The exams had come and gone quickly. Thanks to particular favoritism from a certain Potions professor; the Slytherin first years had somehow gotten their results early. Rodrick passed each exam quite well, in fact, if it hadn't been for Herbology and Astronomy he would've passed at the top of his year, he wound up second. Daphne came behind him followed by Tracey and Blaise, who'd almost failed his history exam.

Hermione Granger had gotten tied with Rodrick on most of the exams but had beaten him in Astronomy and Herbology much to the boy's dismay. Blaise had been unbearable about that particular fact until his history exam was brought up by Tracey. Even then his head of house had been quite happy with their group as each one of them had beaten Harry Potter, he simply refused to consider the 'Insufferable Know it all.'

Thankfully none of Rodrick's friend decided to point out that he was only behind by one or two marks and so qualified as an 'Insufferable Know it all.' Of course when the teacher wasn't around Blaise called him by his new nickname quite openly.

Draco was livid when he found out he did worse than Harry Potter.

...

The end of the year feast came by quickly for the students, to Rodrick's utter shock the DADA professor had been killed. When he'd first heard that, he'd been both impressed and frightened of his head of house. When the man said he'd take care of it, he wasn't kidding around...

It didn't take long before the real story came out, Harry Potter had, of course, come out as some sort of hero for stopping the cursed teacher from taking the philosophers stone.

Rodrick's mind had taken a double turn the first time he heard that story. When he'd realized Blaise wasn't crazy, he inwardly groaned. Gryffindor was going to win the house cup. He knew someone was about to pull a 180 on the Slytherins and lose them their cup. Democracy at its finest.

The different houses reacted differently to the story, the Gryffindors naturally took it as a godsend and tried to push their bravery nonsense down on anyone they found, the Hufflepuff's were relieved no evil wizard was at large. The Slytherins (Mostly Malfoy) were disappointed, Harry neither died nor was expelled for technically murdering a teacher. His female friends, Daphne and Tracey, were more inclined towards Hufflepuffs reaction.

The Ravenclaws were disappointed such a priceless artifact would be destroyed. Blaise was disappointed because he didn't get to use the stone for his own selfish reasons.

Rodrick was dumbfounded at the sheer stupidity of it all.

One, the professors apparently built defenses to the stone to keep it safe... Defenses, three first years were capable of bypassing. Two, Dumbledore had decided to hire a teacher without a reasonable ID check. Three, Harry Potter had decided that the headmaster's defensive measure weren't good enough and figured a scrawny first year was more than strong enough to handle a DADA professor. Four, there was a giant three-headed dog hidden in Hogwarts, the last one he'd found out by accident.

...

He was currently seated with his friends; he'd been quite surprised when it had been announced that Slytherin would win the year's house cup, they were all toasting to it, enjoying the feast. Even Snape had the semblance of a smile on his face.

Five, the headmaster greatest ability was being able to troll the living daylights out of students. Rodrick stared in mock apprehension as he saw the headmaster stand up and begin his speech. Blaise was currently seated to his right; he turned to his friend before mouthing the words 'we lose,' to him. Blaise raised an eyebrow in confusion but said nothing. If there was any consolation in all this, it was that Dumbledore couldn't force the Quidditch cup to be given to Gryffindor.

Ron Weasley got 50 points for a chess game. Rodrick couldn't believe his ears, the headmaster was actually awarding him 50 points for something like that, he was sorely tempted to get up from his table and challenge the ginger to a chess game for the points, but unfortunately, he wasn't a Gryffindor.

He could see the sudden despaired looks on his housemates. Apparently getting passed a giant chess set meant cheating your way through a house cup, he takes down a troll and casts the Imperius curse successfully at 12 years old and gets nothing. He chuckled at the thought, imagine their reaction if he decided to shout that out. Blaise looked like he had a similar idea, but a stern glare from Daphne luckily put that out.

Dumbledore gave Granger 50 points with a pun, the headmaster's face was neutral, Rodrick heard Malfoy mutter about the Mudblood getting her due. 'Way to go, as if mud bloods weren't already under fire.'

"Third to Mr. Harry Potter,"

As soon as he heard that, he turned to his table and uttered. "For existing, I award you the house cup."

He wasn't sure if anyone else outside of that table heard him, he was certain they heard the Slytherin tables laughter.

...

When Neville Longbottom was awarded 10 points for standing up to his friends, Daphne huffed out loudly at it calling it unfair. That caught the headmaster's attention. 'Crap.' Thought Rodrick, his eyes widened.

The headmaster's eyes swept over the Slytherin Table trying to find the source of the sound; Daphne had shrunk down when she realized they'd heard her. Dumbledore found the source quickly, all the Slytherin eyes were on her after all, before he continued his speech and awarded the house cup to Gryffindor as he'd planned to the moment Harry was placed in it. Rodrick wasn't sure if that last part was true, but the evidence was all there.

Dumbledore turned his eyes back to the girl who'd spoken out; the girl noticed his gaze as she turned to face him for a split second. An image showed up on the headmaster's mind, an image of a troll. The girl quickly averted her gaze back in front of her, facing the boy he'd met before Christmas.

The old man's stomach lurched as his suspicions were confirmed. The boy had indeed taken care of the troll; he had used the Imperius curse. Dumbledore turned his eyes away from the table and focused on the feast, He would worry about this later, the Gryffindor table was celebrating loudly. Even the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws were enjoying themselves, Dumbledore had a smile on his face, three quarters of the school's students looked to be getting along somewhat, but in the end, it was always the remaining quarter that worried him. Dumbledore turned his gaze to the orphan before anxiety increased, the boy was an enigma. One that could prove to be either dangerous or beneficial to the grand scheme of things. And yet something deep down told him the boy's path lay elsewhere entirely. An image was forming in his head, of another wizard, the boy seemed to be reminding him of, as the picture formed the face however, it disappeared. Dumbledore frowned, not because he didn't know who it reminded him of but because he knew it was no longer Voldemort. That thought unsettled him even more; it simply hit too close to home. If the boy's future reminded him of his old friend, he wasn't sure he could reject that dream once more, the first time had been difficult enough. In his remembrance of the past, Dumbledore had for that split second forgotten that the boy's face was covered by magic.

Later, Dumbledore would laugh when he realized why the boy had seemed so familiar.

...

Rodrick had originally planned to spend the summer on his own. His friends had all offered him a place to stay for the summer; Daphne was the most vocal. However, he'd refused them all, politely. He had wanted to look for and buy his own place to live in.

He had thought through many different scenarios in trying to get the orphanage to agree to let him go off on his own before he settled on a simple solution, use magic to get them to sign the contract. The orphanage after all counted as his legal guardian and so he would have to consult them about buying anything, thanks to his mother's contract they weren't allowed to use the vault themselves, assuming they even knew about it.

Surprisingly enough, standing where he was right now, he found out he didn't need to do that anymore.

It took a day after the holidays started before things spiraled out of control.

The orphanage was gone.

Rodrick stared ahead, his eyes wide, face surprised. He had almost lost control of his Transfiguration when he'd seen the empty space of where his orphanage used to be in. He walked through a dark path where the front gates once stood looking for any clues, or anything for that matter. He didn't know what this meant for him, was he guardianless? Would the ministry take control of his status? Did the ministry even know about his existence?

A voice calling out his name quickly stopped Rodrick in his tracks, he turned around and met a familiar but surprising figure. She was the last person he expected to see; it took a couple of seconds to link the face to a memory, the blonde hair made it quite easy, however.

"Hello, Rodrick. Why don't you follow me?" she turned around and waited for Rodrick to catch up.

Rodrick shrugged before following her, 'Why not?' Thought the bemused boy.

"Let's find some more..." she paused slightly, trying to find the right words; she took a look around the road. Black buildings lined up the street. "Colourful surroundings," finished the blonde witch.

"Sure but I have a curfew just so you know," deadpanned Rodrick.

The blonde snorted at his words before leading the way.

...

Albus Dumbledore was currently pacing through his office, worried. It had been a couple of weeks since the students had left Hogwarts for the summer. He had planned to visit the talentedorphan so as to get a view of his surroundings, what he was growing up in and more importantly how similar things were to another orphan the headmaster had the delight of dealing with in the past.

Naturally, as soon as the headmaster was genuinely worried about something, it became much harder to control the situation. When he'd traveled to the orphanage earlier today, he was quite surprised to find the building missing. He had, of course, asked around the area for information. Apparently, it was construction works going on; the orphanage had disbanded months ago. The children were all given homes, and the shelter went out of need. All of it happened in the span of 8 months, coincidently tying itself to Rodrick's school year. If it weren't for the fact that half of those so called adopted orphans were found on the street 3 months after the orphanages closing, he might've believed the story. All those children had of course been sent off elsewhere.

All except one, one orphan whose records had all disappeared and pretty much didn't exist according to the muggle world, potentially even the wizarding one. The same orphan Dumbledore was wracking his brain trying to find. He frowned, there were a number of suspects about this, but none of them made any sense, what possible interest could this boy create, except the Greengrass family perhaps. The boy had possibly saved their daughter from a troll, 'had he complained to them about his living standards?' Even then it wasn't like their family to go this far; they could've merely adopted him. The others included the rest of his three friends, but again none of them had enough reason to go so far.

Dumbledore's mind clicked at that moment. He was an orphan, but he might not be nameless. The boys family name before they died. That's the only reason he could think of, other than the fact he was already capable of casting unforgivable's. 'Yes, that was it!' Thought the old wizard. It would explain Lucius Malfoys interest in the boy, or perhaps the ministry. 'Was he perhaps a death eaters son?' Mused the headmaster or worse... That path was not pleasant to think about, no definitely not. He needed to get to the bottom of this, and quickly. The Greengrass family would be the first he would visit, the Malfoys last. An owl would take too long, not to mention the messages returned would be unreliable.

...

Rodrick was led through a familiar building, one with a special fireplace. He knew this one led elsewhere the moment he stepped in. The wall had a huge and distinct snake made of gold. He entered the fireplace first and uttered the magic words.

He walked out on the other side of the country, he presumed, he never actually looked for London on a map, for all he knew it might've been the next town. He turned around and noticed the empty room, he heard a crack and turned back to the fireplace and saw his companion walk out.

"How do you like it?" the blonde questioned.

Rodrick raised an eyebrow, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I have been here before you know, at the party."

The woman huffed before putting pouting exaggerated, "You should learn to entertain a witch young man, it will make life much easier," Narcissa remarked back. "My husband will be here soon, with Draco."

Rodrick nodded on before he followed the Malfoy matriarch into the living room, he found two large leather armchairs by the fireplace waiting for them.

"Make yourself comfortable," She left after that.

Rodrick took a seat on the chair furthest from the fireplace. To his surprise, two dogs walked into the room before setting themselves near the fireplace, one set itself near Rodrick's feet. They were both covered in gray fur with lighter hair going down their belly and around their face. Both were very well groomed. He lowered his hand onto the one near his chair and scratched it behind its ear; he was always more of a dog person, maybe that was why he had trouble getting along with his Transfiguration teacher. His previous birthdays might've also had something to do with it.

Before long. Narcissa Malfoy returned to the room covered in new silks of fabric.

She raised an eyebrow at him petting one of the dogs, he quickly took his hand away and felt slightly flustered.

The emotion was gone as quickly as it showed.

Narcissa chuckled at the boy; he clearly had trouble acting like a pureblood, although he certainly tried. She called the house elf to serve them some drinks.

The foolish elf gave an underage wizard fire whiskey.

The foolish elf made a mockery of the house with it's self-harm, in front of a guest.

The foolish elf almost made the guest drop the fire whiskey on himself with it's antics.

The foolish elf made Narcissa Malfoy murderous.

A distant crack was heard, the house elf's noise overtook it.

Noticing the look on Narcissa Malfoy, Rodrick felt compelled to intervene, The elf, however, made that very difficult. He took out his wand and cast a Confundus on the house elf to daze him; he quickly ordered it to leave. He waved his wand over around the room and set the mess back in order, he took his drink and gulped it down before regretting the decision immediately.

Narcissa stared at the boy, surprised, very surprised. The anger long forgotten. He had managed to use a confusion charm on a house elf and convinced it he was a form of authority on its mind, that was no easy feat. House elves were loyal to a fault, to manage that... Her husband was definitely right.

The nonverbal cleaning charm he used on the carpet was impressive as well, she added as an afterthought. Panic suddenly shot through her as she realized he had just used underage magic in her home.

"You really shouldn't do that, you aren't old enough," she reminded the boy, he quickly swept his head up at that. His yellow eyes caught her off guard. There was a certain dread hidden behind them...

"It should be quite fine," a firm voice spoke. Both Narcissa and Rodrick turned to the sound and found Lucius Malfoy standing, Draco a step behind him. Narcissa moved over quickly and greeted her husband and child, Rodrick followed slowly after.

Draco looked happy, happy in an 'I just completed a scheme,' sort of way. Rodrick didn't like it, but it made him bearable. The look of surprise on his face helped as well; he must've seen that little performance. Something in his head told him he no longer needed to buy a broom for Tracey, 'huh funny that,' thought Rodrick.

Lucius Malfoy had a professional look on his face, there was a definite twinkle in his eyes though, as if he'd just found a treasure. Rodrick slightly shuddered at that. The man gave Rodrick an approving nod when he swept over his robes. Two more leather chairs appeared, and the four of them took their seats.

...

Rodrick had just found out that Draco had convinced his father to buy newer brooms for their house, in order to 'help' the Slytherin team win.

'Malfoy just bought his way into the team,'

Not that it really bothered him, but Rodrick figured if it meant Slytherin winning then at least his friends would be happy. He was also glad Draco wanted to be a seeker, Tracey preferred chaser, her chance to play hadn't disappeared. He still planned to buy her a broom.

The four had spent most of their time in idle chatter, to keep up appearances.

Narcissa had gotten up and left with a less inclined Draco, however with his chance at playing for the team on the line he quickly obliged. This left Rodrick and Lucius Malfoy in one room.

"Is it safe to assume that Mrs Malfoy waiting for me at the orphanage was no coincidence?"

Lucius Malfoy's eyes twinkled slightly at the sudden question.

"I am not sure I understand your meaning," replied the politician, a small smirk on his face.

Rodrick stared up slightly amused at the game.

"If the orphanage was still up and running, I hardly see your wife looking to adopt. She would have no reason for me to follow her... Isn't that right Mr Malfoy?" he added the last part sarcastically.

Lucius smirked.

"You would be correct, in a way... Mr. Grindelwald."

Rodrick hitched a breath, that was conclusive proof.

Lucius noticed the look that passed through his features; he smiled despite himself, he understood his situation.

The two stared off at one another for a few moments before Rodrick spoke.

"How?" Questioned the 12-year-old.

"You're awfully formal for a child; anyone ever tell you that?" Lucius skipped the question.

Rodrick narrowed his eyes, the action got him a raised hand.

"You have a relative, a great aunt of sorts; she was responsible for sending you your letters," Lucius spoke. Surprisingly, the boy's face showed he hadn't known this. Hearing no reply Lucius continued.

"Your, predecessor was very famous; I am sure you can understand why people kept tabs on his relatives. Although it looked like we'd missed a generation." That answer didn't get the reaction Lucius expected.

Rodrick lowered his head slightly at this; the ministry didn't know about his mother. If they didn't know then... Why?... Who targeted her? He raised his head.

"You knew nothing of my mother?" he questioned.

Lucius frowned slightly before shaking his head; there really was no knowledge on the woman. It looked like she was the Grindelwald's heir. He had initially assumed it to be a man considering Rodrick kept the last name.

Rodrick deflated, he wouldn't be getting any new information regarding his mother it seemed.

"Who else knows? About me I mean."

Lucius smirked at the question.

"No one else, to your fortune I was the one who received word of Bathilda Bagshot's sudden trip to an orphanage, your secret is safe."

Rodrick's eyes lit up, Bathilda Bagshot, that was her name. He would need to visit her at some point.

"Wait a second," Rodrick spoke up suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

Lucius raised an eyebrow at the sudden outburst.

"The ministry? They don't know about me?" he questioned.

Lucius smiled thinly, "Not a record. I made sure of that after meeting you."

Rodrick narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Why?" he questioned.

Lucius took a sip from his drink before he answered.

"It helps both of us really." Lucius shrugged, "You have your freedom, no records in the ministry mean no one would know your plans before it was too late, there isn't even a trace on your wand. And I hope with this considerable gift; we could potentially work together. In the future of course."

Rodrick contemplated the offer; he wasn't stupid enough not to see the benefits he was given. If what Malfoy said was true then he'd received the break of a lifetime. But he had to make sure.

"And you consider my potential as an ally that important?" he questioned.

Lucius' eyes narrowed, 'Was the boy an idiot? Does he not know what kind of power his name can command?', It took Malfoy a few seconds to realise what the boy was trying to do. He smirked. He was fishing for information.

"You're quite smart for your age, I'll give you that, yes I do indeed consider your potential that much, how about we drop the games though?"

Rodrick had looked down at the carpet before he questioned Malfoy.

"If I had no such plans? You risked all this for nothing, in fact, imagine I had plans that weren't suited towards your goals." The question was left in the air.

"If you decide not to follow in your grandfather's ideals... It really is your own choice although a favour may or may not be asked of you, I hardly doubt your plans could stray against mine given our particular family history."

The second part caught Rodrick off guard; he was practically admitting to being a death eater to him.

Lucius smiled at the reaction. "Don't think too much on it, while my family may have been associated there... Yours well..." there was no malice in his voice, it was a simple matter of fact.

Rodrick nodded slowly before he continued with one final question.

"What about Dumbledore?"

Lucius's eyes narrowed at this. "What about the headmaster? You can't mean to tell me he knows who you are?" That was dangerous ground for him, very dangerous grounds.

Rodrick quickly shook his head, elevating the man's tension.

"No, he doesn't know that, although I am fairly certain he knows you visited me at the orphanage."

Lucius relaxed slightly, That wouldn't be the end of the world, it was in the end done legally. When he looked into the boy's eyes, he saw something hiding behind them.

"There's more?" he questioned.

Rodrick sighed slightly, the man was involved and had a right to know.

"There was an incident; I am fairly sure the headmaster suspects me to be a part of," Rodrick spoke looking towards one of the hounds.

Lucius waited for the boy to continue.

"I am sure your son told you about the troll incident?"

Lucius surprised, nodded his head slightly before a scowl took its place. That message from Draco had enraged him, letting a troll come so close to his only son, he wasn't some Weasley with spares for heirs.

"What about it?" Lucius asked pointedly.

"It was taken care off by a particularly bad spell," spoke the boy eyes not showing anything.

Lucius raised an eyebrow, "And the headmaster believes you to be responsible?"

"He would be right."

Lucius's eyes had twinkled at this piece of information before he asked how bad it could really be.

Rodrick stared at the man's eyes.

"The Imperius Curse."

Lucius' eyes widened. That was not just a bad spell... That brought many many things into consideration. His mind whirled through so many questions to ask the boy. How did Dumbledore guess it to be the kid, surely he either knew or didn't know? How did he manage to hide it from the headmaster? Why did a 12-year-old know the Imperius curse?

He settled on the last question.

"How does a child like you know such a powerful spell?" It was not called an unforgivable for no reason.

Lucius's eyes stilled for a moment; he had been staring at the boy's eyes when he'd asked. The eyes glinted slightly at the question... almost mocking him. The man felt himself tensing up at the look.

Rodrick was staring blankly at the man before he calmly stated.

"You wouldn't believe the things I know." It wasn't like him to show off, but with Malfoy, he had to set off a tone.

Lucius' eyes narrowed, intrigued at the boy's statement and angered by the hidden message. A wizard like him threatened by a boy because he learned the Imperius curse? Sure it wasn't exactly common... It definitely wasn't... but it wasn't impossible.

"Try me," He challenged, expecting a surprised reaction out of the boy, but to his own surprise the boy merely stood up prepared.

Rodrick took his wand out before casting a privacy charm around the room. He quickly turned back to a surprised Malfoy before he asked.

"You're certain my wand doesn't have a trace?"

Malfoy could only nod, the tension in the air was palpable. What exactly was the boy about to do?

Rodrick turned to an empty wall before raising his wand and uttering words that sent the man into shock.

"Avada Kedavra,"

The explosive green light crashed into the wall, leaving whiffs of fire in its wake, fire Rodrick quickly waved off. He turned back to the shocked expression of Malfoy.

"I learned that when I was 8." Rodrick quickly moved over back to his seat and waited for Malfoy to get a hold of himself. The killing curse admittedly took a lot of hatred to kill, but it didn't mean without hatred it wouldn't cast. It might not kill...Rodrick actually wasn't sure if what he'd just shot out had the potential to kill, it was too late to find out... Either way he only needed to show he could cast it.

...

Malfoy's eyes filled with shock, intrigue, excitement? And even fear. It was only then that the boy's words connected to him. 8? No, that's not possible. It simply wasn't possible. What he saw happen in front of him shouldn't have been possible either to be fair, it took a powerful wizard to cast it. It took a far more powerful wizard to teach it. An orphan shouldn't know it!

Malfoy eyes locked back to the child and felt the shock wear off; he was finally reminded of an important piece of information. This was the grandson of Gellert Grindelwald.

Gellert. Grindelwald. The dark lord that made an absolute mockery of the world.

A smile crept onto Lucius Malfoy's face.

"That's certainly impressive, but it's also stupid to show it off, you earned yourself a one-way ticket to Azkaban doing that." Mocked the Malfoy Patriarch, to his disappointment or relief perhaps, the boy didn't rise to the bait.

"Yes, I am sure the ministry would certainly believe that I could pull that off, you know instead of considering the fact a potential death eater took control of my wand and cast it? And before you tell me Dumbledore can vouch for my knowledge, I am sure he would much rather you were prosecuted."

Lucius had an amused expression on his face, the boy really was too clever for his age.

...

The two sat in silence for a while, before Rodrick raised his head once again.

"I suppose I should give you a gift in return, consider it a token of trust." The boy spoke.

Lucius brows raised, intrigued at the boy's offer. He stared in confusion as the boy raised his wand towards his face and muttered a spell. It had taken a few moments before the result appeared. Lucius stared in wonder as the kid's face and hair changed. A grin placed itself on his face; the boy would make a very useful ally in the future if he was capable of planning and doing things like this at 12.

"A toast then to all future endeavors," Spoke the Malfoy patriarch unable to keep himself from smiling.

The rest of noon was spent deciding on what Rodrick's plans were for the summer, Malfoy was slightly disappointed the boy wouldn't consider staying at his Manor, in fact, the boy refused to even stay the night. He was planning to go house hunting for that matter. Lucius had initially been very disappointed in the boy's choice of location; he wanted to purchase a place in Devon, a place Lucius found particularly revolting due to neighbors. When asked why however...

It was cheap enough to live in temporarily, it was scarce enough for him to practice magic more openly and the main point was he would be able to keep an eye on certain other wizarding families. Lucius' eyes were lit up when he realized the potential result of the last part, yes it was quite beneficial, and due to his status as an orphan, it wouldn't be far-fetched for him to go so far.

The reality was what had happened a couple of months ago, after it had been revealed who Professor Quirrell was, Rodrick felt shaken to the core, he had a strange premonition that it may happen again.

He had practically bumped into Voldemort himself... It was what had changed his plans for the summer so suddenly. He had originally wanted to spend it with his friends, preferably stay in the Greengrass Manor. The place felt welcoming to him. But after that incident, his grandfather had insisted he leave the orphanage and find a more stable place to live in.

He saw the logic there and decided to try and find one in proximity to other families, help build relations of sorts. He was already close to the Greengrass family, Blaise and Tracey gave him some connection to their respective families, and now he had an unofficial alliance with Malfoy.

Devon or more specifically Ottery St Catchpole had at least three families he knew off, thanks to a younger version of the man he was talking to, two perhaps weren't the most well of, but their contacts were certainly useful to keep tabs on.

Plus it was cheap as hell.

Rodrick stood up, planting his transfiguration back in place earning an awed look from the Malfoy Patriarch, the man wasn't even sure if he was capable of doing it so flawlessly, or manage it at all. Transfiguration was never really a favourite of his.

"Who taught you all that?" Malfoy questioned, eager to know; perhaps the same could teach his son. Imagine the possibilities his son could have...

Rodrick shook his head slightly before stating the teacher was inaccessible.

Malfoy eye's narrowed slightly, but the boy refused to indulge him further, well, he was still a Slytherin, so he understood the sentiment of some secrets.

"it just occurred to me you'll be needing money for your little plans."

Rodrick raised his head to meet the sitting Malfoy's gaze before he shrugged, saying he had a vault to his name with enough funds.

Malfoy nodded his head slightly; the boy clothes should be proof enough of that already for that matter.

Rodrick asked if he could borrow an owl to send a message to his friends of his plans and whereabouts, Malfoy slightly surprised only nodded.

Rodrick thanked the man before he mentally prepared to send three messages. He would need to explain his plans to each of his friends. Before he left the room, however, Malfoy's voice spoke out.

"After you're done well be on our way to the ministry."

Rodrick hitched slightly before he asked why this resulted in Malfoy chuckling slightly.

The boy could only know so much, supposed Malfoy. "You need to get some paperwork done to get your things in order; you also need someone to act as a guardian for you."

That part irritated Rodrick slightly before he considered a solution. "I'll be sending four letters then it seems," Rodrick replied. Malfoy raised an eyebrow at this.

"I'll need to ask the Greengrass family if they're willing to help with that part."

Malfoy scowled slightly, but he figured that keeping them closer would only help in the future. "If they refuse?" questioned Malfoy with a small smirk.

Rodrick looked at him before a grin popped into his face, "I am sure you'll figure something out then."

It was refreshing to be taken seriously.

Malfoy was considering ways to try and get the Greengrass to refuse the offer, nothing short of revealing the boy's name came to mind.

It was at that moment Lucius Malfoy actually realized how many doors this simple orphan had managed to open up, and he wasn't even an adult yet. If Rodrick had looked back, he would've seen a smirk too large for Malfoy's face. Perhaps the Greengrass taking guardianship had more merit than he thought.

Rodrick was certain his communication with the Malfoy's would have a backlash but at the end of the day he was looking long term, and long term meant some backlashes where necessary.

...

Cyrus Greengrass stared at the letter from one of his daughter's friends. Now he wasn't a person that acted rashly, he was, after all a Slytherin, but this particular instance perhaps required some bold actions. His daughter had received a letter as well it seemed and judging from her reaction in front of him, she clearly had a very good idea of what was going on. His wife had read the letter over his shoulder before she did the same to her daughter and currently had a drink in hand, trying and failing to hold her laughter.

"So..." started Roxanne

Cyrus raised his eyes to his wife; Daphne was still reading through hers, a frown on her face growing worse and worse. She turned to face her father, big green eyes pleaded with him, she looked distraught. What exactly did the boy write to his daughter?

"Father you have to do something... Malfoy kidnapped him," spoke the young girl.

Roxanne almost spurted her drink out at this before she started laughing.

"Dear, Malfoy it seems helped the boy out when he found his home missing," spoke Roxanne, failing to calm down her daughter.

It had taken a few seconds before the adults scoffed at the idea, Malfoy more than likely burnt that place down himself.

"We can't act rashly without any information darling," spoke the head of the Greengrass family. Daphne's face dropped at this. Roxanne raised an eyebrow at her husband.

Cyrus stood up, getting both of their attention.

"Which is exactly why we'll be heading to the ministry right now, get yourselves dressed."

Daphne raised an eye at this before a grin festered itself on her face and she grabbed her father into a hug.

Roxanne merely stared at this with a twinkle in her eye.

...

The group of four had floo'd themselves into the Ministry of Magic, ahead of them they saw what they were looking for. Lucius Malfoy with Rodrick stood to his left.

They'd been expected.

Daphne had to restrain herself from running forward, Astoria made no such qualms before she walked up to the boy and held out both her hands. It had taken a moment before Rodrick pulled her into a hug. The girl squirmed slightly before stating she was asking for sweets, not a hug. Daphne chuckled, Rodrick twitched.

The adults were staring off Lucius Malfoy.

Cyrus noticed with some concern how the look of the man's eye glinted; something was going on. Cyrus called out to Rodrick before asking him for a private chat. Taking him away from the others around him, Daphne looked on slightly put out. Roxanne was making idle chatter with Lucius.

"Did something happen?" Cyrus questioned the boy.

Rodrick set off a privacy charm, earning a thankful look from Cyrus, he really should've done it himself.

"I am 90% sure Lucius is responsible for my missing orphanage."

Anger had flared in Cyrus before he pressed on for more.

Rodrick noticing the look quickly tried to calm the man stating it was a welcome change for him.

Cyrus raised an eyebrow at this. After the boy had explained his surroundings in that place, he felt compelled to agree, but it still didn't explain Malfoy's sudden interest.

This was the moment Rodrick was afraid off; he'd contemplated the next part so much. At the end of the day, it was possibly both the best and worst answer he could give.

Rodrick looked up before answering, "He knows my family name."

Cyrus hitched a breath, Lucius Malfoy was going this far because of relations? He stared at the boy in front of him wondering just what kind of name could bring about such a reaction from Malfoy. The boy didn't look comfortable saying it; it most likely meant Malfoy had figured it out. Cyrus looked back up and saw the man's unflinching gaze and the hint of a smirk. That was a red alert for the Greengrass patriarch. He looked back down onto the boy before asking.

"I won't ask you what it is, I will, however, ask for my daughter's sake on whether Malfoy was right in going so far to help you."

Rodrick was a little surprised. "Who knows? I don't have any plans to follow in my family's footsteps, but that isn't the only thing Malfoy could get out of helping me."

Cyrus couldn't help the chuckle; the boy was speaking like this after a morning with Lucius. He looked back down, a kind gaze on his face.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of leaving you with him, my daughters would most likely make my life hell if I tried," Cyrus stopped for a second. "I won't ask you now, but I do hope you'll tell me sometime in the future what the big deal is."

Rodrick nodded thankfully, he was confident he'd mention his name at some point, but there was no way in hell he was telling him about the killing curse.

Another thought popped into Cyrus's head. "The ministry might be a problem on its own, no offense but if Malfoy had such a keen interest in your name... The ministry won't make it easy to let you go."

A small smile showed up on Rodrick's face before he stated Malfoy took care of that already. Cyrus frowned slightly at the idea of manipulating the ministry but remembering particular Death Eater cases in the past figured it was for the best. Some hadn't even got a trial.

The two made their way back to others, Malfoy stared at the two with a smirk and questioned whether the interrogation was done. Roxanne and Cyrus narrowed their eyes slightly but kept their cool. The three adults made their way inside; they decided it was best the children stayed out of it, it wasn't a particularly difficult process of taking guardianship of an orphan, especially one without records. Malfoy had stated it for the best in case someone decided to check up on him there and then.

He had taken out a record of more than likely falsified information on the boy and handed it over to Cyrus to read through.

As soon as the adults were out of sight, Daphne grabbed Rodrick into a hug. One Rodrick that made him stiffen completely.

"I was so worried when you sent me that letter, telling me your house was destroyed, Malfoy's wife kidnapped you to replace Draco. Lucius was threatening you to open your vault with the Killing Curse. It was only after my father opened his letter did you explain the situation properly. The sarcasm was not funny!" she was currently wriggling her finger in front of Rodrick's face, her own inches away with a scowl and a glare on it.

Rodrick stared the girl whose breath he could literally feel.

"Well?" Daphne crossed her arms as she moved her head back. A moment later and she just sighed and turned away.

Rodrick grabbed her into hug from behind.

"Thanks for worrying," He whispered before pulling away.

Daphne stood still for a few seconds before she moved towards her sister.

Astoria dropped her ice cream cone.

'Where did she get that?' Why do random things keep appearing?'

...

The three found a bench to relax into, Astoria currently had her head on Daphne's lap napping. Rodrick was explaining his plans for the summer. He already mentioned, in the letter to Cyrus, that he was hoping to buy a place for himself to live in.

"Devon?" she questioned, slightly annoyed. "That's quite far from us you know."

Rodrick raised an eyebrow at her before he told he intended to have a floor set up.

"That's quite expensive you know," she stated worried.

"Which is why I want a cheap place, Rodrick replied.

Daphne lowered her gaze slightly before she told him her parents would be okay with him living with them.

Rodrick raised an eyebrow, stating that she was the one who was ok with it, not her parents exactly.

Daphne let out a disappointed sigh; there was some truth to it.

Rodrick patted her shoulder, he smiled at her and told her it would be a while before everything was ready, he'd need a place to stay until then. The girl brightened up after that.

...

Rodrick was officially made a ward of the Greengrass family. He turned and noticed the missing Malfoy.

The man had presumably left as soon as all the files were given over. He looked around the four people surrounding him before he sighed. He smiled his thanks to the parents, at which he received a hug from Roxanne, stunning him quickly.

"I am so sorry you had to endure Malfoy Manor a second time," she mocked, eliciting laughter out of Cyrus. Astoria woke up at that moment and demanded more sweets.

Looks like they were going to Diagon alley.

...

The trip through Diagon Alley was quite successful, though there had been some strange occurrences. Rodrick had managed to go to the goblin bank to take out some galleons, once again Cyrus and his family were kind enough to let him do it on his own, although Astoria demanded ice cream in return. Daphne was annoyed with him...

He wasn't sure what he did this time.

The first thing happened inside the bank; he found a familiar looking blonde girl with her father there, Rodrick had been confused with what the man was doing until his daughter saw him. She came up to him quickly and explained their theory on the goblins plan to take over Britain by stopping wizards from using their gold. Her father was currently trying to interview one.

Rodrick stared at the girl before he decided to play along and joked that goblins didn't have control of muggle money and so wouldn't be able to do it that easily.

The girl didn't take it as a joke; her eyes widened before she ran off to her father and explained what he'd said. Rodrick was staring as the two unique strangers, left the bank in a hurry. The girl in question was hopping from one foot to the other.

When he spoke to Griphook again, he found out this was a common occurrence from the two Lovegood's.

The second thing was the fact that, according to Griphook, the adult Lovegood had a certain necklace that looked like it belonged to Gellert Grindelwald, it was a circular frame that had a triangle linked inside with what looked like a stick going down the middle.

Rodrick was quite surprised, to say the least, he questioned if anyone was let into his vault.

"You really think if it had been from your vault, Mr. Lovegood would currently be alive right now? Although there was a bit magic on that necklace." The warning had only intrigued the boy even more. 'Perhaps a visit to them might be interesting.' Thought Rodrick.

Rodrick left the bank with a large bag of Galleons. The Greengrass adults had stared at him with a bemused look, Astoria thought the bag was filled with sweets, she was quite disappointed to find gold instead.

Daphne shook her head before asking him if he had a shrinking pouch, he shook his head and stated he planned to spend all of it by the end of the day.

Roxanne had a stern look on her face before she told him to be careful with his spending.

Rodrick stated all of it was from his trust vault and so it wouldn't affect much of his family vault. The unspoken message did not seem to mollify the mother. There was no one else who would be using the family vault after all. She wanted to argue a little more on that before she felt Cyrus' hand on her shoulder.

"Let the boy enjoy himself, he only recently received access to the vault," the man had whispered to his wife. The woman had softened at that, she still warned Rodrick to be careful to which he simply grinned.

Rodrick had asked Cyrus if he could help him with finding a house in Devon as he had no experience on the matter.

Although slightly surprised at the boys chosen location, he agreed none the less.

Roxanne had a glare on her face at her husband's lack of thought, 'How could he let a child live on his own!?' She quickly warned Rodrick that he was by no means living at the place until he reached adult age.

Daphne laughed at the boy's face when he heard that. Rodrick was both surprised and put out, he wanted to argue but the look on Roxanne's face may have suggested the idea to be ludicrous, instead, he asked if he could spend some time there in the summer to at least make it livable. The woman agreed reluctantly. Surprisingly it was Astoria who spoke next.

This was the third strange occurrence, Astoria hadn't spoken about sweets for once.

"Rodrick you don't have a place yet, so you don't need to leave this summer."

Everyone eyes swept to the girl at this before Rodrick tried and failed to glare at the girl, all he got out of her was a question on why his face looked funny.

...

They made their way through Diagon Alley, stopping here and there to browse certain shops, eventually making it to the one Rodrick was looking for.

Daphne's eyes widened in shock when she recognized the shop he went in, 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' When she went inside, she found him browsing through brooms.

Red alert.

She quickly turned back to her parents before she questioned them on whether they picked up the right boy at the ministry. The adult's only stared at her confused. Daphne made her way over to Rodrick before asking him if his head was okay.

"Relax, I am not here browsing for myself," Replied Rodrick.

Daphne deflated slightly before asking what he was looking for.

"I am looking for the broom on display," Rodrick answered, his finger pointed to the Nimbus 2001 shown by the window.

Roxanne had a frown on her face but obliged to her husband's advice; she swept her eyes over looking for her youngest and went to make sure nothing happened.

Another voice was heard behind Rodrick.

"Those brooms don't come out 'til next month," Rodrick turned and found a middle aged wizard staring back down at him.

Rodrick sighed slightly before muttering about someone's birthday coming up.

Daphne's eyes snapped to him before she realized who he was buying it for, she tried to tell him it wasn't necessary but Rodrick brushed her off quickly, "It'll be several years worth of gifts in one, besides she might let me off of watching Quidditch," he spoke with a small smile.

Rodrick lowered his head slightly before he said he'll just have to settle for the 2000 one. Daphne raised an eyebrow at the idea of the broom not been good enough; she was about to speak before she realized the boy literally had no knowledge on brooms.

When the shopkeeper, however, heard the boy was about to settle for a lower priced broom he quickly changed his tone and said Rodrick could have the one at the window, he wasn't one to lose business so easily.

Rodrick raised his head with a grateful smile before he agreed to pay immediately. Daphne facepalmed herself at this but before she could protest, Rodrick immediately warned her that she'd have to explain to Tracey why she wasn't receiving a good broom for her birthday. The girl settled for a huff instead.

Cyrus eyed the purchase with amusement, it reminded him of himself as a boy, Roxanne had been about to pay for it herself before Rodrick quickly put his bag down. The woman quickly turned to her husband pouting before she saw the look on his face and gave up on trying to help the boy control himself.

"Look on the bright side, if his trust vault finishes up you can help him as much you want then," spoke the Greengrass patriarch barely able to suppress his laughter at his wife's face.

"I am trying to help him avoid that," Roxanne spoke trying to hide a smile.

Rodrick took the covered broom before he shrunk it down and pocketed it inside his robe, the others eyed him curiously at this.

"I did that to my trunk as well," Rodrick spoke before taking out a miniature sized trunk into his hand.

"Of course you did." Daphne replied, sarcasm lacing her words.

The words seemed to relax the adults; they'd been worried his things were still in Malfoy Manor.

...

The group returned to the Manor after having their dinner in a restaurant in Diagon Alley. Rodrick had a smile on his face when he came in through the fireplace; the place looked just as welcoming as the first time. Daphne pulled him along this time telling him she wanted to show him something.

"I am glad to see your not mad at me anymore."

"I am, keep an eye out," she replied threateningly before a smile took over.

The troll came to mind before he quickly shook his head.

Rodrick followed her up. She took him back to the room he'd used in Christmas. He eyed her curiously. There was a look of amusement on the girls face before she opened the door and let him through.

Rodrick inwardly swore when he saw the Quidditch themed bedroom, there were pictures of flying wizards everywhere, the shelves had fake bludgers and golden snitches on them, even his wardrobe was covered in some Quidditch team or another's wallpaper. A horrified Rodrick turned back to a smirking Daphne.

"That was for the letter you sent me," she spoke, her grin growing more and more.

...

It had been two weeks since Rodrick had officially become a ward to the Greengrass family. He was currently in a house he had never seen before, Davis Estate.

He and Daphne had floo'd over to Tracey's home for her birthday, Blaise had arrived 15 minutes earlier than them. The house surprisingly looked modern, If it weren't for the various magical enchantments cleaning around the house as well as magical artefact, Rodrick would've sworn it was a muggle home. There was even a TV set in the living room.

They were welcomed into the house by the witch in the family, her husband, a muggleborn, was currently at work.

He was wearing a white shirt with the words 'Powerful Delinquent' written in black on it, Roxanne had laughed when he'd bought the shirt at the joke shop, followed with black trousers. Daphne was wearing a long black and green dress.

Tracey had stared towards the direction of the sudden crack before she saw her best friend come out of the fireplace, she promptly got up from her card game with Blaise causing the boy to glare and ran to hug the girl. Rodrick showed up soon after, although it seemed he had slightly more trouble with the travel, for a split second a despaired look passed over him as he stared ahead.

Surprisingly the boy came over and hugged her, she returned it quickly enough. It's not a surprise if he did it himself. With how often Daphne seemed to do it... He really didn't need to suddenly point his wand at the girl on her birthday.

Said girl was wearing a white shirt with a thin red open jacket covering it, as well as white trousers.

Blaise wore a black suit.

He wore a suit.

A suit.

Not yet. Not yet.

Rodrick quickly shook hands with Blaise before he stared at the cards on the floor and smirked when he realized the boy was losing, a glare from Blaise kept him quiet.

"So, when's your marriage?" Rodrick questioned Blaise.

Well, he tried.

"Shut up..." scoffed the boy, it seemed Tracey had already made fun of his attire earlier.

That didn't stop Daphne from having her go though.

The four students settled into the kitchen where Mrs. Davis brought a birthday cake for them to all enjoy. The woman quickly gave a kiss to Tracey before she left through the fireplace, to work presumably.

"You seriously burnt down your orphanage?" questioned Blaise in mock shock. They'd started talking about Rodrick's summer adventure as soon as Mrs. Davis had left.

"No! I found it like that!" Remarked Rodrick for the hundredth time.

Blaise had nodded his head before he winked at the boy to tell him he 'understood.'

Rodrick shook his head in annoyance; the boy refused to believe him.

"Stop torturing him, Blaise!" spoke up Daphne, a smile lighting up her face. "He clearly ordered someone to burn it down for him."

Rodrick stared at the girl; betrayal showed on his face.

Tracey gave him a reassuring smile before stating "It's ok we won't judge you for it."

Well that was a relief. Wait she was being sarcastic...

Rodrick lowered his head onto the table, causing the others to start laughing.

After the cake, the four moved to the living room where they proceeded to play a game of exploding snap, or as Rodrick would call it later 'burn Rodrick's hands,' it seemed they all unanimously decided to get him for something.

Rodrick glared towards Daphne who had the decency to look slightly ashamed; her grin stayed in place. 'She definitely planned this,' Thought an irritated Grindelwald.

After one too many explosions Rodrick promptly dropped the cards and got up in a huff, the others eyed him with amusement before Tracey decided enough was done to the poor boy. Rodrick eyed her wondering whether to give her the gift or not; she had as much fun as the rest.

"You're all horrible you know that,"

"You have a fantastic choice in friends then," replied a bemused Daphne.

Rodrick rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Look on the bright side..." Blaise started,

Rodrick stared at him expecting an answer.

"Well? what is it?" He questioned.

The boy shrugged, "I can't find it, I am telling you to try."

Rodrick sat down in a huff, his eyes closed; he refused to look at the amused expressions.

Later on, he would ask when Daphne would stop her little vengeance run, her reply only made him feel worse, "On your birthday!" the cheerful smile on her face only made it harder to get angry at her, and she knew it.

Soon enough came the time to hand out gifts. Tracey looked like she had already opened her other gifts leaving only the trio's left.

Daphne was the first to give the girl a square box. The red heads eye's lit up slightly as she received it.

"What is it?" she asked.

Blaise had raised an eyebrow before he quirked "You're meant to find out."

Tracey had rolled her eyes before she started tearing open the box. Inside it was a long silky black cloak with a green snake etched into the middle. Tracey's eyes widened before she thanked the girl and brought her into a hug.

Blaise shockingly just dropped a letter with several Galleons in it. Tracey eyed it, unsure of what to think of the gesture. Daphne glared at the boy's lack of tact.

"That's... unexpected," finally decided Tracey.

Rodrick scoffed, that was hardly the word to use. He was glad he didn't try it.

Blaise started laughing before he took the letter back and gave the girl a wrapped up present. A smile quickly appeared on the girl's face before she opened the gift immediately.

Oh, it was a joke... He was really glad he didn't do it.

It was a pair of Quidditch gloves, and a helmet inside, the smile on the girl's face grew even more at this.

"Thank you!" she proclaimed eyeing the Quidditch gear before she added on. "I just need to buy upgrade from a training broom now," with a small chuckle. Rodrick rolled his eyes at the look he received from Daphne.

"About that..." Rodrick started, earning the girls attention, he quickly put his gift on the floor before he took his wand out and unshrunk it.

Tracey eyed it curiously before she moved to open it, Blaise looked slightly intrigued himself. A small gasp was heard, and Rodrick's face broke into a smile as he saw the shocked look on the girls face. 'I so win,'

"T-This i-is a n-nim" She stuttered stopping herself, even Blaise looked speechless before he turned to Rodrick with a frown.

"You sent me a book for my birthday and one for Christmas, a book." spoke the annoyed boy.

"Tracey isn't struggling in History, besides you didn't give me anything for mine," Rodrick remarked with a twinkle in his eye. Blaise looked away before he muttered something incoherent, the words 'didn't know' were heard.

Daphne was helping the girl take the broom out of its packaging, a cheerful smile on her face.

Tracey stared at the broom in awe before she looked back at the boy.

"I-I can't accept this! This is-" she started, Daphne had a small frown on her face at this.

Rodrick looked amused before he raised an eyebrow and asked if she expected him to ride it instead.

"This isn't even out yet... How did you?" she once again asked.

"Magic," Rodrick replied, earning a scoff from the people around him. "Anyway consider it a gift for the next six years, I also want freedom from attending any Quidditch matches unless you're in them." 'Probably should have left out the second part...'

Tracey stared at him, still unsure. "Even then... This is too much," she finally said.

"Take it, or I Imperius you to," Rodrick threatened mockingly, earning a chuckle out of Daphne, Blaise looked like the thought was practical.

"Just accept it, he's pretty stubborn."

Tracey still looked unsure but got up and gave Rodrick a hug and thanking him.

'Don't reach for your wand, don't reach for your wand...'

Daphne just shook her head, still smiling. Blaise was internally sulking.

The group much to Rodrick's chagrin spent the rest of the day playing Quidditch 2 on 2 in the backyard, he'd used a spell to create three light-made hoops in the air on each side to use as goals, Daphne had brought with her three shrunk brooms from her house for the games.

Tracey eyed her suspiciously when she noticed the number of brooms. Due to her having the fastest broom and best skill out of the lot of them she was stuck with Rodrick on her team.

You could call it a 2 on 1 at that point. Rodrick barely managed to stay in the air; he had almost fallen off a dozen times. At one point the pretend Quaffle he'd transfigured for the game had almost knocked him to the ground, but he wound up falling onto Tracey's broom, he latched onto her for dear life after that, as she set him on the ground.

It took him a few moments to understand what had just occurred before he promptly facepalmed himself.

His grandfather was teaching him how to fly, or at least how to avoid falling to his death one way or another.

Seriously, why hadn't he taught him that yet?

Much to everyone's amusement she wound up having an easier time playing the game against the other two on her own. Rodrick was just happy to be off the broom.

...

They said their goodbyes to the girl, Tracey hugged Daphne and thanked Rodrick again for the gift, Rodrick was disappointed she didn't promise to give him free leave of any future Quidditch games.

When he appeared inside the manor, he found three figures waiting for him. Daphne followed him soon after and her eyes widened at the people staring at them. Roxanne, Cyrus and to their surprise, Albus Dumbledore.

"Hello Rodrick," The old wizard spoke first, "I was hoping we could have a little chat," there was a twinkle in the man's eyes.

Rodrick inwardly swore. His grandfather had warned him about the old man's twinkly eyes.