Chapter 19: Dark Arts!
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"I see your friends have abandoned you." Not a very sensitive way to say it, but Aries tended to be rather blunt.
Thomas winced and chose to chuck the next rock, rather than skip it.
"Yeah, they don't believe that I didn't put my name into the cup."
"And does everyone believe that?"
"I think so." Potter glanced up at the castle, and Aries could tell he was deep in thought.
"Let me give you a life lesson Potter," Aries began, waiting until Potter looked at him before continuing.
"Friends are nice, but at the end of the day all you have is yourself. If they don't believe your word, then they aren't good friends in any way. I saw that boy you were with, Weasley I think?"
"He looked at the cup like it was the answer to all his problems. And then dropped you in a second when he thought you robbed him of it. That's not the kind of person you want to be around. Make some new friends Potter, ones that believe you and value what you say."
"Forget these people, and when the first task comes, prove them wrong. Prepare yourself rather than sitting around moping, or this tournament will kill you." Aries wasn't sure why he had helped Potter, but at the time it seemed the right thing to do.
….
The second week of classes went by quickly and the First Task, set to take place on the first of November, was now only two weeks away.
He had found an abandoned classroom on the third floor that he used to practice some of his spells and his friends routinely joined him to throw out ideas of their own.
It was on the Tuesday in their third week, while Aries was making his way to Transfiguration, that he was at last confronted by Sirius Black.
His uncle had been floating around often, always seeming to be on the verge of saying something to him but deciding against it at the last second.
"Aries! Hold up!" The Black boy turned around with an expectant look on his face.
"Uncle Sirius," Aries almost drawled. "It's good to finally meet you."
"So, you do know me." That was a rather ridiculous statement considering the conversation he had had with Potter last week. "Where are you headed?"
"Transfiguration. I'm assuming you'd like to walk with me?"
"Yeah sure." He allowed Sirius to lead and to give him a moment to collect his thoughts.
It was obvious that his uncle was unsure of what exactly to say, but he waited patiently for him to decide.
"How are you finding Hogwarts?" Sirius asked at last.
"Warm, Durmstrang tends to be much colder than here." Aries noticed the way Sirius' face darkened at the mention of his school but chose to ignore it.
"Draco and his friends have been kind enough to welcome us with open arms."
"The Malfoy boy? Why are you hanging around with him?"
"He's been my friend since I was five years old, and considering my mother was a Malfoy I don't think I need much more of an explanation."
"His father was a Death Eater-"
"As was mine."
"And you're hanging around the people who followed the man that killed him! People who love the Dark Arts!" Aries rolled his eyes.
"I think you're forgetting that I go to a school that teaches the Dark Arts. And besides Regulus killed himself uncle."
"What?" Sirius asked incredulously, the last statement catching him off guard. It wasn't the truth per say, but it was from Aries' point of view.
"I do not blame the Dark Lord for killing my father." he answered statement only seemed to anger his uncle even more.
"Don't call him that! You sound like one of them! And how could you not blame him?!" Aries rolled his eyes and stopped to face the man.
"My father joined the Dark Lord willingly, and then betrayed him. If I had been in the Dark Lord's position I would have done the same. Betraying someone as powerful as him is not a good idea for staying alive." Anger rose up in Aries and he fought to control the desire to hex his only other family member.
"And what about you Sirius? How many Death Eaters have you killed? How many children have you left without a father? Is their hatred of you any less deserving because their fathers were not killed by a dark lord? No, Sirius, the Dark Lord is not to blame. If anyone is to blame it's you."
Sirius had paled considerably at that statement, and was backed against the wall, almost seeming to want to run away from Aries' upcoming accusations.
"My father came to you days before he was killed. It's in his journal he left with my mother. I don't know why he betrayed the Dark Lord, and why it was a big enough deal to be dealt with personally."
"All I do know is that he came to you for help and you turned your back on him. You turned your back on blood and family. If you're looking for someone to blame Sirius Black, maybe you should start with yourself."
Aries waited a few moments to see if Sirius would respond, but he seemed at a loss for words. With a shake of his head he left his uncle leaning against the stone wall.
He had hoped he might be able to connect with his uncle, and perhaps pull him away from Dumbledore's grasp to help rebuild the House of Black.
Aries did in a way blame Sirius for his father's death, but it wasn't like he was the one who cast the killing cure.
Part of him truly wanted to build a relationship with his uncle despite what he had done.
Unfortunately, Sirius was too busy being narrow minded, like many of the Light families that followed the Headmaster.
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