Ep. 18

"What do you think of him?" I asked my friends when we returned to our compartment.

"How should I put it… He seems too weak to have defeated a Dark Lord. I'm not an expert, but his health seemed abysmal. And he didn't even know about the basics of wizard society. Even I had some knowledge since I read the books." said Christian

"Exactly, Chris. He should be the heir to the Potter family, but he seemed just another clueless Muggle-born… I feel like I've been lied to all this time." said Katrina

Silvia tugged at my suit. "Az, what do you think of his health condition? You made medicines, right?"

"Hm… He's too thin, his posture is defensive, there were still the marks left by bruises on his skin… I think he's been in an abusive household. When we get to Hogwarts, I will take a quick trip to his Common Room and cast a few healing spells on him. I can try out a few new spells to heal both his body and mind, or we can leave it to time." Silvia nodded, then we switched to more lighthearted topics, like who would win in a fight between Snape and McGonagall, or Ron and Harry, and so on. The general consensus was that either Ron would suffer a rebound from a spell or he would attack physically and win.

When we arrived at Hogwarts, it was raining. Since I decided to head directly to the castle without waiting for the carriages, I used a weather modification spell to stop the rain. I then bade farewell to my friends and transformed into a wolf. I ran all the way to the castle while casting some reinforcement magic on myself, so I was fast as fuck. I arrived to see McGonagall waiting for the students. She seemed giddy about Potter's arrival.

I returned to my human form and greeted her. "Hello there, Professor McGonagall! Mind if I wait here for the new students? There are a couple of prospective Slytherins I wish to monitor."

"Oh, Az, welcome back to Hogwarts. I don't see any problems, but keep it to nonviolent methods and let's not traumatize any first years. Ah, congratulations on obtaining two 'Order of Merlin' awards."

"Thank you, they are my pride and joy. I will certainly keep my methods in check." Mm, yes, McG knows perfectly well that I am the order in Slytherin, so she lets me have free reign for the most part. Even Snape just accepted it after he tried capturing me with a series of spells and I wasn't even affected. He was very aggressive. but stopped soon after. He mainly ignores me these days.

I took out my blood-shake and started sipping on it. Wouldn't want to just use Malfoy as a blood bag now, would we? I changed my mixture and it now had Divine Spirit essence, Heroic Spirit essence, 1-UP mushroom essence, Sphinx blood, Doppelganger blood, Esper blood, Magus blood, Demon Boar blood, True Ancestor blood, and God blood, again. I added Sphinx and Doppelganger blood to get enhanced mental capabilities, splitting or morphing abilities, and possibly a parallel processing or multiple thoughts traits. The Esper blood was totally a test to see if I could gain some particular abilities to add to my repertoire. The Magus blood was totally to see if I could gain bloodline-specific things like magical crests, the Demon Boar blood was just to see what I could get from another mythological creature, and the True Ancestor blood was to, hopefully, make my Vampire bloodline even more pure. Finally, God blood for an infusion of magic. This should work wonders on me.

After almost half an hour of wait, the first years arrived following Hagrid.

"First years, Professor McGonagall! Oh, Az! Didn't see ya there!"

"Hey, Hagrid! Everything's fine?"

"Perfect! But I still couldn't get my hands on a Dragon egg, what a shame…"

"Those are very prohibited, but also very fun. Maybe you can try to adopt one from a reserve?" his eyes shined for a second, I shit you not.

"Ahem! Might I suggest that you two continue your conversation at another date? Welcome to Hogwarts, I am the Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall. Follow me inside. Before you ask, this is an upperclassman, Azagareth Maleficarum. He is currently also the best student in practical and theoretical aspects of magic." said McG. She turned around and entered the castle. I saw how some kids looked at me in awe, including a certain bush.

McGonagall led the students to a waiting hall like she did with my class three years ago.

"Wait here until you are called. Since you have the rare opportunity to talk with an upperclassman, you are free to ask Mr. Maleficarum some questions. I am sure that he will answer to the best of his ability." she said, then went to prepare for the Sorting Ceremony.

I was immediately bombarded by stupid questions, but I kept a cool façade and answered the firsties gently. There were a few pure-blood heirs that tried to get in my good books, but I just acted kind. I made sure to remember their names. I will check their families for any ties to less-than-reputable figures, and possibly fuck with them as I plan to do with the Death Eaters. What? I dislike ass-kissers! What the hell do they teach these kids?

Soon enough, I hear Malfoy.

"It's true then. What they're saying on the train: Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Ooh, I am so going to make his life a living hell if he doesn't change. Ah, there was a wave of murmurs due to the name-dropping. "This is Crabbe and Goyle." He said, motioning towards his two lackeys. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron tried, and failed, to hold in his laughter, which pissed little Draco off.

"Think my name's funny, do you? There's no need to ask yours: red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley." Draco then turned to Harry. "You will soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't wanna go making friends with the wrong sort."

Aand, that's my cue. I put my hand on his shoulders and gave him the creepy kind of massage that just screams: 'You fucked up.'

"Right, let's end it here. Look, Draco, you will certainly be sorted into Slytherin, so let's establish some ground rules. You might have been raised as the Prince of Slytherin, but I am the King. Act out of line, and I'll have you 'executed'. Am I clear?" I said with venom in my voice (figuratively). The boy stiffly nodded and started shivering. "Good. Now, everyone. I want to make it clear that houses are just an old tradition. Getting sorted into one house rather than another doesn't change who you are! A nice, gentle kid could be sorted in Slytherin or Gryffindor instead of Hufflepuff, but that doesn't mean that he or she changes! You will soon learn that you can make friends with anyone as long as your attitude is right! Now, Professor McGonagall should be right behind me, so get ready for the Sorting!"

As I expected, McG was right behind me and was subtly smiling.

"Indeed I am here. As Mr. Maleficarum said, you should all get ready for the ceremony and follow me! Thank you, Az, you can head to your table." I nodded and apparated to the Slytherin table. I could see the vague hope in the eyes of the seventh years shattering. Did they miss me that much? I am moved! I will make sure to pay extra special attention to them… Unfortunately I could smell Quirrelmort's garlic from here.

The students soon entered the Great Hall, Dumbles gave his little speech about dying a painful death if the students ventured into the third floor corridor, and the Sorting started. Ron and Hermione ended up in Gryffindor as expected. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were sorted into my playground as they should.

Everything was fine until Harry's turn: "Slytherin!"

I give up! Lady Death or whoever is affecting this Sorting, just stop! It's fucking confusing! Uuugh… Great, no. This could actually be entertaining. I mean, either nothing changes and the golden trio stays together thanks to my pep talk from before, or canon is fucked. No, I think that he and Hermione will stay friends, so the only variable is Ron. He didn't add much to the trio, so I guess that he can easily be replaced by any kid good enough in wizard chess. Greengrass is a good option for that. She was among those that tried to curry favor while waiting for McGonagall. Well, this at least gets rid of the need to sneak into another Common Room to heal the kid.

Dinner continued without too many interruptions. Dumbledore often glanced at the Slytherin table, alternating between me and Harry. The boy was kinda awkward at first, and still is, but he's been trying to be open and talk with his fellow first years, except for Draco.

Once dinner finished, I quickly apparated to claim my room, then waited in the Common Room for the first years. I also used my Prediction Ability to check on the firsties. They were all looking around in awe, like all their predecessors, and were muttering among themselves about what to expect of the Common Room. Harry was the most awkward one and actually stumbled a little due to his robes.

Soon enough, the enchanted wall opened up and a mass of brats flooded into the Common Room. I focused on the Prefect's words

"Right… Here we are, the Slytherin Common Room. We are beneath the lake, so the lighting is green, but don't worry: we're absolutely safe. Now, each of you has a single room. It's a first-come-first-served affair, so I would advise you to be quick with your choice. The first years have their rooms here, on this floor, while the older students have rooms deeper underground. Breakfast is at 7:30 in the Great Hall, where you will also be given your schedules. Usually, Slytherins are paired with either the Gryffindors or the Ravenclaws, but it will all depend on the Professors. Now, go and choose your rooms."

"Yeah, no. Harry needs to stay here for a moment." I said from the couch. They seriously didn't notice my handsome figure… Poor Harry was frozen in fear while Draco was snickering at his 'misfortune'. Within a couple of minutes, the students all chose their rooms and me and Harry were the last remaining in the Common Room.

"Harry, sit down. Want some hot chocolate or tea? The house elves are all very glad to satisfy your needs." he took his place on an armchair opposite the couch I was sitting on.

"Uhm, no, thank you. I'm fine as is… Why did you ask me to stay?"

"Nothing much. Just that my friend was worried for your health, so I will be healing you. Just a couple of spells and you are free to go."

"My… Health?"

"Did you not notice that you were basically starved? And much thinner than the other kids? And don't get me started on your bones and bruises."

He looked down. "How did you notice?"

"I'm a Vampire, Harry, and a pretty decent healer. Of course I can notice the abnormalities in your body. I can even tell you that you are lacking in calcium and iron, among several other things." I said while tapping my fangs. Well, I lied, but it could actually be true. If I sniffed him, I'd be able to tell if his blood was lacking something and I am an excellent healer at this point.

I raised my hand and casted a few healing spells. They were mainly to regulate his metabolism and his natural healing rate, along with a numbing spell and a couple of bone-correcting spells. I also casted one spell to heal any trauma he might have had. Now, he just needs to eat a lot, sleep a lot, and have fun.

"There, I'm done. You can go to sleep. The spells will fix you up during the night. Tomorrow, you might feel extremely hungry, but that's normal. Good night, Harry. Oh, welcome to the wizarding world."