Second year of study

The rest of the company spent the rest of the days in the manor, working on self-improvement. Darius continued to be the teacher for Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Severus. Alex joined them occasionally, and Lucius helped Andromeda with first-year material. Alexandros was mostly in the library and his office, attending to the affairs of the family. By the thirty-first of July, everyone was celebrating Lord Peverell's birthday in friendship. For Alex's birthday, everyone, including Darius, went to Slanted Lane, where they had a good time.

On the first of September, Alex, Bellatrix, Lucius, and Andromeda gathered on Platform 9¾. Darius, Narcissa, Severus, Andromeda's parents, and Lord Malfoy came to see them off.

- Good luck my lord," Darius wished them good luck, and the latter nodded in return. Narcissa ignored the propriety and hugged her fiancé, for which she received approval from Darius and indignation from her parents. Alex himself was surprised by such a display of feelings from the usually reserved Narcissa, but he responded to the hug. 

- Good luck son," Lord Malfoy said in his reserved manner, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. Lucius nodded just as silently in response. The Blacks' farewell was silent. Andromeda's father dryly wished her good luck, and her mother put her arm around her daughter's shoulders.

- Study diligently," Severus told his older brother in an acerbic voice.

- Those are my words," Peverell said a little indignantly.

When the farewell was over, our company boarded the train and took one of the empty compartments. Alex, as usual, took a seat by the window and began to read a book. Next to him was Bellatrix, who also pulled out a book. Andromeda sat across from Peverell, with Malfoy next to her. The girl pulled out a potions book and began to ask Lucius something and he answered her. The next ten minutes passed quietly, and then there was a knock on the compartment door.

- Come in," Alex tossed, towards the door.

- Not Lestrange," Bellatrix muttered. Luckily for her, Mark Greengrass was standing on the doorstep.

- You won't mind if I join you, the other compartments are occupied," Greengrass asked.

- Of course not, come in," Malfoy replied.

- Thank you," Mark then entered the compartment and sat down next to Bellatrix.

- What's up? Ready to study? - Alex asked, looking at the freshman.

- I don't know. I think I am. I'm the heir of the family, so I've been taught a lot of things since I was little, - answered Greengrass.

- And what faculty are you thinking of getting into? - Malfoy asked.

- Slytherin or Cogtevran, I think. All the Greengrasses went to one of those two faculties, so I'm thinking one of them," Mark said thoughtfully. When Bellatrix heard about the distribution of faculties, she immediately looked at her fiancé. He recognized this look, and therefore refused, shaking his head.

- Well, come on? - Bella asked, looking at her future husband.

- No," he replied.

- What do you mean? - Andromeda asked, looking at the couple. Bellatrix immediately told how she had enriched herself by a hundred galleons at the beginning of the year. After which everyone laughed, even the cold-blooded Malfoy. Especially after learning how Alex had won several times in a row and managed to lose everything.

- Okay, but only twice, no more," Alex said, rolling his eyes.

- And who are we going to bet on? - Bellatrix asked.

- I don't know, you wanted to, so you suggest, - returned to the book, replied Peverell, in response Bellatrix thought about it, and the others watched them with interest. The girl didn't think for long and then looked at the freshmen with a sly look.

- 'Let's go for Andromeda and Mark,' the girl suggested, and the boy, after thinking, agreed. - Andromeda first.

- Half a hundred for Slytherin," Alex said without taking his eyes off the book.

- Also half a hundred for Cogtevran, - then looked at Andromeda and said. - Don't let me down sis," and the shocked 'sis' nodded.

- Half a hundred for Cogtevran," Bellatrix continued, looking at Mark.

- That you want to send all potential Slytherins to Cogtevran," Alex said in a suspicious voice, looking away from his book.

- Is that weird?" the girl wondered.

- A little, I thought that you didn't like other faculties very much, - Bella smiled and answered.

- I can't stand only vultures. Slytherin has the most normal relationship with Cogtevran, and there are quite a few purebloods there. We hate Gryffindors, and we don't care about Puffendui," Alex only snorted at that.

- Right, half a hundred for Slytherin," Peverell said and went back to his book, everyone else following suit. Everything was quiet, and by evening the train reached Hogsmeade. When Alex and the others got down from the train, they saw Hagrid with a lantern.

- Freshers all to me, come on guys, don't be shy, - shouted the half-giant on the whole platform.

- Who's that? - Lucius asked surprised.

- The half-giant," Alex answered.

- I'll meet you in the Great Hall," the sophomores went to the carriages and the freshmen to the half-giant. The three of us reached Hogwarts rather quickly, and then went straight to the Great Hall. All the students and teachers were already gathered in the Great Hall, except for McGonagall.

Taking a seat at the Slytherin table, Alex began to look around, while Lucius and Bellatrix, as usual, sat on both sides and began to greet their acquaintances. At that moment, McGonagall ushered the freshmen into the great hall. All the freshmen looked around in amazement, especially the enchanted ceiling and the faculty tables caught their attention. Looking closely, Peverell saw Mark and Andromeda among them.

- The one whose name I call will come forward, and I will place the allotment hat on his head, and it will assign you to a faculty," McGonagall pulled out a scroll and the allotment began. This year there were no students who stood out in particular. Most of the students went to Gryffindor and Pufendui as expected.

- Andromeda Black," the Dean of Gryffindor called out to the next student. Andromeda, as befitted an aristocrat, stepped out of the crowd with a cold, emotionless face, approached the professor, and the latter placed a hat on her head.

- 'Slytherin,' the hat shouted across the room, Alex smiled contentedly while Bellatrix was both pleased and displeased. Meanwhile, the middle one of the Black sisters walked towards the Slytherin table without a change in her face and sat down next to Bellatrix.

- Ted Tonks," McGonagall continued.

- "Tonks," Alex's mind slipped into her head. The one in the future was Andromeda's husband and Nymphadora's father. As far as Alex remembered, Andromeda in the future had wanted to marry Montague, and the latter, because of her reluctance, had run off with a muggle-born. Because of that, she was burned from the tapestry and banished from the family. 

- Gryffindor," the hat determined, and Tonks took one last glance at the Slytherin table and headed for the Gryffindor table.

- Molly Pruett," Minerva called out. A full-figured, red-haired girl was walking towards the hat.

- 'Pruett,' Alex muttered thoughtfully. Even from his life as Harry Potter, he knew very little about the matriarch of the Weasley family, he thought that Molly was a half-breed, but she turned out to be a pureblood.

- Is something wrong? - Lucius asked, looking at Peverell.

- Nothing, I was just thinking," Alex replied.

- What about? - Bellatrix asked suspiciously.

- About the Pruetts," Peverell answered honestly.

- What about them? - wondered Andromeda, who had heard the whole conversation.

- They were at the Greengrasses' feast, but I didn't see this one," Peverell said, waving his hand in an obscure direction.

- She wasn't there, for Lord and Lady Pruett didn't bring any of their children. As far as I know, this Pruett has two brothers, one of whom is in her seventh year at Gryffindor and the older one graduated last year," Malfoy replied, looking at Molly with an unkind look.

- Is something wrong? - Alex asked Malfoy.

- No, it's just that my father was saying that it seems that the Pruetts have become supportive of Dumbledore. At the last Wizengamot meeting, Dumbledore tried to push through some Muggle holidays and Lord Pruett supported him," Peverell snorted at that.

- The Pruetts too? - Bella wondered.

- Yes," Malfoy replied in a grim voice. - Now the Pruettes, add to them the Potters, the Longbottoms, the Weasley blood traitors, and the Brustwells from the ancient bloodlines and about ten more of the younger purebloods. It felt like Dumbledore was slowly gathering a party under his wing.

- It's too early to think about politics, let's have a look at the distribution," Peverell interrupted Lucius. Oddly enough, everyone agreed.

- Gryffindor," the hat decided, and a pleased Molly went to the red and gold faculty table.

- Arthur Weasley," Minerva said, looking at the scroll. In response, a full, red-haired boy in a slightly old-fashioned robe emerged from the crowd of first-years.

- As ordered, now a blood traitor as well," the venom in Malfoy's voice could have poisoned the whole of Hogwarts.

- What made this one stand out? - Peverell asked, though he had a rough guess.

- Well, besides being a blood traitor, he's also got a big Muggle crush," Bella replied with a shrug.

- Gryffindor," the hat determined, and the red and gold table erupted in applause.

- Who would doubt it," Malfoy hissed rather than mouthed. Alex looked at his friend apprehensively and silently switched places with Andromeda. As soon as the middle one of the Black sisters sat down next to Malfoy, the latter's bad mood was blown away like a wind.

- Dolores Umbridge," and those two words made Alex frown, and he was getting gloomier by the second, but in the meantime, a girl of unpleasant appearance, who looked like a toad, sat down on the chair. To everyone's surprise, she was wearing a pink skirt with a pink jumper under her robes. It made even McGonagall cringe. Barely had the hat touched her head when she yelled out:

- Slytherin," the Slytherin table didn't clap at this, though it did greet with applause everyone who was assigned to the snake faculty. Umbridge, meanwhile, made her way to the Slytherin table with a nasty smile. After looking around, she didn't sit down with the rest of the first-years but instead headed purposefully towards an empty seat near Peverell and Malfoy.

- 'Oh shit,' a thought slipped through both of the sophomores' minds.

- Is there anything we can help you with? - Bellatrix asked in a cold voice, gripping her fiancé with a dead grip. To the latter's surprise, Andromeda did the same to Malfoy.

- I'd like to sit here," Umbridge replied.

- Alas, you can't," Alex replied pretending to be upset.

- Why not? - she said, surprised.

- All the first-years have to sit together so that the Heads will walk them to the drawing-room, - there was never such a rule, but Alex didn't want to sit with Umbridge.

- Go to the freshers, - and now Malfoy's voice was safe to freeze boiling water. After Umbridge went to the freshers the sophomores breathed a sigh of relief.

- I don't like her," Bella said to a relieved Bella.

- I agree with you," Alex said.

- Mark Greengrass," the Dean of Gryffindor said.

- Oh, finally," Bellatrix cheered.

- 'Cogtevran,' the hat announced, and Greengrass, to the noise of his new faculty, went to their table.

- Wow, so Mark's smart then? - Andromeda marvelled.

- 'Andromeda, no idiots are sitting here either. Besides, the faculty of Cogtevran does not mean knowledge, although it is welcome, but the ability to think. An unconventional mind, a versatile view of things, that's what distinguishes the students of Cogtevran, - Peverell enlightened the girl with a sigh. The distribution went on quietly. Gryffindor and Puffendoor were joined by six more, Cogtevran by four, and Slytherin by five. All the other first-years were ordinary and didn't stand out in any way, except for the last one. 

- Cornelius Fudge," McGonall read the name of the last student. Alex frowned again when he heard that name, and the hat, barely touching Fudge's head, immediately announced the faculty:

- Slytherin," a couple of claps followed. Peverell's face didn't change, but inwardly he twisted with disgust. Fudge, meanwhile, made his way towards the Slytherin table. As he approached, he looked around. Slytherin was the smallest of the four faculties, so there were plenty of empty seats. Cornelius decided to sit next to Peverell.

- Go to the freshers," Alex cut the freshman off in a harsh, gruff voice.

- Why? - he didn't understand.

- After dinner, the Heads will escort all the freshmen to the living room," Bellatrix explained.

- But she's sitting there," the freshman replied, pointing his finger at Andromeda.

- First of all, it's not her, it's Lady Black, secondly, you can't point your finger at a person and thirdly, she's my little sister," said the eldest of the Black sisters in a grim voice.

- And my future spouse," Malfoy shocked everyone.

- And we can just see her off," Alex finished for everyone, and Fudge, realizing that he wasn't welcome here, went to the end of the table where Umbridge was sitting.

- I don't like him," Andromeda said.

- No wonder. Ambitious, but weak, both physically and magically. Willing to suck up to anyone with power and influence. A wastrel himself who's good for nothing," Malfoy characterized him accurately.

- Is that true? - The whole group jumped on Malfoy.

- Yes, my father said he was going to negotiate with Lord Black to draw up a marriage contract between me and Andromeda," Malfoy said.

After the company had moved on from Lucius' news, the Headmaster gave another commencement speech and moved all the food from the kitchen. After finishing dinner, the tired students went to the faculty lounges, and Peverell and Bellatrix went to their rooms.