Perseus was currently sitting in his dorm, in his hand was a rock, a rather simple looking rock. Perseus then used his carving knife to carve some runes on the rock.
'αρχίζουν τυχαία ελεγχόμενη πτήση'
"looks fine " Perseus said out loud as he finished carving runes on the stone and then tapped the stone with his finger and felt a tiny amount of his magic leave his body, enough to charge the runes.
And just then the stone glowed bright blue for a moment , and then it started floating and hovered midair for another moment before it started flying around the room in a totally random pattern.
'This should do' Perseus thought as he raised his wand and fired a weak 'reducto' at the , now randomly flying stone, and missed slightly. He tried to find some kind of pattern in the flight of the stone, but there was none, it flew just like a snitch.
It took him ten minutes , but ultimately his spell hit the stone .
'A great idea for target practice' Perseus thought and then started carving runes on the rest of the stones and thought over the past few days and his classes.
One of the least interesting class was herbiology , he knew the study material by heart, and professor sprout seemed like a likable woman, but he just didn't have a green thumb .
Transfrugation and charms were boring as usual since he didn't have much to do in those lectures and so he would just read some advance books and a lot of time he would even flunk the class. At least Nicklaus was good at charms, not just good , the boy was exceptionally good at charms , while he didn't have as much knowledge of charms as Perseus did, he did have a knack for performing most of the charms on his first try. So he was not the only one who got bored in that class.
There wasn't much to learn from professor castle in DADA class, but professor castle has begun training him, Nymphadora and Charlie in dueling along with professor Flitwick and also shared his aurror experience . He would often compare Perseus's fighting style to Gellert Grindelwald as he was one of those who had faught against the dark forces of Grindelwald and has seen the former dark lord in action.
Which had shocked the trio at first , but the retired aurror then went on to explain that, despite being a dark wizard, Grindelwald was one of the best duelers in the world and the sheer raw power behind his spells was astounding plus he was known for his extensive knowledge in battle magiks , something that even Dumbeldore and you-know-who didn't posses and the only reason Albus Dumbeldore was able to defeat him was because he was a bit more skilled and creative.
Then there was potions, professor Snape has been acting a bit strange, not only towards him but in general. He was hardly seen anymore, not even during the meal times, the only time he could be found was during his lectures.
Perseus was now sure that Snape suspected something , that is if he didn't know the truth already and he feared it was only a matter of time before he would have the confrontation he had dreaded for a long time.
The class that Perseus enjoyed the most was History of Magic taught by Binns. He would usually spend the time in the class to sneak in his own books and have a quiet read. Perseus was just thankful that no one from his own house or the Gryffindors had spotted him or they might just feel the need to stick their noses in his business and stop his free study period.
Perseus remembered that he had also written a letter to his grandfather in that class and has to post it soon as he picked up the letter from his bedside table and surveyed it.
Dear grandfather
I hope you are doing well. Sorry for writing so late but I got caught up in a few things in the first week itself. I have been doing well so far due to your extensive theoretical coaching and great-aunt Cassiopeia's tutoring and thus The practical is almost as easy as breathing. To tell you the truth I feel a bit disappointed with the pace that we are going at. I have taken to studying advanced books in my free time. Oh, and I was sorted into slytherin , But I guess you already know that ( thanks for the window picture) and I have also met rokky.
I have made a few friends, or should I say acquaintances. One of them is Nicklaus mikaelson, he is an alright bloke, but he is a prodigy in charms. Then there is Helena Angelis, yes of the royal family of Olympia. The last one is Cedric Diggory though he is more Nicklaus's friend than mine. He is nice enough even though he is in Hufflepuff.
And now to more serious matter. I was selected by professor Flitwick, to be a part of a three member team that would represent Hogwarts in a dueling tournament at Mahoutokoro institute in japan , next year.
The other members of the team is , gues who, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda's daughter and also Charlie weasley , they are all right I guess. I get along well with Nymphadora, even though she is still furious that she has not been able to land a single spell on me till now.
So how is the sale of the Black screen coming along,? And what are you plans for Christmas ?
Yours affectionately
Perseus Black
Just then Nick entered his dorm and said
"hey buddy lets go, it's our first flying lesson"
'Ohh the flying lesson for the first year students was planned today, I'd totally forget' Perseus thought
Thinking about riding a broomstick brought forth a memory of Perseus's first flight on the broom, when he was 7 years old,and apparently his last, not because he was bad, no on the contrary he was extremely good.
Flying had given him a sense of joy that very few activities could but that joy had soon turned to tribulation when his grandfather had praised his skills on a broom and had accidently voiced that he thought that Perseus probably got his flying skills from James potter.
And that was the last time Perseus had touched a broom.
But he had decided that he won't let that trivial fact pull him down anymore , and he will give flying a chance again, and thus he immediately got up and changed into proper attire.
Perseus quietly followed Nicklaus towards the Hogwarts grounds to where the first year students would learn to fly a broomstick. Perseus saw to his annoyance that they were last two to arrive, if the annoyed stares of the first year of slytherins and Gryffindors were anything to go by.
On the ground stood two dozen evenly spaced school broomsticks separating the group of curious and eager students, and the flying instructor and Quidditch referee Madam Hooch. Madam Hooch stood with her arms crossed in her Quidditch gear staring them down with yellow, hawk like eyes.
"Well, now that everyone's here" she said, sending a scathing look at Perseus and Nicklaus "everyone stand by a broom – come on, hurry up!"
Everyone scurried over to a broom at her impatient tone and stood beside it waiting for further instructions. Perseus looked down at the broom he stood beside; it was old and rather weak looking with the twigs pointing out at odd angles.
"Now, I want you to place your hand over the broom" Madam Hooch yelled from the front of the group "and yell UP!" she demonstrated by doing it herself and having her broom jump into her hand.
Perseus did as he was told when they were instructed to begin. Just as he had expected, the broom jumped right into his hand instantly, however, not many shared his success. The only other people who seemed to get it on their first tries were the Weasley twins, angelica spinet , another girl in his year from Gryffindor . Nicklaus's broom wobbled for a bit before it simply rolled over – this of course, didn't sit well with the boy.
"Up…up…UP!" Nicklaus yelled, but to no avail, the boy then turned to look at Perseus in surprise when he saw the broom resting in his grip
"How did you do it Perseus? I've been yelling 'UP' forever…" Nicklaus began to question while walking over to Perseus, however, as soon as he mentioned the magic word, the broom shot up like a rocket and him on the forehead knocking him down.
After Nicklaus recovered, Madam Hooch instructed them on how to grip their brooms correctly and how to mount them without slipping off the end. Perseus, apparently, didn't need any aid with his grip as he had gotten it right instinctively – something that their instructor praised him on.
"Ok" Hooch began, interrupting the class "when I blow my whistle, I want you to kick off the ground – hard – and just hover a few feet off the ground before landing immediately" she instructed "Ok, one – two – three!" she blew her whistle and everyone rose of the ground a few feet, some more steady then others. Perseus just hovered there in midair for a few moments, enjoying the feel of floating on the piece of wood before looking around to see several students standing on the floor and standing as far away as possible from their brooms, probably scared from their first flying experience.
As the others adjusted to their brooms, Perseus got bored and was now doing somersaults on the broom like the brooms were going out of commission. Madam Hooch at first looked as if she was going to protest, then thought better of it and proceeded to guide the others. Except Perseus, the Weasley twins, Angelica Spinet and another girl from grifindor , and Angelina Johnson had shown talent for flying and Hooch advised them to try out for the team next year.
Albus Dumbledore was sitting in the staff room waiting for his teachers to arrive so they could start the half yearly staff meeting. He was wondering about Perseus Black who had arrived this year at Hogwarts and was excelling in all the subjects. Seeing his marks Albus couldn't help but draw comparison between him and another child who had attended Hogwarts fifty years ago and had broken all academic records. It seemed that Mr. Black was destined to break his records.
Dumbledore wasn't surprised by Perseus's skill with a wand and his ability to perform extremely well in any branch of magic . He was a Black, a family which was probably the only one that could actually back their claim of pureblood supremacy, as Blacks have in the past produced extremely powerfull and skilled wizards , to whom magic came naturally and they also had a distinct advantage of learning magic before Hogwarts , not caring about any ministry regulations. Some names came to his mind immediately
Sirius Black was an exceptionally skilled wizard , while not as knowledgeable as his other family members; which could be attributed to him being a Gryffindor and alienating himself from the family , but he was natural with a wand . And was perhaps one of the most powerful member of the order when it came to raw power.
Then came Cassiopeia Black, not much of a fighter, but regarded as one of the best researcher of the mysteries of magic, that even the department of mysteries had taken her help in the past. The girl had gotten her first mastery at the mere age of 19, considered as an ocean of knowledge in multiple fields of magic.
"She must have definitely tutored Perseus in runes and potions at least if Babbling's and Severus's claims are anything to go by. " Dumbledore thought and then he had reprimanded the potion master for asking a first year student such advance questions .
Then he thought of other Blacks who were exceptionally powerful, something very common in that family. for instance Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black; considered Voldermort's second in command and his most powerful follower. Her knowledge, power and skill only rivaled by her madness .
'Most people don't realize that she was a Black' Dumbledore thought as his mind drifted to the strongest Black member of this century.
Arcturus Black, the Third. And he knew if it weren't for some advantages he had over the Lord of Oceania, Arcturus Black could have been his equal . He had after all defeated the entire might of Oceania and conquered it . Regarded as one of the strongest wizards to come out of Europe and for good reason too, he was after all a direct descendant as well as an apprentice of Aristaeus the great, his own mentor .
Thinking of his mentor , he couldn't help but smile fondly . the ancient warrior had trained him and the training which in the end not only helped him in defeating Gellert but also to go toe to toe with Tom. He had turned his strength into his strongest weapon. He taught him how to incorporate his transfiguration skills into dueling in such a way that he could face anything and anyone .
Yet again he couldn't help but draw comparison between young Perseus and Tom, one that his mentor has proclaimed was his equal if not superior when it came to dueling.
But Perseus had an advantage over Tom. For Perseus belonged to an old , powerful, rich , pureblood house and the advantages that came with it, something that tom lacked. He knew that Arcturus had adopted the boy and has declared him the Black heir.
But for Perseus to be adopted into the Black family, he must have had some amount of 'BLACK' blood running through his veins.
'Maybe he is from a line of some distant squib' He thought . But since Arcturus himself had declared him the Black heir, Perseus's position and title cannot be challenged by anyone .he was the only hope the Black family had , and thus he wasn't surprised to realize that lord Arcturus Black and lady Cassiopeia must have trained him in the use of magic. He was broken out of his musings as the staff members started entering one after the other.
"Good Afternoon to you all, I hope you are all doing well", Albus started speaking but suddenly glared at Snape reprovingly who had snorted in amusement. Shaking his head he began again,
"Now that we are all gathered here, please hand in your reports on the students in your respective houses. We will look through them first and then discuss this year's batch of first years."
One by one each head of house gave the reports of the students. After spending an hour perusing them and suggesting several ideas for improving the recalcitrant students, he dismissed the reports and began, "Now about the first years, Minerva, would you like to begin?" Dumbledore inquired graciously.
Minerva nodded imperiously and began, "Thank you Albus. My first years have settled in quite well and they are all doing well in their studies though the Weasley twins have been a menace in and out of the house. They are rambunctious and don't have any interests besides pranking others in which they seem to excel at."
Albus nodded and chucked a bit at that. He then asked Filius about his charges who replied enthusiastically and with a bit of mischief , "All is well within my house as the students aren't typically the brawling type"
To which Minerva sent a playful glare towards the diminutive professor.
He then turned to Pomona and asked her, "And what about the Hufflepuffs, Pomona? I hope they are settling in well.
Sprout nodded and said, "On the first three nights, I had three homesick students. I took them to Poppy who gave them a calming drought and they have settled in quite well. I have also noticed Mr. Diggory of my house who had become close friends with Perseus Black and Nicklaus Mikaelson of Slytherin and Helena Angelis of Ravenclaw. I must say that I was very pleased with this display of inter- house cooperation.
'Aah yes, another prominent name, Angelis' Dumbeldore thought , He was of course surprised when Anabelle Angelis , had approached him regarding her daughters admission in Hogwarts.
Finally Albus turned to Severus inquiringly who began, "My first years have settled in .Though there are two students who are exceptional in that regard namely Mr. Black and Mr. Mikaelson. Mr. Black has been excelling in every subject and is quite a genius."
It was very faint but Albus noticed the strain his young professor was feeling while talking about the Black heir. Severus has been acting a bit off lately.
'I will enquire about it later' Albus thought.
"Mr. Mikaelsonis quite a prodigy in charms I have heard, even ahead of Mr. Black . A few days earlier when he thought that he was alone he started practicing Animation charms and he was successful at it too. ", Severus stopped at the exclamations of surprise from the other teachers.
"Yes that's quite true, young Nicklaus is a genius when it comes to charms," Filius confirmed , "And I am sure you all must have heard about Mr. Blacks skill from Minerva and Hagrid, and such Albus and I have decided that Mr. Black is fit to be the third member of the dueling team for the tournament next year.
"but Filius he is just a first year student" Pomona protested and she wasn't the only one to do so as Minerva too shared her sentiments.
"I know, I know, but I assure you he takes after Arcturus Black in regards to dueling" he said and then continued
"Anyway he entered the team after he had defeated both Mr Weasley and Ms tonks in not only a one on one duel but also a two on one duel, it was a marvelous fight, you should have seen it" he finished.
"Very well if that is all then I declare this meeting closed" the headmaster said," Severus if you could stay behind for a moment"
"Actually Albus , I am quite tired , can we please converse later" the potion master said.
This was enough to confirm Albus's suspicions that something was up with his potion professor and it had something to with Perseus Black.
He nodded to him and the meeting was dispersed .
Perseus sat in the great hall with Nicklaus to his right eating a sandwich for lunch when he heard the fluttering of wings from above. Pausing with his meal, he looked up to notice Bartholomew flying down with a letter attached to his leg. The powerful eagle owl landed on the table in front of him and stretched his leg out, so Perseus could take the letter, and waited for his next order.
Perseus tore open the envelope to notice a piece of parchment with his grandfather's handwriting on it:
Dear Perseus
Congratulations on getting into Slytherin, though I expected you to go to Ravenclaw, but Slytherin is even better. I'm glad to hear you're making friends at school like I knew you would. That Mikaelson boy sounds like quite the character, It is said that the Mikaelson family had a mysterious past and origin. I hope I can meet him some day as well as any other of your friends.
And I hear congratulations are in order, I am very proud of you Perseus, for being selected to represent Hogwarts in the Tournament . I myself wanted to participate when I was in Hogwarts but I couldn't and I am happy to live that dream through you.
The sale of Black screen is coming Well , we have made a lot of gold by selling them, all in all it's a very profitable venture.
But there is one sad news Perseus, I won't be able to spend the Christmas with you as I have to attend some matters in Oceania, and I am really sorry for that child.
What do you think of your classes? I hope you haven't caused any trouble yet. Have you had your flying lessons yet? What did you think? Do you think you'll take up Quidditch next year?
I miss you and look forward to your reply. Send it back with Bartholomew whenever you want.
Arcturus Black
"Who's that from?"
Asked Nick after swallowing his food and taking a sip of Pumpkin juice.
"It's from my grandfather, Nicklaus" answered Perseus, raising an eyebrow when his friend winced slightly.
"Do you have to call me that?"
"Call you what?" Perseus asked back, feigning confusion.
"Nicklaus – it's such a crappy name!" he began, sounding annoyed
"All my friends call me Nick, so…you know, you should too!"
Perseus dismissed him with a wave, though, slightly pleased that Nicklaus thought of him as a friend.
"But what's wrong with your name," Perseus asked
"It sounds like the name of a grandfather, its weird"
"Well, so is mine then" Perseus said"
"No, well your name is 'Perseus', you are named after a bloody god , it's a fantastic name"
"Whatever you say Nicklaus " he answered with a smirk.
Seeing his smirk, Nicklaus smiled in response "You know, if you keep calling me that I may just have to hex you" he said, with a smug grin.
"Oh really" Perseus said with a raised eyebrow as he pulled out his wand in an instant and held loosely in his hand
"You know what" he gulped and said "as Gandhi said violence is never the answer"
"uhun"
"Bartholomew, go rest in the owlery, I'll have a reply for you to take back tomorrow, ok?" Perseus said to the large eagle owl. The bird's shockingly intelligent and piercing orange eyes seemed to bore into his own before it fly to his shoulder and nipped his eat slightly and flew off.
"I am off", said Perseus while getting up.
"Where?"
"Library"
"I will go find Helena and Cedric and ask if they want to explore the grounds today as we all have a free period", replied Nicklaus.
"Whatever, in fact I won't be attending Dinner tonight…." answered Perseus.
"But why don't you have dinner in the great hall", inquired an inquisitive Nicklaus.
Perseus sighed and answered," Too much noise makes it difficult for me to think. Normal people are so boring filling their minds with useless clutter half of which is of no use. So much chattering…."
Perseus simply smirked at him and started towards the library. As he entered the library, the library harpy, Madam Pince shot him a nasty glare and motioned to him to keep quiet. Resisting the urge to role his eyes, he simply handed her the pass he had acquired from professor fitflick and nodded at the woman and went straight to the restricted section and extracted a heavy book titled "elements of elemental magic ."
Taking it to the nearby desk he opened it started to read the book and simultaneously take notes. He has learned from Voldemort's knowledge that he was looking for a ritual that would allow the caster to do elemental spells very easily, just like any other spell.
he took notes of the runic scheme required for the ritual and necessary ingredients , he then put the book back and was about to leave when his sight fell on the ancient looking tome that was placed at the far end of the shelf.
He took out the book and read its title, which was in ancient greek.
'νεκρομαντείο αλήθεια'
'true art of necromancy' he thought , Hmm that sounded interesting he tried to open the book. The keyword being tried. But the cover won't bulge.
He then saw the back of the book where there were markings of a palm, following his instinct Perseus placed his palm on it.
Nothing happened but then he felt a small needle pierce his skin and draw blood, the tome
Glowed dark blue for a moment and then it opened with the sound of a click.
He quickly skimmed through the book and what he read shocked him. Apparently the book was a grimoire and belonged to one of his ancestors, Balthazar Black, a necromancer, and the only reason he was able to unlock it with his blood.
The concepts that were in this book , were simply mind boggling, and interesting. Concepts he'd never considered before. The way it described the spirit plane, and the course that soul take, and rebirth, it was just fascinating.
'Necromancers are able to transport their consciousness to the spirit plane. They can commune with the dead, andhavebeen speaking with them for thousands of years. There are volumes of documented studies conducted by Necromancers in their surveys of the spirit realm and the experiences of the souls that exist there.
"The truly powerful of them can actually call the soul of a dead person back into the physical plane and if they're powerfulenough, they can even reattach that soul to a living body! Although it's rarely effective in the long term, and it's seen as a defiance against nature to attempt such an extreme act with the intention of maintaining it since it upsets the balance and goes against the natural flow of life, death, and rebirth; but for brief returns, it's possible. They've made a study of learning all the aspects of the spirit plane, the journey the soul takes upon death, and the process of being reborn; how long it usually takes before a soul is considered cleansed and allowed to return to the physical plane... It's a powerful art that's been in practice among Necromancers for thousands of years. The reason most people don't know about it is because they hold their secrets tight."
'Only those studying the necromantic arts under a necromancer master are supposed to ever gain access to a grimoire like this. I wonder how this thing ended up here instead of the Black library...and why was I able to open it, am I a necromancer?" Perseus then thought
Perseus knew he had to take the book away with him, but he knew he can't just sneak it out of the library, and then suddenly he had an idea.
"Rokky" he called out.
Immediately there was a pop and the house elf appeared in front of him
"Master Perseus , how may Rokky be of service" he said
"Listen to me very carefully Rokky, take this book" he said as he handed him the grimoire
"And take it to my dorm, and stay there till I come and take it from you, under no condition you are to give it to anyone else other than me"
"Yes master Perseus" he said and took the grimoire and disappeared with a pop.
'That sounds interesting.' Perseus thought.
One morning found Perseus again in the same clearing in the forbidden forest, where hagrid had shot arrows at him. Today he was going to do archery practice on the stones he had prepared.
Perseus knelt down and touched the big rectangular case that he had put there earlier. He opened the lid of the case and in it lay his bow, a recurve bow to be exact. The bow a masterpiece. the riser of the bow was foot long and the limbs were in the shape of a twisted and slanted 'S'.
The Bow was a powerful weapon forged from wood of the magical Epirus' tree, he had gotten that bow as gift from Alistair as he had promised. The bow was definitely magical, he could feel the magic in it's wood and even in the bowstring. And the reason why he had no arrows with him was when the bowstring was pulled an arrow would materialize , Perseus also got to know that the arrows did not follow the law of gravity and were not affected by the wind. Perseus had studied the bow, and realized it was just a magical foci, using the magic of wielder to conjure arrows .
Perseus then pulled out a dozen stones from his pocket and in an instant they took flight, and moved in random patter.
Perseus notched an arrow and notched it and pulled back the bowstring, and he released the arrow.
Ten minutes and fifty one arrows latter, Perseus had hit all the fifteen stones. And was about to put back his bow when he heard footsteps from the edge of the clearing, and Perseus recognized the aura of the person without even seeing him.
It was Albus Dumbledore.
Perseus closed his eyes and again pulled back the bowstring and fired an arrow which hit the ground just in front of Dumbeldore's feet.
He opened his eyes when he heard the sound of clapping and saw, Albus Dumbeldore , standing in front of him, in most ridiculous purple robes , smiling kindly at him and a twinkle in his eyes.
"Hello Perseus"
"Good morning professor" he replied.
"Amazing , simply amazing Mr. Black., I have heard about your skills and how you have mastered the art of 'blind fighting' , but to see it with my own eyes , simply marvelous . " he said
"Thank you professor"
"But if I may ask, why did you shoot at the ground just ahead of my feat., was it some sort of warning?" He inquired
Perseus gave him a small smile and then said
"No no , not a warning professor, according to me , no matter what, a teacher must be respected and you might not have taught me, but you are the headmaster and it was my way of both acknowledging you as well as to show you respect that a teacher deserves."
"aah wise words , any teacher would be lucky to have you as a student Mr. Black, no wonder Silas took you as an apprentice" he replied
A brief look of surprise crossed Perseus's face but he masked it instantly. but it was enough for Dumbledore to detect.
"Don't be surprised Perseus, you may not want to publicize that fact but Silas on the other hand has been boasting about his young apprentice amongst the wandmaker guild for the last few months, he is quite proud of you too, and rightly so" he said
"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Helena told me she liked my new earmuffs." Perseus responded as they started moving towards the castle.
"What brought you here professor, that too at this time of the morning" he asked.
"There are few things that miss my eyes in Hogwarts, Perseus. I might even say that inside the castle as long as I am Headmaster I am almost invincible , and the wards have alerted me of someone leaving the castle grounds every morning for the last two months, I had first sent Hagrid to investigate it ,", dumbledore replied serenely.
"Aah yes I did encounter him" Perseus said in an impassive tone
"I apologize for Hagrid's brashness Perseus, please forgive him, but despite his faults, he has a very good heart" the aged wizard said.
"yes, I am sure he does". Perseus replied and Dumbledore said again
"also Perseus , I am sure you heard me during the welcome feast , the forbidden forest is just that; forbidden. It is a dangerous place"
"I had no intention to break any rule professor , I just wanted to practice in seclusion, and I assure you no harm will come to me, if you would permit , I will even cast some wards around this clearing" Perseus replied which caused Dumbledore to think for a moment after which he said
"Very well then , but only this clearing , no venturing into the forest "
"Yes sir" Perseus replied.
"Err... Professor, you said that you are almost invincible in the castle as long as you are headmaster, I wonder what do you mean by that?", Perseus asked after several moments.
Dumbledore looked at Perseus and then replied, "Since, I am the Headmaster Hogwarts answers to me. Many wizards think that Hogwarts is a simple castle. A castle of magic no doubt, but a simple dead castle. But it is not true. We can call Hogwarts a semi sentient castle which alerts me to threats around Hogwarts. As a result of all the magic that occurs on premises (both from learning students, magical artifacts therein and the enchantments cast over the building itself) a magical atmosphere pervades the entire structure, this leaves several wells of magic in Hogwarts which I can borrow at will from the castle in the situation that I am injured. The castle can fully heal me and any who I wish."
Perseus just nodded in understanding .
"Professor Can I ask you something" he said.
"You just did , my boy, but yes you might ask again" he said with a fond smile.
"What do you know about the art of archery, I mean the archery that was practiced by wizards?"
He didn't say anything for a moment but then said.
"aahh yes, you see Perseus, if legends are to be believed , before the invention of wands , the ancient wizards had used different magical foci, the wizards who were warriors , would craft weapons as a magical foci for themselves. Swords, spears and shields were the most common, then some warriors chose other weapons such as a bow."
Here he took a dramatic pause before he continued.
"those wizards were said to be very fierce warriors, Perseus, they could shoot hundreds of arrows at once, they even had the knowledge of the wepons of mass destruction , the wizarding world's answer to the muggle nuclear weapons and that to thousands of years ago."
"many wizards , including me, have searched for that knowledge in my youth, not because I was a good archer, mind you, no I just wanted to know about that ancient magic. But alas that kind of magic has been lost to time, it was forgotten even before the time of founders. The wonderful bow you hold is perhaps one of the very few bows left , the art to craft magical bows too was lost to time " he finished
"ohh that's too bad"
"Looks like our ways will part from here, Perseus", said the professor to which Perseus violently realized with a start that they now stood right outside the forbidden forest and Dumbledore seemed to make his way towards hogsmeade .
"Thank you Professor ", Perseus said with a grateful nod of his head to which Dumbledore simply inclined his head.
"Good bye, Perseus"
"Good bye professor"
"Oh and Perseus", the headmaster called after the first year "ten points to Slytherin for brilliant archery skills." Perseus snorted and nodded his thanks at the professor.
He was about to make his way towards the castle when he heard some loud shouts coming from the quiditch pitch. On closer inspection, he found that it was the Gryffindor team practicing for the upcoming game and the voice belonged to Charlie Weasley who stood on the ground and was screaming instruction to his teammates .
He made his way towards the pitch. Apparently the Gryffindor team was giving training to their new keeper, one Oliver Wood, a second year.
Perseus moved and stood beside Charlie so silently that Charlie didn't even notice him until Perseus said,
"Hello Charlie"
This startled Charlie for a moment as he jumped in surprise and put his hand over his chest and looked at Perseus in shock.
"Dude what are you , a ghost? , how did you do that?"
"Don't be so dramatic Charlie "Perseus replied , yes he had gotten to know the weasley well enough to get on first name basis with each other.
Charlie then looked at Perseus properly, dressed in all Black, a bow in hand, the bow in itself was quite magnificent . Charlie off course knew that Perseus was good with a bow but he has never witnessed him use it.
"Where are you going , to war?" he asked in a snarky tone
Perseus snorted and said
"No I was just practicing and working out , and I was on my way towards the castle when I heard your voice, so I came here"
"Hmm Fred and George told me that you yourself are quite good on a broom"
While they were talking they didn't notice the two grifindor beaters talking to each other mid-air.
"Hey Raymond, isn't that Black, the first year how kicked your ass"
"What the hell is he doing here "Raymond said.
"Doesn't matter, lets teach him a lesson shall we" he said as he swung his bat at the approaching bludger , and hit it straight towards Perseus.
Perseus and Charlie were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even see the bludger coming. But Perseus, he didn't have to see it, he felt something coming his way , that too extremely fast.
And without even looking towards it he just raised his hand just as the bludger reached them and it was then Charlie noticed the approaching bludger and was about to push Perseus out of its path when he noticed that the bludger was slowing down and the bludger did indeed came to a halt just as Perseus closed his hand in a fist.
Charlie got over his shock quickly and glared at his beaters angrily and was about to reprimand them when Perseus just opened his fist and the bludger flew at breathtaking speed towards the beater who barely avoided it.
"I am sorry about that Perseus , they might be thinking that you are here to spy on us, you know how the house rivalry works"
He said with an apologetic look on his face
"Ohh no need for that , I actually quite enjoy it" Perseus said just as rest of the team landed around them and gathered around .
"Why the hell did you do that Stuart" Charlie asked angrily as he leveled his beater with a glare
"What, He is a slytherin , he is probably here to spy on us"
Perseus just snorted at this
"I have better, productive things to do than spy on you"
"ohk enough , Stuart he was not spying on us, he was here to talk to me"
,"your keeper is quite good" Perseus said suddenly.
"That he is" Charlie replied and the said boy just blushed at the praise.
It was then that Perseus noticed that there were seven figures around him who have just landed, including Charlie that meant eight players, so he asked Charlie,
"Who is the extra player "
"Ohh that's Vincent , " Charlie said as he motioned towards a lanky boy with sandy grey hair .
"Our reserve seeker, I was thinking that he might take my place from next year, but unfortunately he has been unable to find the snitch and it has been over half an hour, hell even I haven't spotted the snitch yet"
Perseus didn't reply , he just looked around and suddenly notched an arrow on his bow and aimed it seemingly towards one of the hoop and fired just as a shocked Charlie said,
"Perseus what are you-"
Although he stopped mid sentence as Perseus motioned him to look at one of the goal post , at the top of the middle hoop.
What Charlie saw shocked him , the arrow Perseus had just fired was embedded in the hoop but what shocked him even more was when he noticed the fluttering of something golden around the arrowhead.
He mounted his broom and went to inspect it, and the rest of the team too accompanied him, and what they found shocked them. The arrow has pierced the snitch and had then embedded itself on the hoop and the golden wings were fluttering around the arrowhead.
He looked back at the spot where Perseus was standing and was again shocked when he saw that the pitch was now empty, and Perseus was nowhere to be seen.
It had been three months since the term had started, when he had met Perseus Black for the first time and had received the shock of his life.
One look at those eyes , and Severus knew that Perseus Black was Lily's son, but he wanted to be sure about it. And so he had gone through the records of both Perseus Black and Harry Potter.
And what he had found had shocked him, first of all, in the eyes of law, there was no such person as Harry Potter, there was no birth certificate at the St. Mungos, no record at the ministry and the name was even absent from the Hogwart's magical register.
Perseus Black on the other hand , well he had a perfect on-paper life. There was no birth certificate with the St. Mungos authority, but that was common in the case of rich families, who preferred the delivery to take place in their manors.
Perseus Black was declared as the heir to the most noble and ancient house of Black by lord Arcturus Black and as such no one dare even think that Perseus was not a Black by birth and his position was never challenged.
The lack of anything, any paper trail of Perseus Black before he turned 7, lead Severus to the conclusion that the Black heir was indeed adopted.
He had even tried to use legilimency on the boy, but he received another shock when it didn't work, his legilimency probe just vanished and the boy didn't even seem to notice it. But something told Severus that Perseus knew about it and he also knew about the potters.
There was just no evidence to connect Perseus Black to harry potter and as such Severus had kept it quiet for all this time.
But he couldn't any more. His first instinct was to take the matter to Albus but his sense of loyalty to his friend and the feeling of guilt of being partly responsible for this whole situation compelled Severus to come here.
'Should I tell her, but if I keep it from her and she discovers it later, no no. I can't betray her like that, but I don't want to bring more misery to her life, she deserves happiness. 'Severus thought as he walked down the long driveway upto the moderate sized manor that stood at the end.
' Minerva said that she had seen her smile for the first time in so long time when lily was with her daughter. Iris , yes that what they name her'
'How am I going to break this news to her, this might just be too much for her, and she would want to get him back, which won't be possible and that might just break her even further'
Severus was broken out of his musing when he realized that he had reached the front gate of the manor. He approached the doors and knocked on it loudly and waited. And after a moment a voice came from with, a voice he had not heard in 5 years
"Coming, wait a second'
He composed himself and used occulemncy to mask his emotions and nervousness just as the door flung opened inwards
There stood his first and only true friend; she wore a shocked expression for a moment which then changed to that of joy.
"hello Lily , long time hun" Severus said
"Severus, oh Merlin" she said and then engulfed him in a hug
"Come on in" she said after a moment and lead him to the kitchen.
"Tea? Sev?" she asked
"Yeah sure" he said
A minute later she handed him a cup of tea as she sat beside him in the kitchen .
"After all these years, I am glad you came " she said with unshed tears in her eyes.
"I had to" he said which confused lily but before she could inquire into it. He continued
"Where is Potter and everyone else"
"James and Charles have gone out , along with Minerva and Remus, Iris has just fallen asleep , I am glad you came to see her Sev, you would adore her" she said
"I am not here to meet you daughter , Lily" he said and she frowned
"Then?" she inquired a, a bit surprised.
"Do you remember , I made a vow to you the last time we met, "
Lily thought about it for a moment when her expression turned sad, her smile vanished, she the spoke.
"You vowed , that you won't meet me until you'd find my –" she stopped mid-sentence and her eyes went wide and she stammered while she spoke
"My – my son, my-my Harry" she finished
"Yes lily" he confirmed and there was a long pause during which lily potter just stared at her best friend and then mustered up the courage and asked
"Have – have you"
By now here breathing had become loud and hard as she looked at him with hope and unshed tears in her eyes
Severus looked at her and thought 'should I tell her, it will cause a lot of trouble'
But finally he decided and said
"Yes Lily, I found him, I found your eldest son"