On Sunday evening, Lucius Malfoy was sitting in his study, going through his correspondence and sipping a glass of sherry. His father was at Windermere Court with Sirius Black, the son he never had, poring over broom reviews in Quintessential Quidditch. Narcissa, meanwhile, was at Grimmauld Place visiting with her mother and grandmother. Lucius had the house to himself, and to be perfectly honest, he rather appreciated the quiet.
The study door opened and Dobby stepped in.
'Professor Severus Snape, Master Lucius,' he announced, and the hook-nosed Potions master entered the room, raindrops scattering from his woollen cloak.
'Good evening, Severus,' Lucius said graciously, and indicated a comfortable armchair to his right. 'Please have a seat. Would you care for a glass of sherry?'
'Thank you, Lucius,' Snape said, and sat down. Lucius poured his guest a glass and handed it over.
'To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?' the blond wizard asked.
Snape's nostrils flared. 'I trust you have heard of the little incident we had in Potions on Friday?'
Lucius looked at his guest curiously. It was most unlike Severus to come all the way from Scotland just to discuss a matter of school discipline. He nodded.
'I have heard something,' he said. 'I heard that Aries answered one of your questions correctly and you removed points for his knowing Dark magic.'
Snape narrowed his eyes. 'It is necessary for us to maintain appearances. I cannot be seen to encourage any student in the study of the Dark Arts. If Dumbledore...'
Lucius held up his hand. 'I understand, Severus. Though my father might ask why, if you were so keen to maintain appearances, you asked such a question in the first place.'
'Black answered all my questions correctly,' Snape replied evenly. 'It is not healthy for boys never to get answers wrong. They become big-headed. I simply selected the most difficult potion I knew. I did not expect the brat to know the answer.'
Lucius chuckled. 'You cannot fool me, Severus. I know your real motivations. You have my blessing to bait Aries Black as much as you wish. Merlin knows he needs to be cut down to size.' He frowned. 'I do wish, however, that you had not deemed it necessary to drag Draco into the whole affair.'
'Draco challenged my authority in my own classroom,' Snape said. 'I doubt very much that you would tolerate such insubordination here, and I will not tolerate at school.'
'You must do as you think best of course,' Lucius said nonchalantly, but the look in his eyes was lethal. 'It would, however, be prudent for you to remember that, despite the unfortunate mishap with his Sorting, Draco is still my son.'
'I shan't forget it, Lucius.'
'See that you don't.' The elder wizard took a sip of sherry. 'Now, Severus, is this really the reason you have come all this way to see me?'
Snape shook his head. 'I wanted to know how it was that Aries Black knew the ingredients of the Regeneration Potion.'
Lucius frowned. 'Was that the potion you asked him about? I'm afraid I've never heard of it.'
'My point exactly,' Snape replied. 'Very few people have. It is devilishly difficult to get right, and it is amongst the Darkest magic that I have ever encountered. Could Cassiopeia Black have taught it to the boys?'
'No,' Lucius said. 'I have kept a close eye on their curriculum, and she has taught them nothing I do not know myself.'
'How then would Aries have encountered it? Might Sirius Black...?'
'Sirius Black is an arrogant playboy,' Lucius replied. 'He has no room for anything in his head but jokes and Quidditch. In that respect he makes rather an excellent playmate for my father.' He paused. 'Aries has demonstrated a curious affinity for the Dark Arts. I have often heard Cassiopeia wax lyrical about his strange capacity to master any Dark spell almost effortlessly. I suspect that the boy must have read about the potion in some book.'
'It is curious that the boy would display such a particular aptitude at such an early age,' Snape observed.
Lucius smiled. 'I shouldn't fret so much about the boy's advanced knowledge if I were you, Severus. Aries has much more interesting secrets.'
The Potions master raised an eyebrow. 'What sort of secrets?'
'Tut, tut, Severus,' Lucius scolded mockingly before taking another sip of sherry. 'I may not care for the boy, but he's still family. I shan't reveal everything to you. Let's just say that Aries possesses some unique and extraordinary gifts. I fully expect that his future will prove most...diverting.'
........
Towards the end of the following week, seven long, thin packages were delivered to the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Oliver Wood nearly fainted when he saw the note on his.
Dear Mr Wood,
Best of luck on winning the Quidditch Cup this year! We hope this might help a bit. It's your very own brand-new Nimbus 2000. Use it well!
Cordially yours,
Sirius Black, Gryffindor Beater, 1973-1978
Abraxas Malfoy, Slytherin Chaser, 1937-1943, Team Captain, 1938-1943
Every member of the team received the same broom and basically the same note, except for Harry. His note read as follows:
Dear Aries,
Granddad used his connexions at the Nimbus Racing Broom Company to get you a fully working prototype of the Nimbus 2001, which won't be entering the market until next year. We have both tested it - for safety reasons, naturally - and we are pleased to report that it flies beautifully and is a good bit better than the 2000 model. If there are any problems, let us know and we can replace it immediately.
Affectionately yours,
Dad and Granddad
After Potions, Harry and Draco ran up as quickly as they could to their dormitory in order to examine the new broom.
'It's beautiful, Aries,' Draco exclaimed, lightly caressing the wood with his fingers.
'You're not allowed to have a broomstick, Black,' Ron scoffed. 'You'll get in trouble.'
'I've got special permission from McGonagall, Weasley,' Harry replied evenly.
Ron snorted. 'Figures. That what you Death Eaters do, isn't it? Your dad bought his way out of Azkaban, and now he's bought you a broomstick, even though it's against the rules.'
Fred and George walked in, carrying their own new broomsticks over their shoulders.
'Lay off it, Ronniekins,' Fred said. 'Aries is cool.'
'Be sure to thank your dad and granddad from us,' George added.
Harry smiled. 'I'll pass it on.'
'Wood told us to let you know he's scheduled practice for this evening, so we can all get used to our new brooms,' Fred said.
'I'll be there,' Harry replied with a nod.
'You're on the Quidditch team, too?' Ron moaned. 'In your first year? I hate you.'
.....
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