September 2nd, 1993 - Thursday.
Hogwarts.
As Asterion got ready in front of the full-length mirror, a curtain of darkness formed beside him, and from it emerged a creature resembling a bat, not large, almost the size of an adult man's palm. It looked somewhat cute, upon closer inspection.
"Go and find the Chamber of Secrets," Asterion spoke as he adjusted his green tie.
The bat nodded obediently and transformed into thousands of bats, which soon disappeared, but Asterion knew they were only invisible in the room.
Opening the door of the room with a spell, Asterion let the thousands of invisible bats out and closed the door to the room again.
Early yesterday morning, Asterion took advantage of everyone being asleep and headed straight to the girls' bathroom determined to enter the Chamber of Secrets; unfortunately, the Chamber wasn't there. Someone had moved the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets to another location.
As for who, there was only one option - Voldemort. Besides himself, he was the only descendant of Slytherin in this castle. But Asterion had to admit that the man worked fast; knowing that the Sorting Hat would likely inform him about the Chamber of Secrets, the Dark Lord wisely moved the Chamber to another location.
But it was a move destined to only delay the inevitable; he would find the Chamber of Secrets sooner or later.
Seeing that he was properly presentable in the mirror's reflection, Asterion nodded satisfactorily and left the room with his wand in its holster.
He had Transfiguration class in the morning, together with the Gryffindors.
Asterion had to admit that releasing his bats was a smart move; besides searching for the Chamber of Secrets, the bats also served as guides. He soon arrived back at the cafeteria.
Besides him, there were four other awake students eating - two from Ravenclaw, one from Hufflepuff, and one from Gryffindor. In addition to the students, Dumbledore was seated in the head chair and waved to him, greeting him.
Asterion nodded in response and sat at the Slytherin table; he quietly ordered the dishes he wanted, and magically, they appeared on the table. He had to admire the Hogwarts house-elves; they were extremely efficient. Not surprising considering they served thousands of people every day.
Asterion ordered a glass of wine to accompany his bread, eggs, and sausage, with mashed potatoes. But before starting to eat, he looked at Dumbledore and gestured to the seat next to him in the enormous chair that served as seating for everyone. Clearly inviting him to join him for the meal.
Dumbledore seemed surprised for a moment but then appeared seated beside him. He was the only one who could apparate within the confines of Hogwarts, a feat ingeniously accomplished by Rowena Ravenclaw.
"I'm over a hundred years old, but this is the first time I've sat at the Slytherin table," Dumbledore said playfully. His blue eyes looked kindly at Asterion, ignoring the other shocked students as the situation unfolded in front of them.
Asterion narrowed his eyes; although Dumbledore had not sat at the Slytherin table, he had certainly spent a lot of time in Grindelwald's company, which was practically the same thing.
"I met my cousin, Rose. She wasn't raised in the wizarding world." Eating a piece of toast, Asterion spoke while looking at the most powerful man in the world.
"Fame can sometimes go to people's heads, making them arrogant. I didn't want that for little Rose," Dumbledore replied, ordering his own food, an authentic English breakfast with eggs, bacon, toast, tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, sausages, chorizo, and baked beans.
"Yes, of course YOU didn't want that," Asterion emphasized the 'you' very sarcastically.
Dumbledore acted as if he hadn't heard his sarcasm and asked while eating a sausage, "How is Lord Arcturus? Last I saw him, he was as strong as a dragon."
Feeling perhaps that Dumbledore knew about Arcturus's critical condition, Asterion responded coldly, "He's doing well, although he might dream of strangling you while he sleeps."
Dumbledore just chuckled amusedly at his words.
"We've always been rivals; he's one of the few people from my generation still alive," he spoke with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.
Asterion truly didn't know if those words were true; the man in front of him was a true master at hiding his own emotions and showing what you wanted to see in order to get closer to you.
Seeking to take control of the conversation from Dumbledore, Asterion asked, "Can I enroll in the Exorcism Course in advance?"
The Exorcism Course was only accessible in the fourth year when students began to undertake missions, but Asterion didn't want to wait that long, especially since he would be called upon anyway to deal with Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
Dumbledore stroked his long beard, pondering for a moment before responding.
"It's not impossible for you, but your team would have to be adjusted. After all, you're still a Special Grade Wizard; your missions would be extremely dangerous for someone below Grade 1."
He continued, "I'll speak to the School Council, but don't expect a response too soon, young Asterion. Those old-fashioned sticklers don't like things that defy the rules, especially for someone like you, a Special Grade Wizard."
Asterion scoffed coldly at the man's words, but he knew Dumbledore wasn't lying. The more powerful someone was, the more guarded the people of this country would be, especially after the war thirteen years ago, where the wizarding population in England dropped by almost 30%. No one wanted to see another Dark Lord anytime soon, especially him, where the House of Black had produced seven Dark Lords over millennia.
As mentioned earlier, no one would be surprised if Asterion declared himself a Dark Lord.
But honestly, he didn't know how these people thought they could control him. Political power? Faced with absolute strength, such conspiracies were child's play.
Perhaps that was the problem with politicians; they had been controlling the country for so long that they forgot the world was still ruled by the strongest fist.
As Asterion and Dumbledore conversed, more and more students arrived at the cafeteria, and without exception, they were all shocked to see Dumbledore sitting at the Slytherin table.
Especially the Slytherin members, who exchanged glances and saw the same look in each other's eyes.
What to do in this situation?
Sit next to Dumbledore?
Everyone shook their heads suddenly and almost instantly dismissed the idea.
After whispering quietly to each other, they all decided to make space and isolate the two, ignoring both of them for the time being.
But before everyone sat down, they all greeted Asterion with respect and admiration in their eyes, regardless of their age.
"Good morning, Lord Black!"
"Good morning, Lord Black."
"Good morning, Lord Black."
"You seem to have won everyone over rather quickly," Dumbledore remarked, noting the admiring glances the students gave Asterion.
"Slytherin above all values self-preservation; the weak follow the strong. That's the law this world has followed since ancient times," Asterion spoke indifferently.
"Blindly following a person isn't conducive to good, after all, we are human and we make mistakes much more than we'd like," Dumbledore offered his opinion, looking deeply at Asterion.
"If a ruler is powerless, it will be reflected in their governance. Incompetence leads to ruin, ruin leads to death and destruction," Asterion countered, staring at the man without flinching.
"No one likes to be controlled so deeply; it's inevitable that someone will rise against the system," Dumbledore spoke calmly.
"That's inevitable, but when everyone receives benefits, the majority will ignore the minority. When everyone is satisfied, no one wants to pay attention to others," Asterion knew very well that human nature is inherently selfish. Everyone feels pity for someone, but few are willing to step out of their comfort zone to help someone in need.
Dumbledore remained silent and looked at Asterion with his particularly bright blue eyes at that moment. Dumbledore finished his meal and apparated to the teachers' table.
As soon as Dumbledore left, all the Slytherins sighed with relief. Sitting next to the enemy of their parents was not a pleasant feeling. It seemed like they were sitting on pins; they could barely stay still in their seats. Asterion felt an intense gaze upon him and looked towards the teachers' table, more precisely at the man with oily black hair and a particularly pronounced nose.
Severus Snape, the Potions professor.
Asterion didn't know what the man was thinking, nor did he care. As a double agent like himself, the Black heir held a slight disdain for him. It wasn't because of Snape's choices, but rather due to what he naturally felt as someone who desired to reign. To a king, what he detested most was traitors.
But at the same time, he wouldn't antagonize the man; he was nothing more than a chess piece destined to be discarded sooner or later. It was futile to harbor resentment for the dead.
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Author's thoughts: What did you think of the first dispute between Asterion and Dumbledore, a little boring? Yes, it's only their first date officially, expect a lot more, especially at the end of the first year. No spoilers >.>
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Next Chapter: Chapter 46 - Classroom (2), Chapter 47 - Classroom (3), Chapter 48 - First Class of Defense Against Cursed Spirits (1), Chapter 49 - First Class of Defense Against Cursed Spirits (2), Chapter 50 - Request (1), Chapter 51 - Request (2), Chapter 52 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (1), Chapter 53 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (2), Chapter 54 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (3), Chapter 55 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (4), Chapter 56 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (1), Chapter 57 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (2), Chapter 58 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (3), Chapter 59 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (4), Chapter 60 - School Council, Chapter 61 - Mission (1), Chapter 62 - Mission (2), Chapter 63 - Mission (3), Chapter 64 - Mission (4), Chapter 65 - Mission (5), Chapter 66 - Consequences of the Attack (1), Chapter 67 - Consequences of the Attack (2), Chapter 68 - Invasion of Hogwarts (1).