Draco, while cutting his steak, noticed Jack muttering to himself, or was he speaking with the ugly ghost next to him? He shook his head, thinking that perhaps the rumors were not entirely false, at least Jack seemed like an idiot now.
This was also the thought of many Slytherins, who due to their noble heritage maintained a high level of decorum (of course, it was feigned), merely giving Jack a cold glance.
Pansy giggled and whispered in Draco's ear, "Draco, I heard your father recently visited Ludwig Manor."
"Oh, yes, Pansy, could you be a lady and stay away from me! It was just business my father attended to." The cunning platinum-blond was hesitant to side with this German wizarding family until he understood their full capabilities.
Jack continued speaking with the Bloody Baron but did not miss the reactions of his classmates.
Overall, quite bad, isn't it? It seems, in addition to the rumors that he was an idiot and a dud, these British nobles did not think highly of his parents either.
Jack narrowed his eyes.
"Baron, I'll see you tonight," Jack whispered quietly before he started eating his steak like a gentleman and occasionally speaking to Draco beside him.
"Do you find it funny that there's a person wrapped in bandages over there?" Jack commented, glancing around the hall to find Frank, who had led the teasing at the Gryffindor table. They seemed quite lively!
"Master Ludwig, I would think your parents would have mentioned that talking behind a professor's back is impolite..." Draco's sarcasm was cut off before he could finish when the banquet abruptly stopped, and their plates emptied again. Jack had suspected that the food they ate might also have been from magic.
He stood up, leaving a somewhat angry Draco behind him.
He would need an assistant for his future experiments, someone talented, loyal, and not inclined to mock him. Draco would need more refinement.
Poor Draco had no idea he had already been placed by Jack in the assistant camp.
The first-year "chicks" followed behind the "mother hen" Prefect. They were called by name, informed of the rules, and then led to the Slytherin common room beneath the Black Lake.
Even from the window, Jack could see a mermaid, known to be a fierce magical creature in his world.
"Children, I think I have to tell you some good news," Professor Snape announced without emotion, almost with antipathy. If only the students could wipe their noses properly, he might feel better.
"Slytherin has a tradition called 'The Guide', where a higher-year student directs you on how to survive well in Hogwarts for the first three months until Christmas break."
Interesting indeed, it seemed that even the safest place in Britain, Hogwarts, had its dangers and secrets.
"Now, I will read the list." Snape's expression as he saw the children's eager faces was that if they wiped their snotty noses, he might actually enjoy this.
"Pansy Parkinson, guided by Miss Helen Watson."
"Lucian Muller, guided by Zabini Wain."
Muller? That sounded like a German name; Jack had seen that surname on his father's guest list.
"..."
"Jack Ludwig, guided by Karl Black." Professor Snape finished the last name on the list, signaled to the Prefect, and left them only a swirling robe.
"Black? I didn't know your aunt had descendants," Goyle remarked to Draco. It was well known that the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange was Draco's aunt.
"Maybe it's someone from their distant relatives; you know, families like ours always have many relatives you don't even know about," Draco explained nonchalantly.
A young man with black hair, whose looks were average but seemed approachable (a term usually shocking when associated with Slytherins), extended his hand.
"Hello, may I call you Jack?" He was polite, showing no disdain for Jack despite the rumors.
"Of course, Karl," Jack replied with a smile, quite endearing when he chose to be.
Thanks to the small number of Slytherin students, they were each assigned private rooms, which pleased Jack greatly.
He needed sufficient privacy to do what he wanted, such as researching how to craft a vampire, an intriguing yet distant goal.
After 10 p.m. was curfew time at Hogwarts. All students were prohibited from wandering out, or as their Prefect put it, "Hogwarts at night is more terrifying than you can imagine."
Terrifying? To Jack, it felt warmly familiar as people in his time ruled deemed him a terrifying necromancer. In reality, he was very gentle. Perhaps.
After obtaining necessary information from his guide, Jack pretended to sleep. He held the button – his transformed bat – in his palm and tapped it with his surprisingly compatible wand, bathing the room in a green light as the restless vampire bat burst into flight.
"Nana," Jack called softly; the previously energetic bat slowed down upon hearing its name, evidently disliking it as Jack had guessed.
Just as Jack was about to calm his pet, the Bloody Baron slipped through the wall.
Not at all surprised, Jack acknowledged his most accomplished ghost, the Bloody Baron, as astute enough to find where he resided. It was normal for him.
"Master, are we going out?" The Bloody Baron kneeled on one knee, revering his young master as much as ever.
"Of course. I've been restless to craft undead. Perhaps I can try making a skeleton or a zombie?" Jack pondered, stroking his chin, which was bare – he hadn't grown a beard yet.
"Well, we'd need a corpse, master," the Bloody Baron reminded.
"Of course, of course. How could I have forgotten the most important ingredient, a corpse! Then who would be best to kill, Baron?" Jack paced the room, speaking ominously.