The Golden Trio
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, sitting in the Gryffindor common room, were discussing the events of the previous day as usual. But this time, their conversation often returned to the same person, Itachi Uchiha, a Slytherin freshman who seemed to elude their grasp.
"He's so weird," Hermione said, flipping through the pages of her textbooks. "He's always so calm and reserved, like he's not with us but somewhere far away."
"Yeah," Ron seconded her, taking a break from his chocolate frog. "And he always listens so intently, but I've never once seen him say anything. It's like he knows everything already."
Harry, looking thoughtfully into the fireplace fire, nodded.
They had watched Itachi many times before. They had seen him handle all his assignments in class with ease, yet always remain in the shadows. They had seen him handle a broom with extraordinary dexterity, but unlike the other students, he had never shown much interest in Quidditch. They had seen how he listened intently to his teachers and how he watched the other students as if analyzing them rather than just looking at them.
"Also," Hermione continued, "I've never once seen him even smile or show any emotion. It's like he has no feelings at all."
Ron shrugged. "Maybe he's just a Slytherin? I mean, they're all like that. Arrogant and cold."
Harry remembered how Itachi kept his cool when other Slytherins tried to bully him. He remembered how he deftly dodged their taunts and how calmly he responded to their provocations. Harry realized that Itachi wasn't like the other Slytherins, that he wasn't just arrogant and cold. He sensed some kind of mystery in him.
"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "He's not like the other Slytherins. He's different. He's more... aloof."
Hermione frowned. "Detached is putting it mildly, Harry. I think he's hiding something. Maybe he's some kind of spy or messenger of dark forces?"
Ron shuddered. "Don't say that, Hermione. I mean, it's creepy. Although..."
"But," Hermione continued, trying to reassure Ron, "I saw him in the library, he's reading very difficult books, much harder than what first year students read. And he does it with such ease, like he knows it all already."
Harry remembered that during his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Itachi had asked Professor Quirrell such strange questions, as if he was trying to probe his weaknesses. He remembered Itachi watching Professor Snape with the same look on his face, as if he were analyzing and questioning each of them.
"Maybe," Harry said, looking thoughtfully into the fire, "he's just really smart and observant? Maybe he just wants to be better than everyone else?"
"But," Ron interrupted, "Slytherins are ambitious, sure, but like that? I think he's kind of crazy, I've never once seen him interact with anyone but that Nott guy."
Hermione shook her head. "Maybe we just can't understand him. Maybe he's just different and we need to accept him for who he is."
They continued to discuss Itachi, but they still couldn't come to any conclusion. He remained a mystery to them, a shadow that slips around the castle yet never shows his true face.
In the dungeons of Slytherin, where half-darkness reigned and the smell of potions wafted, Draco Malfoy, sitting in his room with Crabbe and Goyle, was once again discussing Itachi Uchiha. His face was contorted with displeasure and envy, and his voice sounded angry.
In the Slytherin dungeons, in an atmosphere of semi-darkness and the smell of potions, Draco Malfoy sat at a table with Crabbe and Goyle, discussing Itachi Uchiha. There was obvious annoyance and jealousy in his voice, and a grimace contorted his face.
"Did you see the way Flint was ogling that... mudblood?" - Draco muttered through gritted teeth. - "I'm downright disgusted by have me, Draco Malfoy, unwittingly sort of on the sidelines. What's in it for me, huh?"
Crabbe and Goyle, as usual, nodded silently in agreement.
"And the worst part is, he gave up Quidditch! Can you believe it, turned down a spot on our team, the best team at Hogwarts! And that means he doesn't want the glory, doesn't want to be the best!" - Draco snorted. - "What is he, defiantly wanting to show how unwavering and fearless he is? That he's better than us? Or is he just a fool? Seems like the latter."
Draco's voice was filled with not only envy at Itachi's supposed talent, but also a clear annoyance that Itachi, with such potential, did not seek fame, did not want to be one of the best. Draco didn't understand why Itachi didn't want to follow the path that Draco himself thought was the only right path - the path of success and power. It annoyed him more than anything else. He hated those who had power but didn't want to use it to achieve higher goals. And Itachi seemed to be just such a person. He was like Harry Potter, a potential hero, but not a hero who sought glory. It was this 'illogicality' that was causing Draco extreme irritation.
"And after all, if that mudblood made an effort, he could be in my shoes if he wanted to be. But no, he's just hiding in the shadows," Draco muttered. - "There's that weird stuff again. It's like he's playing his own game, completely oblivious to us."
"Well, how can you stand that upstart?" - Draco exclaimed, clenching his fists. "He seems to be purposely trying to make us all look like idiots. He does everything better than us, and he's not even trying!"
"Yeah, boss," Crabbe muttered, swallowing saliva. "He's so... scary, like he's hiding something."
"And then there's that look in his eyes," Goyle added, looking around fearfully. "Like he can see right through us."
In the corner of the room, engrossed in her reading, sat Daphne Greengrass. Her gaze, sliding across the pages of the book, lingered briefly on Draco, but there was no sympathy or acquiescence in her expression. She sensed there was more to it than idle talk of jealousy and resentment.
Unlike Draco, Daphne wasn't hung up on blood purity and prejudice. She was intelligent and inquisitive, and she was attracted to those with unusual abilities. She saw that Itachi was no ordinary child, that there was something special about him. She felt that there was some mystery behind his aloofness and calmness.
"He never comes into open conflict," Daphne continued, leafing through the pages of her book. "He is like a shadow that glides through the castle, yet never leaves a trace. How does he do it?"
Daphne also noticed his academic success. She has seen how easily he handles complex spells and how he quickly learns new magical techniques. She had also seen him spend hours in the library studying ancient books that most Slytherins found boring and unnecessary.
She knew that many in Slytherin despised him for his origins, but Daphne couldn't understand why they were so fixated on blood purity. She felt that Itachi wasn't like the other Slytherins and that he could be a valuable ally to her.
Everyone in Slytherin was busy doing their own thing, and while some couldn't understand how they could ignore his fame and popularity and fixated on his origins others studied him and his actions, hoping to one day uncover his secret. Itachi remained a mystery to them as they tried to unravel.
Professor Minerva McGonagall, known for her strictness and fairness, was giving a transfiguration lesson. As she watched the students carefully, she noticed Itachi Uchiha. His extraordinary speed and accuracy in transforming objects left her unimpressed. She had noted more than once how other Slytherin students made mistakes, especially in complicated transfigurations, but Itachi seemed to grasp the essence with remarkable ease.
Normally, McGonagall showed her restraint, but on Itachi she felt a special look. The unwavering order and concentration he displayed was different from the restlessness and fidgeting of the other freshmen. She noticed that Itachi was adept at analyzing the processes of transfiguration, as if he could see the invisible threads behind them that bound them together.
"Interesting freshman," she thought, frowning. - "Perhaps he sees farther than most. But caution is his guiding principle. Is there some secret hidden in him?"
McGonagall, despite her strictness, began to pay more attention to Itachi. Her wariness was matched by his unusual calmness and, as she noticed, his interest in the details of the process, not just the outcome. She realized that Itachi was likely harboring secrets, and that his ability to see further than others didn't necessarily go to his benefit.
She noticed Itachi scrutinizing the various forms of energy associated with transfiguration, as if searching for hidden meanings in them. He noticed details that others missed and asked questions that made her wonder. It was as if he wanted to understand not just how to transfigure, but what it was for.
Professor Filius Flitwick, the small and energetic spell professor, was fascinated by Itachi. It wasn't the speed of learning that surprised him, but rather the restraint and in-depth approach to the study of magic that Itachi displayed in class.
Flitwick, a master of complex and elegant spells, saw in Itachi a talent that was in no hurry to come out. Behind the apparent restraint, he sensed great potential power.
Watching Itachi easily master new spells and then study them in detail, Flitwick realized that Itachi was not just copying, but trying to understand the essence. Flitwick, himself a renowned expert on the history of magic, admired the way Itachi picked up on nuances that others missed. He noticed how Itachi analyzed every gesture, every word put into a spell, as if trying to find hidden meanings and secrets in them.
"It's like he's a hunter of knowledge," Flitwick thought, "a hunter of the essence of magic. And that certainly makes him a very special student. And very strange to Slytherin."
Professor Snape, sitting at his desk in the Potions room, was gloomily studying the results of Itachi Uchiha's latest experiment. The distinct odor of sulfur and the elusive plume of something else, perhaps magnesia, hung in the air, a reminder of the young Slytherin's incessant experimentation. Snape, used to the malicious selfishness and superficial ambition of his students, found something different in Itachi. Something... frightening.
Snape frowned as he watched Itachi methodically record the results of his experiments in his journal. Snape knew that at the heart of genius was often recklessness and passion, a thirst for discovery that drew the student beyond accepted norms and rules. But this restraint, this deliberate calm, made him wonder. Itachi didn't show the slightest interest in fame or the empty praise that was so common to many Slytherins. He was focused, cold, and worst of all for Snape - unreadable.
"And what are you hiding, young Uchiha?", Snape thought grimly as he looked at the notes. "What dark potential is behind those cold eyes?"
Snape was impressed with Itachi's abilities. His genius in potions, like dark energy, made Snape think of his best students, but at the same time Itachi acted with extreme caution, as if expecting a catch. It made Snape wonder about the secrets those eyes might be hiding.
Snape saw a dark spark in Itachi, but it was hidden by a layer of caution and prudence that, in Snape's opinion, was far more dangerous than open aggression. In these experiments, where Itachi took risks but never crossed the line, Snape saw not just a desire for new knowledge, but a hidden lust for power, not like other Slytherins, but far more dangerous because it was disguised under restraint.
This secret power hidden under a mask of calmness frightened Snape, making him rethink whether it was dangerous to let it develop.
Snape realized that Itachi could become a powerful mage, but he also realized that in his hands this power could be used to destroy rather than create. It was this uncertainty that made Professor Snape watch Itachi Uchiha with particular suspicion.