"WHAT THE F-"
The loudest roar Blake had ever heard in his life interrupted him, and for a moment, the boy was paralysed in fear. Before him was a massive dog, easily weighing over a ton - but that wasn't the most terrifying part.
It has three heads!?!??!
The dog (or was it technically dogs) roared again, getting its spit all over Blake, and its legs began to move slightly.
Blake wasn't stupid.
As fast as his legs could move, he turned and burst right out of the door, just narrowly avoiding the massive jaws of the beast clamping down on his leg.
"ARGH!" Blake cried out. He looked down - apparently, even if he hadn't been bitten, the beast still made its mark.
Thank God, Blake thought, staring at his bleeding leg. Just a graze - it must've been its teeth.
The wound wasn't bleeding that much, thankfully, and Blake dabbed at it with his robes, before taking out his wand and muttering, "Episkey!"
The wound felt very hot, and then very cold, closing up on its own. .
Good thing I read up on those spells.
Blake hurried back down to his dorm, gratefully falling back down onto his bed.
That was one of the scariest moments of my life.
But as he eventually caught his breath, Blake's mind began to wonder.
That thing… it's Cerberus, isn't it? The guard dog of Hades that guards the entrance to the Underworld in Greek mythology. How the hell did they get their hands on it?
His mind whirred even further: Wait - wasn't there a story where someone got past Cerberus? Blake's face lit up as he remembered the story, but he still needed confirmation. He immediately hopped out of bed, and got to writing on the desk.
Dear Mum,
How's everything been going with you and Connor? Yes, I've been fine, you don't have to ask. I was hoping you could do me a favour - remember those Percy Jackson books that I love? D'you think you could post one of those books to me? Connor should have it - it's called Percy Jackson and the Greek Heroes. Also, can you post me my old violin too? (I know, it's a drag, but it'd mean a lot!) Thanks - I miss you guys.
Love,
Blake.
The boy's cheeks flushed slightly at the last few words, but he knew his mother would appreciate them. Brushing aside his self-embarassment, Blake folded up the letter and placed it in one of the pockets of his robes, before rushing to the Owlery and setting James off to his mum, before rushing back to his dorm before anyone saw him.
"Where'd you go?" Zabini had apparently woken up.
"Stop being nosey, Zabini," Blake replied. "I was posting a letter to my mum."
There came no response from the other boy, who made his way into the bathroom to get ready for breakfast. Blake sighed, and leaned back in the chair.
Although he and Zabini had undoubtedly become more familiar, they were still far from 'friends' - it felt like the only reason they interacted with each other was because they had no one else. That's not the ideal foundation of a friendship, is it? Blake thought dryly.
On their way to breakfast, Blake and Zabini ran into Harry, Granger and Weasley. While Zabini remained as impassive as ever, Harry and Blake began chatting with each other, with Weasley butting in every few moments, much to Blake's amusement. Granger, on the other hand, stood there rather awkwardly, as though surprised that he and Harry were talking so casually.
Probably assumed all Gryffindors and Slytherins hate each other.
As they separated to go to each other's tables, Blake overheard Weasley loudly starting up a conversation about something he'd heard about the Patil twins.
Zabini crinkled his nose at it.
"Weasley's a disgrace to his family."
Ouch.
"That's kind of harsh," Blake said, trying not to laugh.
"It's true," Zabini said, surprisingly animated for once. Apparently, just being in the same classroom as Weasley was enough to enrage him.
"D'you that Weasley has 6 siblings? The eldest son is a Cursebreaker - that's one of the hardest and most dangerous professions in the world. He works for Gringotts too! The second eldest son's a dragonologist - and he was so good at Quidditch he could've gone pro! The next two are Fred and George from two years above - they're always getting in trouble, but at least they're obviously smart and funny. He's got a little sister too, and she's probably gonna be something useful too. And then there's him," Zabini said with the most contempt Blake had ever heard from a child.
"He's stupid, arrogant, loud, annoying, eats like a pig, a gossip, stupid-"
"You said that already."
"Shut up! The point is-"
"Blaise, you're too loud!"
Tracey's tired voice came from nearby, promptly followed by a yawn that the entire Great Hall heard. Despite that, she unabashedly sat down with Greengrass and Charlotte and started to eat, even as Zabini berated her.
Meanwhile, however, Blake was thinking. Weasley is a gossip, isn't he? Well, in that case, I wonder if he knows anything about you, Zabini. Why're you associating with me, when you could be associating with them?
Blake made a mental note to ask Weasley about it at a later date, and to offer a free essay or free food for the information. Can he keep a secret though?
"You take that back!" Tracey's loud, shrill voice cut through Blake's thoughts. For once, the normally playful girl seemed genuinely offended, and Zabini's smile was wider than Blake had ever seen before.
"What happened?" Blake asked.
"Blaise said she was a female Weasley," Charlotte gasped out, barely able to breathe from holding in her laughter, and from Tracey's expression, Blake was soon in the same predicament. As the arguing continued, both Charlotte and Blake's faces became redder and redder, until someone finally laughed.
Wait - that wasn't Charlotte.
Blake turned his head slightly, and in that moment, he was honestly even more surprised than when he'd first learnt magic was real.
Greengrass - she's - she's laughing?
Before Blake could register what was going on, Charlotte burst out laughing too, and Blake could no longer hold it in.
As the group laughed and argued, Blake couldn't help but be glad that Greengrass had finally shown she was capable of actually enjoying time with their group. She has a cute - EW! Blake immediately brushed aside the thought, cursing at himself for being so weird.
Of course, Tracey immediately picked up on it, trying to throw attention at him, and the bantering continued.
Meanwhile, however, at the teacher's desk, conversations far more serious were happening.
"It seems you were correct, Headmaster," Snape's drawling voice said in a hushed tone. He held up the letter that Blake had tried to send just that morning. As Albus Dumbledore read the contents of the letter, a small smile appeared on his face.
"How intriguing," he muttered. "The boy's talented, I hear."
Snape didn't reply.
"Do you believe the boy's talented, Severus?"
Begrudgingly, Snape nodded. "More talented than you were at his age?"
Snape's resting frown deepened, but he nodded still.
"Tell me about him."
"Myself and other teachers have found that he's well mannered. The boy's obviously talented too, he excels in all his classes."
"Interesting," Dumbledore muttered again. "Minevra tells me he's the most talented first year she's ever taught. Already extremely proficient in duelling for his age too. I'm told he defeated Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle within his first week with barely any magical training."
Again, Snape gave no reply.
"And you're sure it was him that was following you and Professor Quirrell?"
"Positive."
"Interesting," Dumbledore repeated.
For a while, the old man didn't say anything, prompting Snape to ask:
"So what will you do?"
"What do you think I should do, Severus?"
Enough with the games!
"Headmaster, it's clear that the boy will grow up to be a formidable opponent to whichever side he goes against. Mustn't we ensure that he falls into the right hands?"
"It sounds like you're worried he may fall into the wrong hands, Severus. If he's already fighting with Draco Malfoy, just as Harry Potter is, is that not a good thing?"
Snape was silent.
"Minerva and Hagrid both vouch for Blake Renshaw. In fact, Hagrid tells me he was very surprised that the boy wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. I'd like to assume that he's investigating on his own for good reasons."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Well, then you and I will just have to steer him onto the right path, as we would do in any case, will we not?"
Snape was silent again.
"It seems like you're worried about something, Severus. Could it be that you see yourself in the boy?"
"What a foolish thing to say," Snape hissed.
"Is it? You were just like him. Both talented, prodigious, and well meaning. But you were isolated, just as he is now, and you were led down the wrong path. Could it be that you don't wish to see him fall the same way?"
Snape didn't answer the question, instead saying something else.
"Even if he falls down the wrong path, the Dark Lord wouldn't accept him. After L-" Snape's voice trembled in a rare moment of vulnerability.
"After she refused to join him, he vowed to never ask a muggleborn to join him again."
"Perhaps. But we both know that you don't need to be a supporter of Lord Voldemort or a Death Eater to be evil, Severus."
Again, Snape had no reply.
"I believe it's time for a meeting with young Mr Renshaw. Hopefully Minerva and Hagrid are right, and he'll prove to be a useful ally in the future."
Dumbledore's smile widened further than Snape's eyes did as he looked directly at Blake, who was currently arguing with Blaise Zabini at the Slytherin table.
"After all, I was the one who selected him to be brought into Hogwarts."
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