Harry Potter: Prince of Shadows

They arrived right on schedule—indeed, a bit early.

No one was late, so Snape had no chance to demand an "Elixir of Life and Death" recipe from Ian.

****

"Ian! Over here!"

Green-haired William had probably been in the classroom for ages. Among the first-year students, however, he seemed pitiful: others gathered in small clusters discussing the upcoming lesson, while he sat alone at a solitary desk.

Perhaps the friends he met on the Hogwarts Express ended up in different Houses, while their third roommate, Michael, was hovering around the Slytherin side, quite shamelessly playing the suitor.

All four Houses in the first-year class featured just two "exclusive skins": Michael and an unknown Slytherin girl. Clearly, Michael was a very "traditional" wizard of color.

"So that's why he stayed quiet this morning when we talked about who was prettiest…"

Ian realized, heading to William's seat. The boy greeted him with a strange eagerness, having prepared an open textbook for the day's Potions lesson.

"He's a traitor!"

William muttered crossly.

"I think it's rather nice,"

Ian said, relieved by a sudden clarity.

That morning, he'd worried because Michael stayed silent when everyone ranked the prettiest witches, but it turned out the boy's tastes simply leaned toward a very specific "dark pearl" type. No issues there!

"She just said 'Good afternoon,' and he acted like his soul got stolen. Slytherin barely tolerates him, yet he keeps sneaking closer," William grumbled. "He'll get fleeced of every Knut in his pocket sooner or later…"

Hard to tell if he'd had some similar misfortune himself.

"You're all so worldly—unlike me. I only come here to study,"

Ian said, scanning the room. Although class hadn't started, a good number of first-years were already there.

The Potions classroom wasn't huge, but it could fit forty or fifty people. With only about thirty in the joint class, there was plenty of space. Besides storage cabinets for ingredients, there were jars of pickled specimens scattered about. Their teacher, Professor Snape, had yet to arrive.

"I'm the same, I just want to learn,"

William declared, as if finding a soulmate. But at that moment, in strode a platinum-blonde figure holding an armful of books.

"That's her! Grindelwald's evil little girl!"

"She must be at Hogwarts to recruit a new generation of followers. Ian, trust me—my grandfather served decades as an Auror in Germany!"

William was apparently a "talk big" sort of boy: with the slightest commotion, he couldn't stop gaping. Meanwhile, the boy he kept shaking—Ian—remained bent over One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and Magical Drafts and Potions.

"She's coming this way!"

Panicked, William ducked his head, worried that his earlier whispers might have been heard. Moments later, two books were set down on the desk he shared with Ian.

"I'm sorry!"

William blurted, trembling.

"?????"

Aurora peered at the green-haired boy in perplexity.

"Is he a friend of yours?"

She asked Ian curiously.

"Ian, we're friends—right?"

William seized Ian's arm, voice tense, darting anxious glances between Ian and Aurora.

"Good afternoon, Aurora. William's my roommate. He's just… shy."

Ian glanced up at the German girl. He refrained from betraying his jittery roommate, figuring an act of loyalty was worth at least ten sock-washing sessions.

"Understood."

Aurora nodded, turning to William.

"Good afternoon, friend of Ian's."

Facing the so-called "Dark Grindelwald," William quaked visibly, replying in a halting stammer. It was clear how unsettled he felt:

"H-hello."

He couldn't manage to say her name. So much for his earlier bravado.

"We'll need partners for Potions. Would you pair with me?"

Aurora didn't address William further, instead focusing her mismatched gaze on Ian with a hopeful glint.

"Can we do cross-House pairs?"

Ian wondered aloud. Also:

"I was planning to team with William…"

He felt a bit worried about leaving his roommate alone, but William was already hastily gathering his belongings.

"I… I want to check out the view over there,"

he muttered, moving awkwardly, possibly due to shaky knees, and stumbled off to a distant corner—who knew what scenery awaited him there?

In that safe spot, William stared toward Ian and Aurora at the same desk, cursing his bad luck under his breath:

"He calls her Aurora—she calls him Ian… Why didn't anyone warn me earlier?!"

His thoughts summed up to something like:

Urgent—Just after slandering a rumored Dark Lord scion, I discover my roommate might be a wizard-supremacist. Help!

"Your friend's easily frightened,"

Aurora observed, taking the seat next to Ian. She obviously recognized why William was so uneasy around her—she'd seen that reaction from many others.

"Can't be helped—he says he's had social anxiety since childhood, can't speak to strangers,"

Ian explained, glancing toward the Slytherin seats.

"When you left your common room, were there other first-years still inside? Class starts in a few minutes."

"You're asking about Daphne Greengrass?"

Aurora deduced at once who Ian was looking for, sighing softly:

"She hasn't woken yet. Snape said her nerves took a blow, so she might be out for two days."

Then she paused, lowering her voice:

"But I suspect she's faking."

Great minds think alike—Ian had the same suspicion.

"She sure is nasty…"

he muttered, withdrawing his hand from his pocket, looking a little disappointed.

"…"

Aurora opened her mouth, about to speak, when—

BANG!

Snape swept into the classroom, and with a sharp wave of his sleeve, the Potions classroom door slammed shut—no more chance for tardy students to sneak in.

Instantly, silence.

Ian felt a flicker of puzzlement:

Where's the usual scathing commentary about latecomers?

He'd been looking forward to the show!

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