There had been a few days after visiting the Lovegood's house. Now Altair was in Hogwarts, with the year about to begin. McGonnogall was in front of the Great Hall, with a parchment in hand.
The Hogwarts robe was too small for him. It was a mistake not to have tried it on before going to the castle; now he had to use an enlarging spell to make it fit.
Hogwarts was as magical as ever. The great hall was filled with candles. The four tables were spread out from one side to the other, separated into the four houses: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.
Altair was getting a lot of attention. Cho seemed to want to jump on him. The girl had been dating Cedric Diggory last year. Altair fucked her in an empty classroom, with Harley there too. The Chinese girl had been one of the ones who leaked the video of Harley and him. If Altair had been a little more cruel, the girl would have been exposed in the same way.
In the end, Cho broke up with Diggory, believing she might join Altair.
Another person watching him was Violet Black. The woman had been on the trip to Japan, but only for a few days. Altair had pushed her aside because she had upset Lavender. He hadn't planned to ignore her for the whole trip, but things got complicated, and he had to devote a lot of time to the devils, which limited the time he could spend with the girls. Violet ended up returning to Great Britain.
And now she was dating Cedric Diggory.
Despite having found a new boyfriend, the girl looked at Altair as if seeking a reaction from him. Altair smiled at her, feeling a little sorry for Cedric, who was going to be cheated on twice.
"Argento, Asia!" McGonagall said from the front of the Great Hall.
Asia hurried forward. Altair feared for a moment that she was going to fall flat on her face and end up with her panties on display for all to see, as had happened in Japan when they first met.
"Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted after a few seconds.
Asia was horrified. She didn't know anyone in that house. Still, Altair applauded, trying to give her a little more confidence. The girl finally walked to her new table, stealing glances at Altair the whole time.
McGonagall called out a couple more names, names that Altair ignored almost completely until she got to Violet's little sister.
"Black, Sophie," McGonagall said. The woman seemed to smile for a millisecond before returning to her stern expression.
"Ravenclaw," Altair watched as the Deputy Headmistress looked a little sad.
He felt a gaze piercing his forehead. From the Gryffindor table, Violet's eyes were wide with surprise and anger. The girl looked at him as if he had stolen her sister. Altair didn't understand; he hadn't done anything to Sophie.
Not yet, anyway.
The Black girl sat with others, far from Altair. She was entering her third year as a transfer student and would be in the same year as Asia and Ravel. Altair looked for the blonde girl, who was standing with an arrogant expression. As soon as she saw Altair, she turned away, as if his presence made her uncomfortable.
'She's going to end up in Slytherin,' Altair thought immediately. He wondered if his older sister could take care of her. Take care of her so she doesn't end up killing someone in a fit of rage.
"Fenwick, Ravel," the girl had taken a pseudonym to study in the wizarding world. Although she had only changed her last name.
"Ravenclaw," Altair was genuinely surprised.
He looked at the sorting hat with a frown. He knew from the canon that it could be influenced. And Ravel was a powerful devil. Altair wouldn't be surprised if the girl had threatened to burn the hat to ashes if it didn't put her in the same house as Altair.
"You look surprised," Ravel said as she approached the table, ignoring the stares of the others as she sat down next to him. Luna greeted her, offering a bottle cap as a gift. "What?" she asked as she took the bottle cap and began to look at it from various angles, as if searching for a secret in it.
"That's Looney," said Cho's friend, Marietta Edgecombe.
"You want to repeat that?" Altair looked at her with a smile. He didn't want to be reprimanded in the middle of the dining room, so he didn't use magic or other tricks. But it wasn't necessary; the girl wisely remained silent. Altair wasn't going to leave her alone, of course, but it wouldn't be in the middle of dinner.
"I didn't ask you," said Ravel to the girl, sticking close to Altair. "Ah, Lavender is looking this way," a smile spread across her face.
Lav seemed to be a second away from starting to cast spells at Ravel. Altair whispered, "I'll visit you later," which calmed her down for the moment.
The selection finally concluded when a boy named "Whitby, Kevin," was selected for Hufflepuff. Altair waited for the arrival of Alastor Moody, or the impostor, but he never came.
Dinner was served, the annual feast, although Altair noticed that several higher-end dishes had been added near his table.
"Really, Ravel?" Altair asked. The girl had changed the Hogwarts menu. How? He didn't know. Had her father intervened?
"I don't know why you're looking at me like that," Ravel complained as she began to eat. Altair shook his head as he filled his plate.
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"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Quidditch Cup will not be held this year." Altair almost laughed at everyone's reaction in the room. From Gryffindor to Slytherin, everyone protested. Quidditch was the only thing that everyone at Hogwarts could agree on. Harley looked as if she was about to cast an Incendio on Dumbledore's beard. "This is due to an event that will begin in October and continue throughout the school year, taking up a large part of the teachers' time and energy... but I'm sure you'll enjoy it immensely. I have the great pleasure of announcing that this year at Hogwarts..." He paused for several seconds. "The Triwizard Tournament," he finally said.
Whispers filled the room. Altair, on the other hand, was waiting, expecting someone to arrive. But no one came. Would Voldemort take the risk? Or did he not think it necessary to send someone into the castle?
Dumbledore continued speaking. He introduced the tournament, a competition between three schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. Each school would have a champion, chosen by an impartial judge. Altair almost fell asleep, but he looked at all the excited students when he got to the part about the reward for the winner. 'They're not going to be selected,' Altair thought.
"And... I must also inform you of the return of our old Potions professor, Severus Snape," the man with the aquiline nose simply nodded in the direction of the Slytherin table, who were the only ones to applaud. "And, following Professor Lupin's resignation," the old werewolf had been a good teacher at Hogwarts, but ended up retiring anyway. "Professor Lily Evans will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts," said the headmaster.
Altair was sure he heard a Slytherin mutter "nepotism."
The room erupted in applause, and Snape's face darkened. Altair was concerned at that moment. He hoped that his bitterness came from somewhere else, not that he had finally overcome his love for Lily, as that would complicate things against Voldemort.
"Well, Lily is a good teacher," said Ravel, nodding with satisfaction. "Why aren't the ones in green applauding?" he asked Altair.
"They don't like Lily, or her father, the headmaster," said Altair.
Before, there had been an aversion to Lily because of her blood status, but not now. She was a half-blood; she didn't become upper class in the wizarding world, but they couldn't call her a Mudblood anymore. But the hatred didn't go away; they simply found another justification: her father.
When people want something, they will do everything possible to achieve it, even if it is absurd.
After a few words of farewell from the Headmaster, he dismissed everyone.
"First years..." a prefect called everyone at the table.
"Go with him," Altair said, wanting her to respect tradition.
"Is that necessary? I'm not a first-year," Ravel asked, watching Luna stand next to Altair. She thought that maybe Altair had a thing for blonde women: Lavender, Asia, Luna, and her, Ravel.
"You're new to Hogwarts, it's almost as if you were," Altair said. "I'll see you in the common room," and he began walking away with Luna.
Ravel ended up with Sophie Black, both of whom were entering their third year. She looked at Asia, who was talking to two Hufflepuff girls, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott.
He received a message as he walked to the common room.
[Violet]
Don't you dare!
Altair respong a emoji of a Stag.