HP: The Son of Tom

The banquet in the Great Hall was coming to an end. The trays that had once been overflowing with magical food began to disappear in the blink of an eye, leaving room for a soft enchanted mist that descended from the enchanted ceiling, which continued to mimic the starry sky of that cool September night.

Aurelian had eaten little, more out of caution than lack of appetite. Every gesture, every voice, every detail of the atmosphere offered him new information, and the opportunity to analyze it all kept him more entertained than any dessert.

"Welcome, once again, to a new year at Hogwarts," Albus Dumbledore's voice broke the anticipation with serenity, projected with magic. "I hope this banquet has satisfied your stomachs and that the coming year will nourish your minds with equal generosity."

The murmurs ceased instantly.

"I don't have too many warnings this year," he continued with a smile, "except to remind you that the Forbidden Forest remains strictly off limits to all students. It is called that for good reason, and no, it is not a challenge for the brave or an opportunity for the curious."

A wave of giggles rippled through some of the older students, and Dumbledore raised his glass.

"May this year be one of learning, discovery... and perhaps a little chaos. Welcome home."

The Great Hall erupted in applause, and the prefects began to rise to lead the first-year students to their respective common rooms.

Aurelian stood discreetly and looked around for those who would lead the Slytherin group.

Two figures dressed in green insignia waited for them by the doors.

"Attention, first-year Slytherins, follow us," ordered a tall, thin boy with a long face. His tone was calm but authoritative. "I am Cassian Mulciber, and this is Selene Rosier. We are your prefects this year."

Selene, a young woman with jet-black hair and eyes as sharp as daggers, nodded politely, though her expression seemed permanently inquisitive.

"Walk quickly. The dungeons won't wait," Cassian added without turning around.

The group of students made their way through the castle's corridors, descending stone staircases and passing through hallways dimly lit by floating torches. Aurelian walked silently, attentive to the route and the faces of his new companions.

The cold stone walls seemed to whisper secrets from the past. As they descended deeper and deeper, the air became more humid, and the distant murmur of Black Lake seemed to envelop them with its invisible presence. They reflected a faint greenish light cast by enchanted torches.

They stopped in front of a smooth, damp section of wall.

"Purus intentus," Cassian said in a firm voice.

The wall slid aside with a hissing whisper, revealing the entrance to the Slytherin common room: an elegant chamber carved from dark stone, with Gothic arches, green furniture with silver trim, and large windows offering a partial view of the bottom of the lake. Shadows of sea creatures glided across the glass.

"The Slytherin common room is located beneath the black lake. That's why you'll notice the cooler atmosphere... and sometimes you'll see shadows of creatures swimming on the ceilings," Cassian said with a half-smile.

Aurelian looked up with interest. The polished stone walls curved to form a wide, low ceiling, and a greenish light filtered through the enchanted windows that looked directly into the depths of the lake. Silver tapestries embroidered with snakes hung between the columns, and dark armchairs offered seating in front of a long fireplace crackling with emerald flames.

Selene Rosier, gentler than her companion, pointed to a small curved staircase.

"The single bedrooms are ready for each student. At Slytherin, we value privacy and study... so everyone will have their own space. The rooms are numbered by year."

Aurelian received a floating key that magically slid into his hand, adorned with a small brass snake coiled around a perfectly engraved "1."

"First year, room seven," Selene indicated with a friendly but distant gesture.

Aurelian climbed the stairs in silence. The hallway was narrow, but each door was made of heavy wood with bronze fittings, solid as if hiding ancient secrets. When he opened his, he found a neat room with dark furniture, a large bed with green velvet sheets, a desk, an empty bookcase, and an enchanted window that showed the bottom of the lake like a moving mural.

The young Gaunt walked to the center, set his trunk on the stand, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Silence, shadow, depth..." he thought. "An ideal environment."

He took out his notebook, wrote a couple of lines of an unfinished theory, then closed it gently. He turned off the lights with a snap of his fingers, leaving the room in darkness, illuminated only by the blue-green light of the lake.

As he settled under the blankets, his mind wandered: he reviewed spells, names of classmates, and the layout of the castle. He had everything planned out.

However, a slight smile appeared on his face. Tomorrow was his first day as a student at Hogwarts.

________

The greenish light filtering from the bottom of the lake danced softly on the stone ceiling when Aurelian opened his eyes.

He didn't need an alarm clock. Habit, self-discipline, and his ever-alert mind woke him before dawn. He went to the bathroom to get ready, dressed in his new Hogwarts robe, carefully adjusting the Slytherin emblem. With a wave of his wand, he tidied the folds of his bed, combed his hair, and left his room in complete silence.

The stone corridors were damp but pleasant. Aurelian arrived at the common room with a calm stride. He was one of the first to arrive, as he expected.

In front of the emerald fireplace, with his arms crossed and a stern expression, Severus Snape waited. His black robe seemed to absorb the light from the room, and his gaze was as sharp as ever.

"First years, come forward," he said in a low but perfectly audible voice. His tone was enough to make the few students present straighten their backs.

Aurelian approached, followed by other students from his year, all newly risen and still sleepy. He assessed them without paying too much attention. For now, he wasn't interested in any of them.

Snape unrolled a scroll with the weekly schedules.

"Classes begin today. You will have Potions with me in the dungeons, twice a week. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, Charms with Flitwick, Herbology in the greenhouses with Sprout, and..." He paused briefly, with undisguised disdain. "Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Lucan Rowle."

Aurelian raised an eyebrow slightly. He didn't remember that name from his readings about the wizarding world. A new player, then.

"You will also have Astronomy in the evenings and broomstick flying with Professor Hooch. Keep track of your schedules and don't be late. Not all teachers are as tolerant as I am," he added with barely veiled sarcasm.

One by one, the individual schedules floated from the parchment to the students. Aurelian took his with a mechanical gesture, quickly reviewing it. His first class would be that morning: Transfiguration with McGonagall.

As the others dispersed silently toward the Great Hall, Aurelian put away the parchment and breathed calmly. The cold of the dungeons was comforting to him.

The Great Hall was already filled with light when Aurelian crossed its doors. The enchanted ceiling showed the clear morning sky, with faint clouds drifting gently overhead. The long tables of the houses were beginning to fill with students talking quietly and eating heartily, still acclimating to the first day.

Aurelian slid naturally into the Slytherin table, sitting at one end with no immediate company. A plate appeared in front of him and began to magically fill with toast, scrambled eggs, and pumpkin juice. As he poured himself some tea, his gaze drifted, as usual, to the other tables.

Then his eyes met those of Cedric Diggory, who was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, not far away. Cedric recognized him immediately and raised a hand, greeting him with a friendly and genuine smile.

Aurelian nodded softly in response.

He was not one to show public affection, but in Cedric he had found a simple and genuine presence. It was pleasant to deal with someone who did not seek to manipulate, impress, or hide behind masks. That alone made him valuable.

Shortly thereafter, while Aurelian calmly cut a slice of bread with jam, Cedric rose from his table, carrying a cup in his hand. He approached the other end of the Great Hall, stopping near him, though respecting the separation between houses.

"First day, huh?" Cedric commented in a friendly tone. "Looks like we survived the hat."

Aurelian raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Not everyone comes out unscathed," he said quietly. "Some take years to recover from what they hear."

Cedric let out a slight laugh.

"First class?"

"Transfiguration," Aurelian replied, sipping his tea.

"Same here. See you there, then."

The boy said goodbye with a casual gesture and returned to his table. Aurelian followed him with his gaze for just a moment.

The Transfiguration classroom was located on the first floor, with stone walls well lit by large windows that let in the morning light. The wooden tables were perfectly aligned, each with an inkwell and a blank parchment waiting for instructions.

Aurelian was one of the first to enter. He chose a seat in the second row, neither too far forward nor too far back. Cedric arrived shortly after, sitting down next to him with a brief smile. Other first-year students took their seats more awkwardly, some still adjusting their robes or frantically checking their supplies.

At nine o'clock sharp, the door opened with a soft click. Professor Minerva McGonagall entered silently, her confident footsteps echoing with authority. She wore an immaculate emerald robe, her dark hair pulled back neatly. She looked young, firm, and serene, with a piercing gaze that swept across the classroom without the need for words.

Aurelian noticed it clearly again. This was not the McGonagall he remembered from his other life; there was something more polished, more restrained about this version. She seemed even more demanding... and more powerful.

"Good morning, class," she said in a firm, clear voice. "Welcome to your first day of Transfiguration. This subject is one of the most complex and dangerous branches of magic you will study at Hogwarts. I will not tolerate distractions, jokes, or carelessness. If you are here, it is because you are expected to rise to the occasion."

There was complete silence. Even the most talkative students seemed to shrink a little in their seats.

"Today we will start with the basics: turning matches into sewing needles. It's not glamorous, but it will teach you the fundamentals of control, intention, and precision, which are at the core of magical transformation."

With a wave of her wand, several boxes of matches floated across the classroom and landed in front of each student. Aurelian took one without haste. It wasn't a difficult feat... for him. But he decided it was best to control the execution. Enough to stand out, but without appearing superhuman.

McGonagall gave step-by-step instructions, guiding the students with precision. Cedric muttered a couple of times under his breath, frustrated with his match, while Aurelian made small adjustments to his, until finally the wood crackled and transformed into a thin silver needle. Not perfect... but passable.

"Very good, Mr. Gaunt," said McGonagall, passing by his table. "A stable result, albeit hasty. Have you practiced before?"

"Only what can be deduced from theory," he replied calmly.

The hallway leading from the Transfiguration classroom to the main hall was quiet, carpeted by a dim light filtering through the stained-glass windows. The conversations of the other students mingled with the echo of hurried footsteps and books under their arms.

Aurelian walked with his hands clasped behind his back, his robe neat, his expression serene.

"Transforming matter... How interesting," he thought, mentally reviewing the process they had just practiced. "But so limited. So superficial. Barely a hint of what magic can truly do."

It was not arrogance that spoke within him, but the awareness of having traveled older, darker, and deeper paths. However, there was beauty in the basics. In the elemental. He could feel how his magic, now assisted by a wand, was channeled with a different, more refined fluidity.

"Hey, Aurelian!" Cedric's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

The boy caught up with him, smiling, slightly sweaty from walking quickly.

"Didn't you think McGonagall was... intense?"

"She's precise," Aurelian replied with a small smile. "She expects nothing less from her students."

Cedric chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"Well, I've got my work cut out for me if I want to keep up with you."

They walked a few yards together. Cedric talked about how imposing the castle was, how easy it was to get lost, how much he hoped the classes wouldn't all be so demanding. Aurelian listened, mostly in silence, with calm attention.

"What do you think?" Cedric asked him suddenly. "Of Hogwarts?"

Aurelian thought about it for a few seconds. Then he replied, without taking his eyes off the curved corridor in front of them.

"It's a place where every stone seems to have a memory... and every shadow a secret. I like that."

Cedric looked at him sideways, intrigued.

"You're weird, Aurelian," he said with a friendly laugh. "But not in a bad way. I like you."

Aurelian paused for a moment, looking him straight in the eye.

"Don't you mind my last name?"

Cedric frowned, confused.

"Your last name?"

"Gaunt."

Cedric thought for a few seconds. The name wasn't exactly famous among the students, but Aurelian imagined that rumors would already have started to circulate. Pure blood, ancient lineage, dark rumors. And yet...

"No," Cedric replied honestly. "I don't care. I care about who you are."

Aurelian looked at him intently, as if weighing the true meaning of that answer. Then he nodded slowly, a slight curve forming at the corners of his lips.

"Then I like you more than I thought I would."

Cedric smiled.

"That was a compliment, right?"

"As close as I can get to giving one," Aurelian joked, and they both resumed walking, turning together onto a moving staircase.

They didn't know it yet, but in that hallway, with that simple conversation, something more than schoolyard camaraderie was being forged. It was the birth of a genuine friendship. Forged not by blood, house, or prestige, but by the simple fact of seeing and accepting each other honestly.

And for Aurelian... that was more valuable than he dared admit.