《Creating A New Legend Through Practical Magic in the Harry Potter World》


 1 Setting a Fire to Warm a Cold Body

    It was cold.


    Bone chillingly cold.


    To be honest, Gao Lin couldn''t understand how her sister, Tachibana Ayami could withstand such chilliness asthey waited for the target that they weren''t even sure would come to appear.


    "Nee-sama, are you sure they''ll pass under this old bridge?" Gao Lin couldn''t help but ask, feeling impatient as they have already been sitting and waiting for nearly two hours.


    "Shh. Be quiet. They''ll be here any minute now." Ayami replied seriously, her eyes never leaving the spot where the road emerges from the thick forest.


    Gao Lin and Tachibana Ayami weren''t actually blood-related siblings. Both of them were orphans who were abandoned in the streets of Gretzheims. This situation was actually more common than most people would think. Especially in the Kingdom of Gretzheims where the real rulers were the Board of Assassins and the royalty were near non-existent.


    After being taken under the wing of a reknowned assassin, Ayami felt kindness for the first time in her life. That was when she decided to follow the footsteps of her adoptive mother and became an assassin herself.


    Unfortunately, good things never last. It wasn''t long before she found out that her adoptive mother died during one of her missions.


    Sticken by grief, Ayami vowed to find her adoptive mother''s killer and avenge her. Due to her intense desire for vengeance, unknowingly, she bacame a fearsome character to the citizens of Gretzheims, with her name and deeds spreading even to other kingdoms.


    Most people wanted to stay as far away as possible from her, afraid that they would become the next target in her list, but, to the people who required urgent assassinations, her name was like a piece ofbread to a beggar.


    Soon, more and more people asked for her services. Some missions even requiring her to travel to distant lands. It was on one of her travels that she met Gao Lin, an orphan who was abandonedby the border between Gretzheims and Ruthell, a mysterious country north of Gretzheims.


    At that time, Gao Lin was barely eight years old, but, due to malnutrition, she actually looked no more than six years old. Now, ten years have passed and Gao Lin has become a fairly attractive young woman who was often seen following behind Ayami as she went on her missions.


    Which leads us to the current situation.


    "Nee-sama, aren''t you even feeling cold?" Gao Lin shivered as she asked Ayami, visualizing the image of a hot mug of tea and her warm bed at home.


    "...It is a bit cold." Ayami reluctantly admitted, then glanced towards Gao Lin with an indulgent look. "Just wait for a bit more. We''ll head home after we finish this mission and I''ll even make some mutton stew for you, alright?"


    "Why can''t we go home now? You can just finish the mission on a later date!" Gao Lin groaned.


    "Shh! They''re here." Ayami lowered her body, hiding behind the overgrown weeds that grew at the side of the old bridge they were on.


    Accustomed to following Ayami''s actions, Gao Lin lowered her body as well, peaking through the leaves to see their target''s arrival.


    Seconds later, they heard the crisp sound of horseshoes hitting the cobbled roads and were soon greeted by the sight of three elegantly dressed men riding on equally elegant looking horses.


    The horses galloped quickly, as if in a rush. Ayami predicted that within a few moments, they would be passing under the bridge they were hiding in.


    Calculating the timing in her head, she quickly stood up when the men were unable to see themand sprinted across the bridge and, with great precision, she jumped off, right onto the back of an unsuspecting rider.


    Or that was what she thought.


    Right when she stabbed her dagger onto the body of the rider, she suddenly felt as if something was wrong.


    There was no blood.


    Hastily, she withdrew her dagger and jumped off the horse, kicking the man off with her.


    She landed swiftly on the path and quickly checked the body of the man she had just stabbed.


    It was a fake!


    This was a trap!


    When she came to realize what had happened, it was already too late.


    One of the riders already turned his horse around and was charging straight towards her. Not having enough time to react, she was directly blown away by the force of a horse''s charge hitting her. It was lucky that she didn''t get trampled to death directly.


    With her whole body in pain, she struggled to get up. It was certain that if she managed to survive this ordeal, her whole body would be filled with bruises of various shapes and sizes the next day.


    When she finally managed to stand up, she realized two important things.


    One, her left foot was constantly spasming. She predicted that it was either sprained or fractured.


    Two, she was surrounded.


    "Well, well! If it isn''t the fearsome assassin, Raven. Or should I call you, Miss Tachibana Ayami. Not so fearsome now, huh?" The rider who had charged at her moments ago said mockingly.


    "If you think that you can threaten me by surrounding me, then you must be mistaken." Ayami said grimly, her eyes looking right back at the rider coldly, refusing to back down as she put on a defensive stance, ignoring the pain on her leg. "But, I''m curious. Who informed you that you were my target? Was it Benedict? Pasha? Or was it Yssid?"


    "The person who betrayed you? I''m afraid I can''t tell you. Let''s just say, this person is closer to you than you think." The rider sneered. "Anyways, I truly think that you''re becoming quite rusty, Miss Ayami. You didn''t even notice that something, or should I say, someone is missing! Maybe it''s time for you to retire."


    "What do you mean?" Ayami was filled with a forboding feeling.


    The men surrounding her suddenly out laughing. For what reason, she didn''t know. All she knew was the sudden feeling of helplessness when she saw a tied up, unconcious young girl thrown in front of her.


    It was Gao Lin.


    Seeing the young girl she raised on her own, she immediately wanted to rush up and check her condition, but, the rider in front of her blocked her way abruptly.


    "Nuh-uh! Where do you think you''re going, missy?" The rider mocked.


    "What do you want?" Ayami grit her teeth and asked coldly.


    "It''s simple. Drop your weapons and surrender to the court." The rider grinned as if he had won a million gold brules. "It''s time the nobles take back the kingdom."


    So it was the doing of the nobles!


    Choosing to compromise for the time being, she lowered her dagger to the ground. What she didn''t expect was that the man behind her would directly kick the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel on the ground and making the pain on her left leg much more evident.


    Right when she was about to get up and attack the person behind her, she felt a cold, sharp object scrape her nape, halting her movements.


    A sword!


    "Don''t kill her yet. I still need to get some information out of her. Intell from a famous assassin is very precious." The rider ordered, then turned towards Ayami. "But... If you swear your allegiance to me, we can lighten your sentence."


    Just as Ayami was about to reply, a voice that chilled Ayami''s heart spoke from behind them.


    "Can I stop playing dead now? My arms are going numb." Gao Lin said as she sat up, rubbing her arms.


    "Ah, miss Lin! Have you had you fun already?" The rider asked.


    "Indeed. It was unfortunate that I couldn''t see most of her reactions though." Gao Lin laughed helplessly, as if talking about a funny thing she just saw. "How is it, nee-sama? Was my acting good?"


    So it was actually Gao Lin who betrayed her...


    Of all the people she knew, the only one she never guarded against and doubted was Gao Lin, the child she had carefully raised.


    Who knew she would actually make such a blunder? Ayami sighed regretfully.


    "Ah... I repeatedly adviced you to go home a while ago. Unfortunately, you didn''t heed it. If only you did. Then, things wouldn''t have ended this way!" Gao Lin shook her head in disappointment.


    Ayami too, was disappointed, but, for a different reason. "I see." She said quietly. "Then, I understand... Your parents were killed by me after all. I understand."


    "You bacame what I didn''t want you to become" Ayami suddenly grabbed her dagger which was on the ground."


    "Stop her!" The rider ordered but it was too late.


    "You became like me." With her arm raised, she determinedly....


    Stabbed herself.


    "Now I face my retribution..." Ayami fell to the ground, and slowly, her body began turning cold as her blood escaped her body.


    "Damn it!" The rider shouted, perhaps feeling regret from the lost intell they could''ve gotten from Ayami.


    "...Sir. What should we do about the corpse?" One of the men asked hesitantly to which, Gao Lin replied.


    "Set her on fire. Nee-sama said she was feeling cold a while ago. The least I could do for her is let her die warm."


    Mmm... Good girl...


    Ayami closed her eyes, already lost the feeling from her body to the point where she didn''t even notice when she started burning.

 2 An Extra Package

    "Hey! Watch out!"


    As soon as she became aware of her surroundings once again, a voice screaming at her startled her out of her confusion. Suddenly, she felt the tiny hairs at the back of her neck stand up, with every part of her body screaming ''Danger!''.


    Choosing to trust her instincts, she rolled to the side, just in time to avoid a huge paw that seemed to be larger than her from crushing her head into paste.


    "Young master! Are you alright?!" A somewhat lanky-looking middle aged man suddenly appeared from seemingly out of thin air, his face red from either worry or anger, or maybe it was both. Not waiting for her reply, the man turned towards a young man who was trying to appease what looked to be a gigantic armored panther.


    Young master? Should''nt it be young mistress instead? Anyways, what is with this sudden show of respect? Ayami was getting more and more confused by the minute.


    "You squib! How dare you nearly kill the young master! If it wasn''t for the young master''s timely reaction, he would''ve already died!" The older man shouted, pointing a sharpened stick towards the younger man, to which, Ayami found somewhat comical. "I should just kill you right now!"


    With a pointy stick? Ayami humoured herself. Anyways, what exactly is a squib. And, where is this?


    Right when she was trying to figure out where she was, an influx of memories and informations suddenly hit her like a truck. Particularly, memories of the night she was killed.


    It all made sense now.


    Tachibana Ayami was dead. But, somehow, her soul had been transfered into the body of a child from another world.


    How that was possible, she didn''t know, but, she felt thankful that she had a chance to start anew.


    Strangely, despite knowing that she was Tachibana Ayami until a while ago and receiving her memories, she didn''t receive much of the emotions that came with it.


    She did feel the regret of being betrayed by her most trusted person, but, she didn''t feel the intense desire to take revenge. There was only acceptance.


    It was like she was only a spectator in her own life.


    Perhaps that was because she was currently in a new body and the new body had nothing to do with Tachibana Ayami, therefore, the new body might have taken it as none of its business. Or something like that?


    Ayami shook her head.


    She would deal with this problem later. Right now, there was a more important problem at hand.


    "Young master, can you stand up? Are you hurt anywhere?" It seemed like the older man had finished shouting at the younger man and was now looking at Ayami with a worried gaze.


    He''s been saying young master for some time now. Perhaps he doesn''t know that she is female?


    Just as Ayami was about to get up from the ground and clarify the possible misunderstanding, she, or now, he, felt something between his legs that shouldn''t be there.


    The sudden feeling sent a chill throughout his body, causing him to freeze on the spot.


    What... Is this?


    Don''t tell me I have really become a boy?!


    At this moment, all Ayami wanted to do was to tear off his pants to see whether what he had thought was true.


    "Young master?" The older man called nervously, shaking those thoughts away from Ayami''s head temporarily.


    "Ah, yes. Thank you." A light, lispy voice said. Ayami was shocked. He had already predicted that he was quite young judging from the height difference between him and the other men, but, he didn''t expect that he was that young. "I-I''m fine."


    Due to the constant shocks that he had been recieving for the past minutes, his voice couldn''t help but tremble. Fortunately, the older man took it as Ayami feeling scared from almost dying.


    "Young master, If you don''t mind, since I have taken care of the squib for the time being, I will now take you to the lounge in order to check for injuries." Maybe it was because the older man had seen that Ayami was fine, his expression had relaxed by quite a bit and his tone had become steadier.


    Hearing the older man say squib, a term he didn''t quite understand, once again, he turned to look towards the younger man who had been unnaturally still for a while now. The gigantic creature that had almost killed him had disappeared, perhaps to cause chaos somewhere else.


    "What happened to him?" Ayami asked hesitantly after he had suppressed the unneeded emotions in his heart.


    "He is petrified, young master. No need to worry about him." The older man said with a sneer. "He''ll be taken care of later."


    "Oh, I see." Despite replying as if he knew exactly what was going on, only Ayami himself knew exactly how confused he was.


    Petrified? He was so scared, he froze? What scared him though? I doubt the old man is that scary.


    While he was thinking to himself, the man took the initiative to reach towards Ayami and with an incantation and a flick of his pointy stick, they had disappeared from where they had previously stood and reappeared inside a luxurious-looking lounge.


    M-magic?!


    This... How is it possible?!


    "Young master, please wait here for a moment. I''ll go and look for the family healer." The man informed and headed out after giving a quick bow, but, barely three seconds after, he had suddenly returned. "And, please, don''t wander around, young master." Then, he left again.


    ...


    Ayami was left in silence.


    Suddenly, he remembered something important. With his hand on the waistband of the pants he was wearing, he tentatively took a peek.


    ....Oof! It''s really there...


    QAQ There''s an extra package....

 3 Casimir Marie Proulx

    After making sure that Ayami was physically unharmed, the man, who Ayami had found out was the head steward of the manor they were in, led Ayami to a room which, Ayami guessed belonged to the original owner of the body she was in.


    Fortunately, the steward didn''t dare to let Ayami out of his sight in fear of Ayami getting into trouble and nearly dying again and chose to lead Ayami to the room personally, or else, Ayami was afraid he would have gotten lost trying to find his room. By then, it would have been troublesome to explain why he would get lost in his own home, which, may lead them to finding out his secret.


    Sadly, the steward will never know that the young master he was trying to protect had already died and was replaced by an entirely different person. Perhaps the original owner of the body, after having seen the gigantic panther charging straight towards him, was frightened so much that he had died directly.


    It was understandable since he was just a small child.


    As of now, Ayami was sitting on the edge of a bed too large for someone as small as he was, contemplating about her current predicament.


    This world is not the same as the previous one, Ayami concluded. There was no magic there, but, here, it existed.


    Other than the fact that he had died in the previous world and was transfered into the body of a young boy from a world that had magic, he knew nothing else.


    But, despite the language the steward used being different and unfamiliar to him, he seemed to be able to understand it instinctively. Perhaps that was because of the body''s own memory.


    For now, before he made any plans, Ayami needed to gather more information about his new body''s identity, his body''s current circumstance, and general knowledge about the world he was now living in.


    He looked towards an antique mirror at the corner of the room and saw a soft-looking child with fluffy, extremely light blond hair and evergreen eyes.


    Mm... Knowing more about this body is the top priority right now.


    Ayami conveniently ignored the new package that had been added to his body.


    On the bright side, he was now in the body of a young child, therefore, making it easier for him to ask about things without people becoming overly suspicious.


    Just then, there were sudden sounds of knocking on the door, halting his thoughts.


    "Young master?" It turned out to be the steward.


    "Yes?" Ayami replied, getting off of the bed and heading for the door to open it.


    "Young master, the lord wants to speak with you." The steward said, surprising Ayami.


    The lord? That should be either the original body''s father or his grandfather.


    Being an orphan in the previous world, he never had the chance to feel the love of his parents. Even the woman who adopted Tachibana Ayami was more like a teacher than a parent.


    Although Ayami''s mental age was already nearing the thirties, perhaps, due to being influenced by the body he was occupying, he couldn''t help but feel a child-like giddiness.


    Now, knowing that he had a chance to finally experience having parents, he couldn''t help but feel a bit excited.


    What kind of people would they be like?


    Ayami followed behind the steward and arrived in front of a mysterious-looking door which, Ayami guessed to be the door to the lord''s office.


    The steward knocked on the door lightly. "My lord, the young master has arrived."


    "...Let him in." There was a few seconds of silence, making Ayami think that the lord didn''t hear stewards but, after the pause, he suddenly heard a voice reply softly.


    The steward opened the door for Ayami and sent him an encouraging look. With his smooth actions, it seemed like he was used to doing this. Perhaps the original owner of the body often got in trouble and was always being called to the office like this.


    After Ayami entered the office, the steward gently closed the door and waited outside.


    Inside the office were shelved filled with various kinds of books were placed on the right side while on the left were jars containing strange creatures or parts of creatures submerged in some kind of liquid.


    Oh, is that an eyeball?


    For most people, this kind of environment would make them feel uncomfortable, but, to a former assassin, this was a place where he would feel at home.


    "Cough." A sudden sound made him stop looking around curiously. Looking towards where the sound came from, Ayami saw a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties gazing at him with a serious expression.


    "Casimir. Sit." The man ordered.


    Casimir? Is that the name of this body?


    Despite feeling somewhat annoyed by being treated like a dog, Ayami couldn''t help but sit on a chair in front of the man''s desk, as if an invisible force was controlling him.


    "...I heard that you''ve been running around in places you shouldn''t be in again." The man stated as he took a sip from the teacup on his desk.


    Looking closer at the man''s features, Ayami realized that he and the man had the same hair color and eye color but, the man had a more defined looking face. Ayami was ninety-nine percent sure that the man was the body''s father.


    Maybe he could take this chance to get some information out of him.


    "Casimir. Are you listening?" The cold voice of the man woke him up from his wandering thoughts.


    "Ah, yes?" Ayami asked cluelessly, to which, the man just sighed and shook his head.


    "How do you become so uncontrollable when your mother''s not around? I can''t deal with you." The man said helplessly. "I''m telling you, Casimir Marie Proulx. If you continue to be like this, I''ll send you to Durmstrang!"


    Casimir Marie Proulx. So that''s my name...


    And Durmstang? What is that? Ayami was confused, but, judging from the way the man said it, it should not be a good place, or, at least, somewhere the original owner of the body didn''t want to go to.


    So, acting appropriately to the situation, Ayami wore a horrified expression, making the man smile in satisfaction.


    "Since you don''t want me to send you to Durmstrang, then behave. You''ll be turning seven years old in a few months, at least mature a little. You need to live up to our family name. Our nobility isn''t just for show." The man said, once again being serious. "And don''t worry about the boy who almost got you killed."


    The man sneered. "He''ll be properly taken care of."


    "Alright. A guest will be coming here this afternoon to discuss something with me so you better not be running around at that time. Now go." The man began reading the papers on his desk. "Don''t cause too much trouble for Alphonse."


    Ayami nodded and went out. Although he didn''t know who Alphonse was, he thought that it should be steward who kept following him around.


    His goal of getting information out of the man was a success.


    He at least found out his new name, age, and family condition. Well, this new father seemed nice, but, he hadn''t met his new mother yet.


    Maybe he''ll get another chance on a later date.


    Anticipating for that day to arrive, Ayami...


    No, it should be Casimir Marie Proulx now. Tachibana Ayami is dead.


    Anticipating for that day to come, Casimir walked with a bounce in his steps and hummed a tuned as they passed through the winding hallways.

 4 The Library

    Oh... So that was how it was...


    It turned out to be like this! How fascinating...


    Casimir was reading a book inside the library that he had found after wandering around the fourth floor of the manor, emitting sounds of wonder and amazement from time to time.


    Despite being told by Mr. Proulx not to wander around, Casimir couldn''t help but do it. Just to fulfill his curiosity about his new world.


    It was on his tours around the fourth floor while he was trying to map out the layout of the manor that he had come across the library. Strangely, there were only two rooms on the fourth froor.


    Two extremely spacious rooms.


    One of them was the library, containing rows upon rows of bookshelves, filled to the brim with various books about various subjects.


    The other was a laboratory of some sort but, instead of it being filled with various chemicals and blithstones like he was used to seeing in labs, there were various parts of creatures in jars as well as strange looking glass instruments.


    Seeing that he knew nothing of the materials inside, he chose to explore the library instead.


    With his endless curiosity, the thousands of books in the library posed as a treasure trove to him.


    It was there that he discovered that the world he lived in was actually called Earth and, the countryhe was in currently, was called France.


    In this world called Earth, technology was advanced and magic existed, though most people were unaware of it. Those who knew were called wizards and witches, though they may be called in a different term in other countries, and those who didn''t know were called muggles.


    This world is much more peaceful than the other world. Casimir felt relieved.


    If this world was as chaotic as the previous one, Casimir didn''t know if he could deal with it.


    Spending nearly thirty years fighting and killing in Gretzheims had already made him very tired. All he wanted now was to live in peace.


    So, for him, the situation on earth was what he needed the most.


    But, that didn''t mean he would live without a goal.


    No. He would still want to become the top assassin, or should it be wizard now? In the world.


    But, that shouldn''t be something that needs immediate attention. Since he was still considered as a child right now, he would take this time to live the way he wanted to. The goal can wait.


    Casimir decided to indulge himself in this moment of freedom.


    After reading for a while, Casimir began feeling a bit drowsy. Although his mind was that of an adult, he still couldn''t help it since his body was currently still a child.


    An extensive period of activeness would easily tire out the body so, frequent nap times were required.


    In that case, since climbing to the fourth floor all the time to reach the library was too tiresome, why not just bring the books to the room so reading while laying down on the bed could be done?


    Despite Casimir''s refusal to admit, he was actually a lazy person deep down. If there was one thing he was good at doing, that was procrastinating.


    So, most of the time, he would just do everything all at once in order to have more free time to himself. If not, then he would ignore what he was supposed to do, probably hoping that it would just disappear one day.


    As he exited the library carrying a few books which he found helpful, he thought to himself. Why not walk around the third floor to map it out as well since it had a staircase that led to the left wing''s second floor where his room was located?


    Deciding to do so, he went down the stairs and walked on the hallways of the third floor, starting from the right wing. There, he saw a few empty rooms. Well, most of them were empty rooms but, there was one room that contained what seemed to be antiques.


    Casimir closed the door to the room after giving it a quick glance since he had no interest in such items. What he didn''t know was, those antiques weren''t just any ordinary decorations.

 5 The Gues

    After walking for a while, Casimir arrived at the main halls of the third floor. He tried to walk as quietly as possible which, should be easy enough for him, being a former assassin and all.


    One might question, why be overly cautious?


    Well, that was because the office of Mr. Proulx, the same one he had been in just a few hours before, was located in this hall.


    He didn''t even bother to open the doors to check what was inside, fearing that a small creak of a door would expose him to the lord of the manor, although, he did find out one thing about the manor.


    It was filled with windows.


    Large, glass windows that allowed the sunlight to stream inside, making the manor look bright and inviting.


    If given enough time, Casimir would have wanted to enjoy the sight more.


    Unfortunately, he had forgotten an important matter and, just as he was about to sneak past the office, the door suddenly swung open, freezing him in his tracks.


    He forgot about the guest!


    Well, it wasn''t that he had forgotten about it, it was just that he was so focused on exploring and reading that the matter had been pushed to the back of his mind.


    Because the door had suddenly opened, he didn''t even have the time to look for a hiding spot before he was spotted


    ....


    How does he manage to maintain such long hair?!


    That was the first thought Casimir had in his mind when he met Lucius Malfoy for the first time.


    The man had long, blond hair that grew past his shoulders. He looked somewhat elfish to Casimir in a sinister way and, the all black garments that he was wearing just increased that impression.


    "Your son?" The man asked as he glanced at Mr. Proulx who just sighed helplessly. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. This is my son, Casimir."


    Huh? What is this? Casimir was confused, he didn''t understand what they were saying. Were they speaking in another language? The only word he understood was his own name. Were they speaking about him?


    Mr. Proulx then turned to him and suddenly, he could understand him again!


    "Casimir, I told you not to wander around." Mr. Proulx said in a tired voice.


    "...I forgot..?" Casimir replied with an innocent look, trying to discretely inch away.


    Meanwhile, as the father and son duo were talking, Lucius Malfoy was assessing the child in front of him, as well as the books he was carrying.


    World Geography, an Encyclopedia, an Introductory to Basic Wizardry, The Dark Arts vol. 1, and... Basic Common Sense.


    "We''ll talk later." Mr. Proulx said seriously then, gestured towards the guest beside him. "This is Mr. Malfoy."


    "Ah... Bonjour?" Casimir hesitantly greeted to which, Mr. Malfoy just looked at him with slight interest.


    "I take it, he doesn''t speak English?" Mr. Malfoy asked Mr. Proulx, who, answered with a shake of his head. "I''m afraid he hasn''t been taught that yet."


    "I see..." Mr. Malfoy said. What an interesting child.


    "Depending on some situations, you might be seeing him quite often so, behave yourself." Mr. Proulx warned Casimir seriously. "I''ll be seeing Mr. Malfoy out so, wait for Alphonse to lead you later to the office in your room."


    "Remember. In you room. Don''t wander around." Mr. Proulx emphasized, then, turned back to Mr. Malfoy. "I''m sorry for the delay, Mr. Malfoy. Shall we head out now?"


    "Ah, yes." The two men walked away from the office, idly chatting about topics Casimir didn''t know since he couldn''t understand what they were saying.


    ...Studying that language is a must.


    ....


    Already nearly an hour had passed since his encounter with Mr. Malfoy, and now, Casimir was once again sitting on the chair in the office while being scolded by Mr. Proulx.


    "How many times do I have to tell you? Do not wander around!" Mr. Proulx berated. "This time you were lucky. If the guest today was someone from the French Ministry of Magic or one of those arrogant nobles from the north, they probably won''t take it lightly!"


    To Mr. Proulx''s scoldings, Casimir just repeatedly nodded his head, not bothering to talk back since it would be a bad idea.


    "You really need to learn to behave and do as you''re told." Mr. Proulx narrowed his eyes. "So, I''ve decided to give you a punishment."


    Huh?


    "Alphonse!"


    "Yes, my lord?" Alphonse entered the office after being called by Mr. Proulx.


    "Have Casimir follow you around for the next two weeks starting tomorrow. Have him learn from the servants." Although he was confused, Alphonse just nodded since he didn''t have the right to question his master''s motives. "Yes, my lord. This servant understands."


    Eh? What?! Noo... My free time!


    Casimir began to regret his decision in exploring the manor. Because of that, he would need to follow Alphonse around all day, doing who knows what.


    Unfortunately, his reading time would also be greatly lessened, causing him to fall into a momentary depression.


    Well, at least I would learn more about housework in this world. Casimir tried to cheer himself up.


    It didn''t work.


    "You may go." Mr. Proulx said, dismissing them.


    "Yes, my lord." Alphonse replied. "Shall we go, young master?"


    Casimir nodded and followed behind Alphonse, dreading what would come the next day.


    Inside the office, Mr. Proulx was massaging his temples. The previous serious and dignified expression he had just a while ago was gone and was replaced by an exhausted one.


    He sighed. "My son, you need to learn how to take care of yourself and mature early. I won''t always be around to protect you."


    Mr. Proulx picked up the document on his table which was given to him by Mr. Malfoy.


    "Grindelwald''s followers are stirring up again."

 6 The Manor in Loire Valley

    If you were to tour around France, aside from the world-famous Paris, most people would recommend you to take a trip to Loire Valley.


    But why Loire Valley?


    The reason for that was because of the numerous medieval castles and ancient manors that could be found there, making the whole place seem like it came out of a fairytale.


    Well, that was until you were sprayed by the lawn sprinklers.


    If that wasn''t to your taste then, maybe you could go around Strasbourg instead. Bordering between France and Germany, you would be surprised about the blending of the two different cultures. The cute houses and the mysterious, Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame are a plus too.


    But, that isn''t what this chapter is about.


    Right now, in a certain manor in Loire Valley, Casimir was walking around the gardens, following behind the gardener when...


    Psh!


    He was sprayed by the lawn sprinklers.


    "Ah! Young master!"


    This is gonna be a long day.


    ...


    After following around the gardener for around an hour and being taught how to properly take care and maintain various kinds of plants, Alphonse came to pick him up.


    "...What''s next in the schedule?" Casimir asked, already feeling tired despite the day having barely started.


    " You''ll be learning from the chefs in the kitchen, young master." Alphonse said, giving a reassuring smile to Casimir. "After that, we''ll be taking half an hour of break time for breakfast."


    Finally! I''m already starving! Casimir felt relieved, trying to hide the sound of his excited stomach but failing.


    When they arrived in the kitchen which was located on the first floor, Casimir was greeted by the smell of something delicious being cooked.


    After smelling it, Casimir''s self-confidence deflated.


    He used to have confidence in his cooking but, the smell of the food being cooked lessened it significantly.


    Just because it smells good doesn''t mean it would taste just as good! Casimir tried to comfort himself.


    After the chefs were introduced to him, they immediately began to guide and teach him how to cook. Despite already knowing how to cook beforehand, he still listened to their guidance attentively.


    Who knows? Maybe he''ll be able to improve his cooking this way.


    The chefs busied themselves with cooking once again, leaving Casimir looking around boredly.


    Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he spotted what looked to be some animal''s meat.


    Mm... Should I...?


    Discretely, Casimir took the meat along with a knife and a chopping board then, began cutting the the meat into cubes.


    Let''s make stew for breakfast! Given that the only thing he knew how to make was stew, of course, he would be making stew.


    Unknown to him though, one of the chefs had caught his actions and was watching him in amusement.


    Hmm? Why do I suddenly feel as if I''m being watched? Casimir shivered.


    After placing the meat cubes in a pot of water and boiling it, he sneaked around the kitchen and stole a few vegetables. He then proceeded to peel and chop them up, then threw them straight to the pot.


    Carrots, potatoes, guarus (radishes), Juhuoms (ginger), quosops (onions), and frudops (banana).


    It seems like Casimir forgot that he was in another world and that food ingredients may be different from what he was used to.


    Just as the chef was laughing to himself, he suddenly spotted something that made him stop.


    Casimir held a jar which contained black powder and was about to dump its contents into the pot.


    "Ah! Young master! That''s coffee!"


    It was too late.


    In went the coffee, into the stew.


    ...


    Casimir sat on the dining table, eating his breakfast sulkily.


    In the previous world, having plants in one''s home was a luxury, let alone constantly taking care and maintaining them and, with his busy schedule, he didn''t have enough time to do any proper housework.


    The only thing he was good at was cooking and now, he couldn''t even do that properly anymore.


    He sighed dejectedly.


    ...


    "Young master! Please stay calm!" A rough looking man said in worry, hoping that the creature inside the stable wouldn''t harm Casimir. " We''ll try to get you out as soon as possible!"


    After having finished eating breakfast, Casimir was led to what looked to be an enlarged version of a horse stable, except, it didn''t house horses.


    Inside it were two rows of spacious, semi-open rooms filled with hay, serving as a home for creatures of various shapes, colors, sizes, and origins.


    The stables, with its large size, had a second floor which allowed guests to view the creatures from the top. There, Casimir saw many creatures that he thought were only myths and some which was totally unknown to him.


    There were horses with wings and had the head of an eagle, horses made entirely of bones, lions with the tail of a scorpion, and a few more which Casimir had no words to describe.


    Suddenly, Casimir spotted a familiar creature in an isolated stable at the farthest corner of the stables, away from the other creatures.


    Hey! Isn''t that the beast from yesterday? Casimir walked towards back end of the stables, followed by Edgar, a rough looking man who served in the manor as the head caretaker of Lord Proulx''s collection of beasts from around the world. Coincidentally, he was also the only servant, aside from Alphonse, who wasn''t a squib.


    Arriving at the location which was directly above the creature''s stable, Casimir turned towards Edgar with a curious expression. "Mr. Edgar, what is this creature called?"


    "Young master, this creature is a Skaduwee, a creature which was caught in the Island of Severe in Africa." Edgar answered.


    "Oh, I see. Thank you." Casimir smiled gratefully and continued admiring the pitch black Skaduwee below him, leaning dangerously on the rails to try and get a closer look.


    As if suddenly remembering something, Edgar shouted to warn Casimir and hastily reached to pull the boy away from the rails. "Young master! Be careful!"


    Huh?


    Suddenly, the rails creaked and, the next thing he knew, he was already falling towards the stable.


    Which led us to our current situation.


    Fortunately, there was a pile of hay which cushioned Casimir''s fall. Unfortunately, his fall attracted the attention of the Skaduwee.


    Just how unlucky could he be on this day?

 7 A Talent for Taming

    The Skaduwee growled at Casimir, glaring at the intruder which suddenly appeared in its stable warily, ready to pounce at any given moment.


    "Young master, don''t make any sudden moves. This type of predator tracks their prey through movements." Edgar said calmly, trying not to spook the beast.


    I''m about to be eaten here and you tell me not to move?!


    Casimir thought to himself angrily but still chose to follow Edgar''s advice since he was more experienced in these types of circumstances.


    What he didn''t take note of though, was that, due to his sudden fall, the haystack which he had landed on had become unstable and, right at that moment, it began to give away, causing Casimir to slip further into it.


    Although he only slipped slightly, it was that small action which served as the last straw for the beast and, with a pounce, the beast had Casimir pinned down.


    Is this how I die?


    Am I about to die again without even accomplishing anything in this world?


    No! I refuse this ending!


    Casimir glared at the Skaduwee which had its teeth bared at him.


    "Why is the barrier in Stable 26 deactivated?! Where''s the kid who was in charge of it?!" Edgar grabbed one of the workers and started firing question after question.


    "S-sir! Clint was su-supposed to be the one taking care of stable 26 b-but, yesterday he was disposed of for letting the b-beast inside the stable escape!" The worker stuttered out, his answer making Edgar click his tongue angrily.


    Just as Edgar was about to rush towards the stables gate, the worker said something that made Edgar''s blood run cold. "Y-yesterday, sir... The beast attacked the y-young master a-after it escaped..."


    "Fuck!" Edgar cursed, running as fast as he could to the stables. This type of predator never lets go of the prey it set its eyes on! It would run after its prey and never give it up even if it dies trying to catch it. Hopefully, the young master survives until I get there.


    In the stable, Casimir determinedly stared back at the Skaduwee, his eyes meeting the beast''s.


    I am going to become the most powerful wizard in the world and I won''t let anything stop me!


    "Get off me." Casimir said in a grim tone. Unconsciously, a sinister aura was being released from his body, causing the fur on the back of the Skaduwee to stand in caution.


    It was as if Tachibana Ayami, one of the top assassins of Gretzheims, had been revived.


    The Skaduwee, unlike its wild and feral appearance would suggest, was actually a creature with high intellect and, right now, its brain was telling it that the prey in front of it may actually not be a prey at all.


    "I said, get off me!" Casimir shouted at the beast, his voice and pressence turning cold, putting an invisible pressure on the beast.


    The beast started to release its hold on Casimir''s body but didn''t fully let go, as if it was hesitating.


    So when Edgar finally arrived at the scene, he had the shock of his life.


    There, inside the stable, was a small boy, barely one third the height of the Skaduwee, sitting on a haystack with a hand on the beast''s nose, trying to push the beast away.


    Instead of the boy being afraid like one would expect, it was the beast instead which had a frightened look.


    At least, that was what it looked like to Edgar.


    "Let me go already, you stupid beast!" When the beast refused to let him go, Casimir decided that he needed to use force to make the beast understand him better so, with a clenched fist, he punched the beast''s face with all the force a child''s body could muster.


    Surprised by the sudden attack from the child under its claws, the beast accidentally let go. Despite the level of attack being no more than a tickle to the beast, it was actually stunned since it was an action it had never expected.


    None of its preys had ever fought back.


    With this, its previous hostility to Casimir had turned into rabid interest so, in order to not let this interesting creature go, the beast directly laid down on Casimir who was just about to escape.


    Its head was on top of Casimir''s belly with its chest pinning down the boy''s legs in a way that would prevent the boy from moving without harming him.


    "Again?! Stupid beast, get away!" With his hands as the only parts of his body which he could move freely, Casimir tried to push the beast away with all his might. "You''re too heavy!"


    To Casimir''s attempts, the beast just sniffed the hands that were pushing its head away and licked it, trying to imprint the smell and taste of the boy in its head.


    It licked my hands! Is it trying to have a taste of its meal before consuming me whole?! Casimir suddenly had a terrifying thought.


    From the corner of his eyes, Casimir finally spotted Edgar who was just standing in front of the stable''s gate, staring at them with a blank expression.


    "Ack! Mr. Edgar! A little help here please!" As if being woken up from his reverie, Edgar shook his head and hastily unlocked the gate, attracting the attention of the Skaduwee.


    Seeing an unfamiliar man entering its stables, the beast growled lowly, warning the man to not go further in its territory or else it would attack.


    Edgar paused his steps, aware of the beast''s meaning, having been dealing with different kinds of beasts for more than twenty years already. But, since the son of the manor''s lord might be in danger, Edgar couldn''t help but grit his teeth and throw caution to the wind.


    He discretely grabbed his wand from the pocket of his trousers and braced himself for what was about to come. He hesitantly took a step forwards.


    Unfortunately, the beast didn''t take his actions too kindly.


    With a loud roar, the Skaduwee stood up and charged towards Edgar, its teeth bared and ready to rip the man to shreds.


    "Stop!"


    That sudden shout was like a single drop of water in the ocean amidst heavy rains; so insignificant. Yet, it was that exact shout which caused the beast to halt its actions and look behind towards the young boy who was just getting up from the ground.


    "Stupid beast."


    ...


    "Have you heard?"


    "Heard what?"


    "The young master! Have you heard?"


    "Of course! Who hasn''t?!"


    "I''ve asked around the stablehands! They said the young master fell into the cage of a newly arrived beast and within ten minutes, the beast was tamed!"


    "Ten minutes? I heard it was five!"


    "So insane! He must have been born with a great talent for taming!"

 8 Noir

    "I heard you managed to tame the new beast from Africa." Mr. Proulx said suddenly, breaking the silence in the dining room.


    "Mm... I wouldn''t call it taming, father." Casimir swallowed his food. "The stupid beast just forced itself onto me."


    Mr. Proulx coughed and narrowed his eyes. "...I see."


    Silence ensued as the father and son ate dinner.


    "So... How was your day?"


    Why is this so awkward?! Both Casimir and Mr. Proulx thought at the same time.


    "...It was horrible." Casimir stated seriously as he picked the vegetables from his food. "I got sprayed by the lawn sprinklers, accidentally put coffee powder in the stew, and got pinned down by an overgrown cat! What''s more is that said cat refused to leave me alone and had to be put to sleep temporarily by Edgar so I could get away!"


    There was a short moment of silence after Casimir''s outburst. Suddenly the two of them burst out laughing.


    "Long day, huh?" Mr. Proulx joked.


    "Extremely long day!" Casimir replied.


    "Well, now you know how I feel when you get into some sort of mess." Mr. Proulx grinned at his son. "That beast... Do you like it?"


    "It''s not that I like. It''s more like it likes me." Casimir shoved a slice of meat into his mouth. "But it''s okay, I guess."


    "You can have it." Mr. Proulx suddenly declared, causing Casimir to choke on his food. "W-what?!"


    "You heard me." Mr. Proulx grinned towards his son who was drinking his water hastily. "You can treat it as an early birthday gift. But!... You have to take care of it on your own since the beast''s former caretaker is now....resigned."


    "Well, I''m done eating." He stood up and gestured for the servants to take his plates away. "I still have something important to do so I''ll see you tomorrow."


    Wait! Come back! I don''t want this birthday gift!


    Casimir stared at his plate with a pale face.


    ...


    The next morning, Casimir was carrying-


    No, let me rephrase.


    Casimir was dragging an unknown creatures leg, heading towards the isolated stable 26.


    "Argh!" Casimir suddenly let out a loud scream which sounded more like an amplified groan.


    Why did it end is way?!


    All I wanted was a safe retirement period! I just wanted to relax for a few years but now, I have to spend my days taking care of a stupid beast! Argh!


    Casimir grumpily kicked the gate of stable 26. " Wake up, stupid beast!"


    Having heard a familiar voice, the Skaduwee''s ears perked up. It immediately stood up from its resting location and ran towards the gate in excitement.


    With the key which was given to him by Edgar, Casimir unlocked the gate and entered the stable while dragging the animal leg. "Your breakfast''s here!"


    Before he even had time to close the gate, Casimir found himself falling to the ground, having been pushed by the beast. "Not me! Your breakfast is over there, you stupid beast!"


    It seemed as if the beast didn''t hear what he said as it rubbed its huge, furry head all over Casimir''s body, acting like an overgrown house cat which just missed its owner.


    "Argh! Alright! Enough already!"


    ...


    For the next few days, Casimir spent most of his time inside stable 26, feeding, grooming, and accompanying the Skaduwee.


    He spent so much time inside the stable that, even while he was dreaming, he was still in the stable, taking care of the huge beast.


    These past few days, although Casimir refused to admit it, he began to get used to the beast''s presence and began opening up to it.


    The following days after that, Casimir began to bring various books to the stable every time he visited, reading aloud to the beast which just stared at him attentively even though it couldn''t understand a word he was saying.


    On one day, while Casimir was brushing the beast''s fur, he suddenly paused and slapped his forehead, making the Skaduwee look at him in bewilderment. "Of course! How could I forget that?!"


    I was so used to calling it stupid beast that I forgot to give it a proper name! Casimir gave himself a mental kick.


    "Stupid beast! Today, I will name you!" Casimir declared as he pointed towards the beast in a dignified way.


    Eh? Didn''t you already given me a name? Silly master. The Skaduwee thought to itself. Fortunately, Casimir couldn''t read the beast''s mind or else he would have kicked the beast for calling him silly.


    Stupid beast! Let me tell you, this great I, was once at the top of the Assassin Rankings in a whole kingdom! Hmph!


    "Since you''re stupid, how about Terne?" The beast huffed and flicked its tail, clearly disliking the name.


    "No? Then what about Armure? Fonc¨¦? Nuit?"


    Casimir tried a few more names but, none of them managed to get a positive reaction from the beast.


    He sighed. "Well, since you''re black, let''s go with Noir?"


    Finally, the beast''s ears twitched and looked at him, as if agreeing with name.


    "Alright! From now one, your name is Noir!" Casimir smiled, relieved that they had found a name which both of them were satisfied with. "Nice to meet you, Noir. I''m Casimir Marie Proulx." He grinned at the beast which was staring at his face curiously.


    "Let''s take care of each other, okay?"


    The beast rubbed its head on Casimir''s chest, seeming to agree with him.

 9 Mother

    It has already been more than three weeks since Casimir had first arrived in this world but he had yet to catch a glimpse of his supposed mother so, like any curious individual, he asked around for information. Discretely, of course.


    "Father. Where is my mother?"


    Just kidding. It was more like...


    "Lately, I''ve been reading some things about muggle technology but, there are some things which I can''t quite understand. If mother was here, maybe I could go and ask her since you''re too busy most of the time, father." Casimir seemed to carelessly mention during dinner one night.


    "You know she''s busy in Paris around this time, Casimir. Just wait for a few more weeks. She''ll probably be home for your birthday." Mr. Proulx replied with a sigh. Probably. "For the meantime, you can ask Alphonse for anything you don''t understand."


    "Oh, I see..." Casimir felt dejected. "Thank you, father."


    ...


    It was a few days after that, just after Casimir had fed Noir his breakfast and was just about to go and eat his as well, when he saw an ordinary-looking barn owl fly across the garden and entered the open windows of Mr. Proulx''s office.


    Having already been accustomed to life in the wizardly part of earth, he knew that an owl entering the manor signified the arrival of a letter or a parcel of some sorts.


    So, when Casimir was eating breakfast with Mr. Proulx, he posed a question. "A letter arrived, father?"


    "...Indeed." The man answered, his voice sour.


    It seems that whatever was in the letter put him in a bad mood.


    Seeing that he was not in any mood to continue the conversation, most people would either change the topic or would stop talking.


    Unfortunately, Casimir wasn''t like most people.


    "Who was it from, father?" Casimir continued asking.


    "...Mr. Malfoy, as usual." Mr. Proulx answered after pausing for a moment. "Eat."


    "Oh." Casimir took a bite of the buttered croissant.


    He''s lying.


    "... He changed his owl?" Mr. Malfoy had an eagle-owl. Not a barn owl.


    To his question, Mr. Proulx flinched and didn''t answer anymore, eating his breakfast in silence.


    For the rest of their time eating, no one said a word and, just like that, ten minutes passed.


    Casimir quickly finished his food and was about to excuse himself when, his father suddenly spoke.


    "It was your mother." Mr. Proulx sighed. "She sent a letter."


    "She won''t be able to come home for your birthday so she sent a letter to ask what present you would want instead." Casimir turned to look at Mr. Proulx, finally knowing why the man was in such a sour mood so early in the morning.


    Honestly, the news also dampened his mood significantly as well but, hey! No one can get everything they wished for.


    "She apologized but, it seems like she has something important to do so she''ll be extending her stay in Paris for two months more." Mr. Proulx continued in an apologetic tone.


    More important than her son''s birthday, it seems.


    "Oh... I understand. Thank you for informing me, father." Casimir said with a smile, as if the news didn''t bother him. "Please tell mother that I would like a musical instrument for my birthday."


    Sitting around without any form of entertainment gets boring after a while.


    "I see... I''ll make sure to pass the message to her." Mr. Proulx smiled, watching the back of his son as he walked away.


    From under the table, Mr. Proulx had a letter gripped tightly in his hand and, in the letter, there was no such apology. It had no explanation, no asking for present, it didn''t even have a return address. All there was, was a single sentence.


    ''Won''t come back this year.''


    ...Just when will you come back, Anaise? It''s been nine months...


    ...


    Leaves were slowly falling from the trees, drifting with the wind for a while, fluttering gently before landing on the ground silently.


    The trees were slowly turning various shades of orange and reds but, since it was still in the early stages of autumn, most trees weren''t going bald yet.


    For those sightseeing, it was truly a wonder to see but, for the gardeners, it was a horror.


    Take for example, this certain gardener in the Proulx manor who was currently scratching the back of his head in frustration, stomping his foot on the grass and staring the scattered leaves on the lawn.


    "I just cleaned this place a while ago! Argh!"


    For the other people in the manor, aside from the gardener, today was a joyous occasion. Numerous servants were rushing about; be it the chefs in the kitchen, the maids and butlers, even the owls were more active than usual!


    Maids were hastily cleaning the house, making the floors as shiny as possible and the windows so clear, you wouldn''t even realize that there was glass separating the inside from the outside!


    Of course, the butlers were just as busy, taking notes of who knows what, inspecting the conditions of various items, recording the names of the guests who will arrive, and such.


    Inside the kitchen was much more hectic; the chefs were rushing about here and there, cooking various types of dishes, creating a sumptuous feast that could feed around a hundred people in the least amount of time as possible. From time to time, you would also hear the voice of the head chef as he scolded the chefs for a small mistake they made.


    One might ask, why is it so busy today?


    Well, it was September 13!


    The young master''s birthday!


    Perhaps the only place which wasn''t affected by the joyous atmosphere was the stable. And that''s exactly where the star of the day was in; reading a book while leaning on Noir, making a pillow out of the beast''s belly.

 10 A Banque

    "Oh! So in English, Bonjour is Hello or good morning, Bonne apr¨¨s-midi is Good afternoon, and Bonsoir is Good Evening! How exhilarating! I''m learning!" Casimir''s eyes were glistening in delight as he gripped the French to English dictionary in his hands.


    "Good morning, Noir!" Casimir shouted and patted the big cat''s head.


    "Judging from the way this word is used, I''m guessing Good means Bien!" Casimir said to himself aloud and, to prove his theory, he immediately flipped the pages to look for the aforementioned words. "Aha! I was right! I''m so smart!"


    "Wouldn''t it be great if everyone was as smart as me? Then no one would be stupid!" Casimir proudly grinned to himself and said. "The whole world would benefit! Right, Noir?"


    In reply, the big cat just licked his face affectionately.


    "Ah! Stop! You''re ruining my hair!"


    Cat''s tongue really does feel like sandpaper!


    Speaking of his hair, after seeing Mr. Malfoy on that one fateful day, Casimir decided that he would not have his hair cut anymore.


    Well, unless his hair gets too long to handle.


    So, right now, his hair reached to his chin. It was not considered short but, not long either. Most of the time, he would just tie the top half of his hair in a messy bun and let the bottom half flow freely.


    Some of the maids, after seeing his messy bun, offered to cut his hair but, were outright refused so, they just went with offering to fix his bun which, he agreed to... Most of the time.


    ...


    Casimir walked towards the manor from the stables at the back, picking the stray pieces of hay which had stuck determinedly to his clothes.


    Just like that, Casimir entered the manor, his hair filled with straws of hay that were sticking out of it, his face having dust marks, and his clothes had tufts of fur from Noir.


    Hmm? What''s happening here?


    As he was walking towards his room, he began to realize that the servants in the manor were much busier than normal.


    "Young master!!!" Suddenly, there was a horrified scream coming from somewhere to his left and, as he looked towards that direction, he saw a tired yet, petrified looking Alphonse.


    Huh? Why does he look like that? Casimir looked behind and around him to see if there were any monsters there that could have terrified Alphonse. Hmm? There''s none.


    "Young master!!! You''re... You''re!!!" Alphonse charged towards Casimir. "How can you be so dirty on this day?!!"


    After that, Casimir was dragged to his room and into the bathroom by Alphonse without being able to do anything.


    "Please take a bath and clean yourself properly. I''ll be preparing your attire as you do so, young master." Alphonse said while directing Casimir to the bathroom. "Please remember to not take too much time in there. The guests will start arriving soon."


    "Wait! Wait!" Casimir shouted right before Alphonse was about to close the bathroom door shut. "First, you need to tell me why I need to get dressed up. What''s with today anyways?! Everyone seems so busy doing stuff!"


    "What do you mean, young master?'' Alphonse questioned back. "Today is the 13th of September! Your birthday!"


    "So please stop these jokes and take a bath." The door was directly shut right at his face.


    Inside the bathroom, Casimir was staring blankly at his reflection on the mirror.


    Wow... I look horrid. He commented to himself as he tried to brush off the straws of hay that were sticking out from his hair.


    After a few moments, Casimir sent a grin to his reflection, having already removed the hay and other unknown particles that were hiding in his hair.


    Alright! Next comes the moment that I dread everyday... Bath time.


    It was not that Casimir didn''t like bathing. He actually liked it, in fact. It was just that, he would have to face that unexplored territory during bath time.


    Having already taken off his garments, Casimir submerged himself in his bathtub which was filled with water and scented oils, courtesy of Alphonse. He then began to tentatively scrub his whole body, his face turning paler by the second.


    ...I''ll have to face it sooner or later... Casimir thought to himself grimly. Might as well just get on with it. And with that, he reached towards the forbidden place.


    Oh my Melecrit!!! It''s a worm!!!


    ...


    Some time later, Casimir was walking around the ballroom of the manor which he didn''t even know existed till this day.


    Well, how was he to know of its existence when the room was situated underground?!


    The only entrance and exit to the place was a huge willow tree in the front gardens and the only way you would know that without anyone telling you was if you had somehow walked right into the tree!


    Who the heck designed this place?!


    Although he was having an internal rant inside his head, Casimir still managed to maintain an unwavering smile on his face as he greeted the guests one by one, following behind his father as he introduced them to him.


    "Ah, Mr.Fontaine! So nice to see you arrive!" Mr. Proulx exclaimed as he smiled amiably and shook the hand of a slightly pudgy man. "Mr. Proulx! It''s good to see you again!" The man replied, equally as amiable.


    "I''ve heard you''ve succeeded in your trades with the Italians?" Mr. Proulx asked, looking as if he had just mentioned it casually.


    "Haha! Indeed! Indeed!" Mr. Fontaine laughed jovially, although, to Casimir, it sounded quite strained for some reason. "Your information network surely does work quick!"


    "Haha! It''s just alright!" It was clearly a harmonious conversation but, why does Casimir see imaginary swords flying around these two men?


    Ah... The world of nobles is truly complicated...


    It seems that Casimir had once again forgotten that he was now part of that complicated noble world.


    Suddenly, two more guests arrived to the banquet.


    At first, Casimir thought that they were just two guests who belonged to the noble or upper-class of the wizard community of France like most of the people here but, after looking closer, Casimir realized that he actually knew one of them.


    Hey! Isn''t that Mr. Proulx''s pen-pal, Mr. Malfoy? Oh! And he seems to have brought a kid with him!


    I''m going to have so much fun tonight!

 11 Draco Malfoy

    Right after Casimir noticed the new guests, Mr. Proulx did so too. After excusing himself, Mr. Proulx immediately headed towards the two with Casimir in tow.


    ...


    "Father, how come they have people as servants instead of house elves?" Draco asked his father, looking around the room curiously after they had arrived, not noticing Casimir and Mr. Proulx who were just a short distance of a few paces away from them.


    "Those are squibs, Draco. People who came from wizardry families but didn''t have an ounce of talent for magic so, they became lowly servants instead in exchange for protection." Mr. Malfoy told his son coldly. "They are people who are no more than pebbles at the side of the road in the world we live in so, I better not find out that you''ve been associating with their kind."


    "Yes, father." Drace answered seriously, wanting to please his father.


    Casimir sighed. Although he couldn''t quite accept what Mr. Malfoy said about the manor''s servants, he still chose to keep quiet, knowing that what the man had said was the actual truth. The cold, harsh truth that one has to accept at some point in their lives.


    Equality is just a myth.


    If you wish for justice, then you must have the power to take it.


    Even in the seemingly peaceful Proulx manor, Casimir knew that the very same servants whom he had been living and conversing with were actually just tools which Mr. Proulx could just dispose of at any given moment.


    Just see for yourself, the outcome of the man who almost got Casimir killed on the first day.


    Such is the life of the lower class.


    And there was no one more familiar with it than Casimir himself.


    It seems like some things never change, even in different worlds.


    "Mr. Malfoy! We''re so glad you could take the time out of your busy schedule to come!" Finally, Mr. Proulx decided to let his presence be known, greeting the Malfoys with the same amiable smile that he had shown everyone else, not giving away any hint that he had heard what they were talking about. "Ah, it seems you have also brought young Draco Malfoy with you!"


    "Indeed. I''ve brought him with me today to help him get familiar with occasions such as this. Hopefully, you won''t mind." Mr. Malfoy said with a courteous smile yet still managing to look dignified. Just how does he do it?!


    Oh. That''s a nice cane though...


    "Not at all! Not at all!" Mr. Proulx turned towards Draco with a kind smile that adults would normally show to children. "Hello, Draco. Do you remember me? The last time I saw you, you were still very young! Around two or three years old perhaps?"


    To what Mr. Proulx said, Draco just looked confused and turned to his father, obviously not remembering who Mr. Proulx was.


    "Draco, this is Mr. Proulx. My business partner." Mr. Malfoy explained in a timely manner. "He used to visit when you were younger."


    "Haha! It seems like you don''t remember." Mr. Proulx laughed as if he found it funny. "You were so young back then! It would be surprising if you remembered."


    "Ah! Before I forget... Casimir!" Mr. Proulx suddenly called Casimir who was just quietly watching them, moving aside to introduce his own son. "Draco, this is my son Casimir. Hopefully, the both of you could get along with each other." The man said with his hands on Casimir''s shoulders, as if he was afraid his son would suddenly disappear to wander around somewhere else.


    After being put in the spotlight so suddenly by his father, Casimir began to feel slightly panicked. The worst place to put an assassin, former or not, was in the spotlight after all. "B-bonsoir, ah! I mean, Good Evening, Draco." Casimir bowed elegently but, his words had a stutter. "Hello again, Mr. Malfoy."


    "I see you''ve learned a bit of English." Mr. Malfoy stated. "Draco, shouldn''t you be saying something?"


    "Good evening, Casimir." Draco replied with a straight face.


    Suddenly, Casimir found himself desperately trying to suppress his laughter. Unfortunately, his unnatural expression gave it away.


    "What''s so funny?" Draco asked, looking annoyed that someone was laughing at him, making Casimir laugh aloud. "Pfft! Hahaha!"


    "I said, what''s so funny?!" Draco''s face started to redden from anger but, Casimir just continued laughing.


    "Alright, that''s enough, Casimir." Mr. Proulx had an amused smile. "Don''t worry, Draco. You just mispronounced his name."


    "It''s Ca-zah-meer. Ca-zah-meer. Not Cashmere." Casimir said, trying to stop himself from laughing more. "I''m not cashmere coat."


    "Well, you have a funny accent yourself!" Draco retorted back.


    QAQ I do?!


    Seeing Casimir''s horrified expression, Draco grinned triumphantly.


    "Shall we leave the children get to know each other?" Mr. Proulx turned towards Mr. Malfoy.


    "...Let us do so. We still have some business to discuss." Mr. Malfoy answered after a momentary pause.


    "Casimir." Mr. Proulx called Casimir''s attention. "Entertain Draco for a while. Don''t wander around."


    "Yes, father." Casimir replied. Although he was curious about what kind of business they were to talk about, he knew he couldn''t overstep his boundaries so he just agreed.


    After both the boys watched their fathers walk farther into the room, they turned to each other in silence; the air turning awkward in the speed of sound.


    "Do you want to get away from here?" Casimir suddenly asked. Fortunately he studied English so, he could now hold basic conversations.


    "I''m not sure that would be a good idea." Draco said, perhaps worried that his father might find out but still maintained that proud, ''none are better than moi'' expression.


    "It''s good! It''s good! Come! I will show you something!" Casimir grinned mischievously and directly grabbed Draco''s wrist, pulling the boy towards a wall which also served as the exit to the room. "You will like it!"

 12 The Boy Who Likes to Wander

    In this dark and starless night, two boys were running across the back gardens of the manor, not even bothering to conceal their presence since most of the servants were in the underground ballroom.


    With one hand dragging along the other boy, Casimir led the way to the stables, where all of Mr. Proulx''s collection of creatures were kept.


    "Shh... We''re here." Casimir whispered quietly, a grin emerging from his face, as if he was genuinely anticipating what was about to come. "Need to stay quiet."


    Just as Draco was about to say something, he suddenly found himself unable to speak; all that came out were muffled sounds. It turns out, Casimir had actually covered his mouth with his hand to stop him from talking. Draco glared at Casimir.


    "Quiet." Casimir said in a serious way but, his brightly glistening, evergreen eyes showed mischievousness.


    Taking a key from his pocket, he unlocked the door to the stables. "Come. It''s here." Casimir motioned for Draco to follow.


    "Why am I even doing this..?" Draco muttered under his breath but still followed behind Casimir since he was not familiar with the Proulx manor and might just get lost even if he decided to go back.


    As they walked, soft green orbs started to come alive, as if they had sensed their arrival and were lighting the way for them through the dark interiors of the stable.


    "Come and look!" Casimir waved Draco over, making the boy sigh to himself.


    Arriving beside Casimir, Draco struggled to look through the dim light to see what Casimir was so excited to show him.


    Gradually, his eyes started to get used to the dimness and he began to see an outline of what seems to be a part eagle, part horse creature. "What is it..?" Draco asked in wonder.


    "It is a Hippogriff. Very gentle creature." Casimir said with a grin. His whole expression seeming to say ''I told you, you would like it'', causing Draco to look at him with an annoyed face.


    "That''s not all! Over here!" Casimir then, began dragging Draco from stable to stable, showing him various kinds of magical creatures.


    When Casimir was introducing the creatures to Draco, most of them just ignored the two. Of course, there were also a few curious creatures which approached them daringly. Most probably, they were just checking to see if the nighttime visitors brought any snacks with them.


    Soon, Draco got to know many kinds of magical creatures, causing his previous annoyance to lessen significantly.


    Ah... Dealing with children is so easy. Hopefully, he won''t grow up to be a sour individual. Now, that would be a pity.


    After walking for a while, Casimir led Draco to an isolated stable at the far end; away from all the other creatures.


    Somehow, this set-up caused Draco to feel unsettled. Even the Chimaera''s stable wasn''t as isolated as this one. Draco thought to himself. Perhaps this creature is much more dangerous than the rest.


    Draco took one step back but, he realized; since Casimir led him here, maybe things weren''t quite as dangerous as he thought.


    Suddenly, Casimir turned around to face Draco, his grin widening. "Now, I will introduce you to the last creature."


    "This one is a Skaduwee. Very aggressive creature." Casimir introduced briefly and, just as he was about to continue speaking, a loud bang was heard coming from the inside of the stable, causing Draco to jump back in surprise.


    As the creature emerged from the shadows of its stable, the dim glow of the wispy orbs cast an eerie light on it, making the creature look more terrifying than it was supposed to be.


    It was gigantic!


    The creature was around seven to eight feet tall. It had pitch black fur that seemed to be the embodiment of darkness itself and, various parts of its body were covered in shiny, natural armor.


    It''s like a walking nightmare! Draco shivered as he saw a golden pair of eyes amidst the dark fur.


    "They don''t like other creatures..." Suddenly, the creature ran towards the gate of its stable and poked its head out of the open space above it, its head dangerously close to Casimir''s and...began licking the boy''s cheek softly. "...most of the time."


    .... Draco had no words to say.


    So far, this night has been the weirdest night that he had ever experienced in his life.


    The boy in front of him, Casimir, was also the weirdest person he had met in his life.


    Perhaps, if he had chosen to accompany his mother to Milan as he was supposed to instead of going to the banquet on this night, he might have never met this weird boy who would soon change his future.


    In the dark, starless sky above the stables where they were in, a single shooting star passed, signifying a change that will come to the future.


    ...


    When they returned to the ballroom, things were much livelier than when they had left.


    The guests were either dancing to the music of the sprites or were discussing with each other about various topics.


    "You see? Nobody noticed." Casimir grinned at Draco and said confidently.


    "Nobody noticed what?" Suddenly, Casimir heard a grim voice that made his face turn pale.


    This time, it was Draco''s turn to grin at him, looking like a villain who enjoyed watching the sufferings of others.


    QAQ I thought we were friends!


    "Ah~ Nice to see you there, father!" Casimir turned around and smiled stiffly to the man who was staring at him coldly.


    Aiya! Why does it seem so cold here suddenly?

 13 What are You

    "Fortunately, Mr. Malfoy went outside for some fresh air so he didn''t notice." Mr. Proulx said coldly.


    He went out? How come we didn''t see him though? Casimir was confused.


    "But, you! I told you not to wander around. How come you never listen to what you''re told?" Mr. Proulx flicked Casimir''s forehead.


    "Owh..." Casimir held his forehead reflexively and looked at Mr. Proulx with an aghast expression, looking as if he were wronged.


    Meanwhile, Draco was just watching them from the side, laughing to himself.


    "Don''t give me that look." Mr. Proulx had his eyes narrowed. "Tell me, was it right for the host to leave his own banquet?"


    "No...?" Casimir replied but, it sounded more like a question since he wasn''t exactly sure how banquets worked. "It felt boring here so I thought...that we could...go out..?" He tried to explain but his voice just got softer and softer as he went on, perturbed by the unreasonably cold expression Mr. Proulx had on.


    "We''ll talk later." Mr. Proulx just said this single line, then, left to chat with the guests.


    Oh fuck! That line again!


    "Do you always get scolded by your father?" Draco asked out of nowhere, his face still having a gloating expression.


    I swear, one day I will teach this brat a lesson. Casimir thought to himself.


    "No. Today was special." Casimir lied with a straight face.


    "Speaking of special, why did your father suddenly decide to throw a banquet? Don''t you know that throwing a banquet on a thirteen that falls on a Friday is bad luck?" Draco asked, looking as if he were a smart person trying to educate a stupid person.


    "...It''s my seventh birthday..." Casimir said glumly.


    "Oh... Happy Birthday." Draco said awkwardly then, reverted back to his prideful expression. "Just so you know, I had mine three months ago so I''m older than you."


    This brat..!


    "...Did you really come here without knowing what the banquet is for?" Casimir asked skeptically.


    "Why would I need to know the purpose of every stupid banquet?" Draco replied with a question of his own.


    "So you can avoid offending people!" Casimir suddenly had the urge to smack some sense into this arrogant child.


    "Why should I need to be afraid of offending people? They should be afraid of offending me!" Draco stated in a matter-of-fact way.


    ... Casimir had no words to say.


    ...


    After the banquet ended and most the guests had already left, Mr. Malfoy finally showed himself again to pick Draco up and, after bidding farewell to Mr. Proulx and Casimir, they immediately left.


    Suspiciously enough, Casimir noticed that Mr. Malfoy smelled like he just went into a heavily dusted area.


    He was pretty sure that their gardens didn''t smell like dust.


    Anyways, it''s none of my business to pry into. Casimir shrugged.


    ...


    As they were walking across the lawn of the Proulx manor, heading towards the tall, oppressive gates to exit the premises, Mr. Malfoy glanced towards Draco. "How was Casimir?"


    (Casimir: What am I?! A baguette?!)


    "Loud. It was like he was born with too much energy!" Draco commented without even the need to think about it. "But, he seemed alright, compared to the other French nobles I''ve met."


    Mr. Malfoy was silent for a few moments, seeming to be thinking about something important. "...I see... Then you can get along with him?"


    "As long as it is needed, father." Draco replied.


    "Good." Mr. Malfoy said coldly. "His father is hiding something that we require."


    ...


    In the dark office on the third floor of the Proulx manor, a man sat on a black leather chair, the dim glow of the green, wispy orbs casting a faint light over his figure, illuminating his face slightly; just enough for his dark expression to be seen.


    "Alphonse." Mr. Proulx called, making the man who seemed to have become one with the shadows reveal himself. "Yes, my lord?"


    "Did anyone come in here tonight?" Mr. Proulx asked in a dark tone.


    "...Yes." Alphonse answered after a short pause.


    Mr. Proulx narrowed his eyes. "... Malfoy?"


    "Yes, my lord." Alphonse replied, confirming Mr. Proulx''s suspicions. "He was looking for something in here and in the storage room."


    "I see..." With his chin resting on his knuckles, Mr. Proulx contemplated. "You did well to not alarm him."


    "Right now, what we need to do the most is to avoid them from finding out that we already know of their motives. Make sure this news doesn''t get out." Mr. Proulx ordered then, said a spell and, with a flick of his wand, disappeared from the office. The last thing he left was his faintly echoing voice. "And tell Casimir to visit my office."


    ...


    In a dark, secret chamber, somewhere inside the manor, Mr. Proulx was walking towards a wide, open space from a long and winding corridor.


    At the center of this space were piles and piles of books, jewelries, various knickknacks, and stones of every color and sizes. It seems like no one bothered to arrange them since they were just randomly scattered around.


    At the very center of this pile, though, was an elevated stone pillar that looked like it should have been connected to the ceiling but was cut cleanly midway, creating a little holder-like space. On top of this space, laid an ordinary velvet box; just big enough to fit a necklace or a fairly large pendant.


    Upon opening the box cautiously, a locket with a snake insignia was revealed.


    "You were supposed to be just an ordinary present... But why do troublesome people seem to pop out ever since I got you?!" Mr. Proulx gripped the locket in his fist tightly, as if he was about to throw it away in rage any moment now, but, at the last minute, he managed to calm down.


    His hand shook fiercely, dropping the locket to the floor as if it had burned his hand.


    "Just what are you...?"

 14 The Phantom Fifth Floor

    "Father?" Casimir knocked on the door of Mr. Proulx''s office but, after hearing no answer even after he had knocked repeatedly, he decided to just enter directly instead. "Father, I''m coming in."


    Tentatively, Casimir entered the office and was greeted by... No one. The room was empty.


    No wonder no one answered! Well, at least I can explore this place all I want!


    And Casimir did just that.


    With eyes glistening, he flitted around the office like a butterfly on drugs, checking out the various objects inside unreservedly.


    Wow! It really is an eyeball! Oh oh! Is that a human brain?! Ooh~ What''s this? I''ve never seen anything like this one before! The library doesn''t seem to have this book?


    Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Casimir spotted a mysterious looking book.


    Hmm? Magick Moste Evile?


    Sounds like a collection of the most evil dark arts... I''ll take it.


    Casimir sat down on the floor at the space between the bookshelf and the corner of the room and began reading silently.


    Coincidentally, the place he just picked to read in was actually a blindspot to a person if he were to stand by or sit on the chair behind the desk, not to mention, the area was also situated beside the door so, if one were to enter the office, the door would open in a way that would cover that space.


    Or perhaps, it wasn''t a coincidence at all.


    Perhaps, due to the instinct that had been honed from his decades of experience from being an assassin in his previous world, Casimir had unconsciously chosen a spot where his body felt was the safest in the room.


    Whatever it was, no one but Casimir would probably know. At least in this world.


    ...


    After an unknown amount of time,Mr. Proulx finally appeared in his office.


    Although he arrived silently, Casimir still noticed his arrival.


    The air shifted... Casimir thought to himself and looked towards the desk at center of the back part of the office, seeing a silhouette of a man sitting on the leather chair. It seems that father has arrived.


    Seeing that the man seemed to be busy thinking about something deeply, Casimir decided to keep quiet and not disturb him for the meantime.


    Casimir continued reading as silence enveloped the room... Well, that was until Mr. Proulx began to mumble to himself.


    "...what...thing...dangerous...get rid of it...cursed object...Malfoy...Slytherin..." Due to the distance between the two of them, Casimir couldn''t hear what Mr. Proulx was saying. All he heard were snippets of his mumbling but, that was enough for him to guess what it was about.


    He theorized that his father was carrying with him an object that might be cursed or dangerous which, Mr. Malfoy is in need of and was connected to some Slytherin thing or person.


    He wasn''t quite sure though. That was only his theory.


    Having already heard enough, Casimir decided to make his presence known. He hid the book inside the hidden pocket of his coat and stood up. "Cough."


    Mr. Proulx''s head snapped towards Casimir''s direction in a panic but, quickly felt relieved when he saw that it was only his son. "...Casimir... How long have you been there?"


    "I had just arrived, father." Casimir lied.


    "Oh, I see." Mr. Proulx said, clearly out of it.


    "...Father?" Casimir waved his hand in front of the man''s face to grab his attention which seemed to have flown to Neverland.


    "Ah... Yes?" Casimir had the urge to facepalm himself.


    "Why did you call for me, father." Casimir just sighed and asked.


    "...Ah, right!" Finally, Mr. Proulx had a reaction. He smiled apologetically to Casimir but, he had an exhausted look in his eyes despite him trying to hide it.


    Mr. Proulx then proceeded to grab something from under his desk.


    It was a black, oddly shaped case!


    After laying the case on his desk, Mr. Proulx opened it, showing a shiny, stringed instrument and a bow inside.


    "Your present from your mother. A violin." Mr. Proulx said after seeing Casimir''s look of confusion.


    Oh! I nearly forgot about that matter!


    "Thank you, father." Casimir smiled knowingly.


    Casimir actually only said he wanted an instrument as a joke and didn''t expect to actually receive one but, he really did feel genuinely grateful for this. The only thing was...


    His mother''s owl never came to bring the instrument. That was why, he thanked his father instead of his mother.


    Mr. Proulx sighed helplessly to himself when he realized this fact.


    ...


    The next morning, when Casimir got up and was ready to head for the stables, he heard soft whispers coming from the kitchen.


    It was the servants gossiping with each other. Curious, Casimir decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.


    "I swear! I really heard it! You can go ask Alice! She was with me last night!" A maidservant said desperately. "Why don''t any one of you believe me?"


    "Dear, we would like to believe you but... There really is no fifth floor in this manor." A voice which Casimir recognized to belong to a chef in the kitchen replied.


    "But... I really did hear footsteps above the fourth floor..." The same voice from before said quietly.


    After that, Casimir started walking away.


    Footsteps above the fourth floor? Perhaps there is a phantom fifth floor in this manor...


    Casimir grinned to himself, his eyes glowing with excitement; ready to cause mischief.


    That just means another floor to mess up!

 15 Yousre a Wizard, Casimir

    This day has been extremely weird for Casimir.


    It had been a few days after his birthday and, for some time now, Casimir felt as if he had been getting quite clumsy for some reason. It was something inconceivable to him since his reflexes were something he took pride on and were considered top notch.


    On a normal occasion, cases of falling objects, toppled piles, and bloken glasses wouldn''t occur unless he does it purposely but, somehow, there had been multiple occurrences of those happening around him in a short span of three days.


    This day, for example, was the worst of them yet!


    From the moment he woke up, it was already downright horrid.


    When he opened his eyes on this fine, autumn morning, he had realized three important things.


    One, the walls of his room were filled with cracks.


    Some people would probably say that perhaps, there had been an earthquake in the middle of the night and he had just not realized it. That reason might be acceptable but, Casimir was an extremely light sleeper; an occupational habit that he still managed to retain even after dying.


    Two, tens of bats were hanging on the ceiling.


    Before he fell asleep, he remembered that his room''s window was locked shut. Maybe he remembered wrong?


    He turned towards the window to check.


    Nope. It was still locked.


    ...I''m pretty sure the maids won''t enter without permission.. Casimir thought.


    Three,... His hair grew long enough to reach the middle of his back.


    This one, Casimir had no excuses for.


    ...


    After pushing what happened that morning to the back of his head and getting ready as he did normally, Casimir went straight to the stables.


    That''s where things started to get weirder.


    While he was dragging along Noir''s usual breakfast, a whole Wildebeest''s leg, the wispy orbs that were used to illuminate the stables at night suddenly went crazy whenever he passed them.


    They would suddenly light up extremely brightly and flicker quickly without anyone activating them. Fortunately, they would return to normal after he was some distance away from them.


    After that, when Casimir arrived in front of Noir''s stable, without even touching the gate yet, it suddenly swung open on its own, nearly dislodging itself from its hinges from the force it used.


    The suddenness of this caused Casimir to feel surprised. Let alone, Noir who was just taking a nap and was implicated out of nowhere. The poor kitty was so surprised, it literally awoke with a jump.


    "...breakfast." Casimir mentally apologized to the beast.


    Just what is happening today?!


    .....


    While he was eating breakfast with his father, Mr. Proulx suddenly flicked his glass, catching Casimir''s attention.


    "I heard you''ve been causing trouble lately?" Mr. Proulx asked, seeming as if he didn''t really care.


    "...That wasn''t me." Casimir replied, hoping Mr. Proulx would believe him.


    "Oh... I see." Obviously, he didn''t. "Sixteen glasses, four plates, and an antique vase, all broken within the span of three days in your presence... It really does seem like a coincidence, doesn''t it?"


    Is there really any need for such sarcasm?! QAQ


    "Not to mention the thirty-two bats that Alphonse found inside your room this morning as well as the sudden appearance of a mummy sarcophagus inside the kitchen the other day." Mr. Proulx continued.


    Fortunately, the manor had a self-fixing ability so, the cracks from this morning weren''t mentioned.


    "But I really didn''t do it though!" Casimir felt wronged.


    "Oh, I didn''t say anything about you doing it." Mr. Proulx said with a small smile. "Your hair seems longer too. Maybe you touched something you shouldn''t have inside the storage room, hmm?"


    "I did not!" Casimir exclaimed. So this is how it feels like to be blamed for something you are completely unrelated to.


    ...


    At around mid-aftrenoon, Casimir was holding a violin score sheet as well as a violin chord chart for beginners inside Noir''s stable. Although Casimir had been trying to learn how to play the violin for a few days already, he had only learned a few basic chords. Trying to read the notes were particularly horrid.


    What is a half note? What is a half rest? Where is the bow? Is this how you hold a bow? Ah! My fingers cramped!


    For now, he had only begun comprehending a basic musical piece called Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...


    As he was concentrated on trying to play the piece, he didn''t notice that the hay inside the stable began floating, bobbing up and down with the rise and fall of the notes, as if dancing to the tune. The only one who noticed was Noir who was staring at the floating hay curiously.


    Suddenly, as he was nearly done with the piece, a stray straw of hay brushed his cheek, causing him to look up from the violin. It was then that he noticed the abnormalities in his surroundings, making him stop playing.


    Right when he did, the hay also stopped floating, falling back to the ground, covering both Casimir and Noir in hay.


    ...Melecrit''s mom!


    ...


    Inside the office on the third floor, Mr. Proulx and Alphonse were talking to each other about Casimir''s strange circumstance.


    "Do you think he actually made contact with some sort of cursed object?" Mr. Proulx asked seriously.


    "I''ve noted down all of the objects that the young master had touched in this past month and I can conclude that this possibility is very unlikely, my lord." Alphonse replied in an equally serious tone.


    "Then, is it possible that he is actually doing this on purpose?" Mr. Proulx asked again.


    "Perhaps the broken objects could have been done purposely but, the bats inside the young master''s room and the sarcophagus in the kitchen are things that a single child is unable to do, my lord." Alphonse informed.


    "... Alphonse, could it be..?" After a momentary pause, Mr. Proulx''s eyes lit up, having thought of a hopeful possibility.


    "It''s not entirely impossible, my lord." Alphonse smiled as he replied, arriving to the same conclusion as his master.


    "Then, we have to find him quick!" Mr. Proulx stood up hastily.


    ...


    At the same time, Casimir had just cleaned himself up and was walking towards the dining room to eat dinner with his father; each one of his steps heavy with exhaustion.


    Suddenly, he heard quick footsteps coming from in front of him, causing him to look up and see Mr. Proulx and Alphonse hurrying towards his direction.


    "Casimir! We need to talk!" Mr. Proulx shouted to Casimir when he spotted him.


    That line again!


    Casimir felt confused. What did I do wrong this time?! He took a step back unconsciously.


    Crack! Crash!


    The window beside him was suddenly blown into pieces by an invisible force, catching all three people present unaware.


    "...I swear, this has nothing to do with me." Casimir said helplessly but, when he looked towards his father, the man actually had a wide grin on his face instead of a furious one which Casimir had expected.


    "I know!" Mr. Proulx exclaimed. "Congratulations, my son! You''re a wizard!"


    A wizard? Does it mean I can do magic as well?! Cool!


    "Finally, you found something you''re actually good at!" It was obviously a compliment but, why did it feel more like an insult instead?

 16 Young Master

    As the oldest servant of the Proulx Manor, Alphonse had seen many things happen during his time.


    He saw the current Lord''s ascension. He was there when the previous lord passed away, as did the previous madam. He was present during the marriage of the present lord and madam and saw the birth of the young master.


    In his sight, he watched the young master grow from an infant to a child.


    He saw it all, heard it all, felt it all.


    The young master''s first words, it was him who heard it first. The young master''s first steps, it was him who saw it first. The young master''s first toys, it was him gave it first.


    So to him, the young master was not just a young master. He was like his own grandson.


    But lately, the child who he thought he knew every detail about, was becoming more and more obscure to him.


    Every time he looked at him, he didn''t see a child anymore.


    What he saw was a monster.


    A monster hiding under a child''s skin, ready to show its fangs and claws at any given moment.


    "Alphonse? What are you staring at?" Casimir asked the old servant who seemed to have frozen and was just staring into nothingness.


    "Ah... I was just thinking of some matters, young master. No need to worry." Alphonse replied apologetically.


    Fortunately, this monster means no harm... For now.


    ...


    Being the lord if the Proulx family which belonged to the nobility of the French wizardry world, Alexander Proulx had a lot of responsibilities weighing on his shoulders.


    He had to make the appropriate decisions in order to make sure his family and lineage continues on. But, sometimes, his decisions would not meet the approval of most people.


    Despite that, he still held onto them.


    Why?


    Because he was Lord Proulx. The man who controls one of the world''s fastest information networks in the world of wizardry. And he would keep it that way until his death.


    Unfortunately, it was this steadfast determination of his that drove people away; afraid that he would find out all of their secrets.


    Even his own wife left, leaving him and his son inside the lonesome manor.


    But now, even his son seemed to become more and more unfamiliar to him.


    Was he really doomed to be alone forever?


    As the lord, he was glad that his heir was beginning to discover more about the world in his own way and was improving himself accordingly but, as a father, he was sad that his son was growing up too fast.


    Soon, it would be time for him to venture out on his own and learn more things.


    At that time, he would really be alone.


    But, such is the life of the lord.


    ...


    Aside from Alphonse, the person who saw the young master the most was probably Edgar, the head caretaker of the Proulx stables.


    When he had been ordered by Alphonse to keep watch of the young master when he was to enter the stable''s premises, he had been against it at first; thinking that he would just become a babysitter for a spoiled brat.


    Being discriminated against by the nobles ever since he was a child for being a muggle-born, he had no positive thoughts about their kind.


    But, upon their first meeting, his assumptions were crushed.


    The feral beast that all of them were having trouble with was tamed directly by the young master.


    Right then, the ability he was most confident in had been destroyed in front of his very eyes, causing him to rethink his entire existence.


    Fortunately, he recovered quick and began to warm up to the child; teaching him the proper way to feed, groom, and care for his new partner.


    Now, his impression of the young master was of a diligent child who has the mind of an adult and the heart of a dragon.


    ...


    Casimir walked out of the stables in his thick, winter coat, being followed by Noir who was smelling the air tentatively.


    On this mid-december day, Casimir had woken up to snowflakes falling from the sky gently. For a while, he just stood in front of the windows to admire the beautiful scene outside.


    He then thought, since Noir was originally from Africa, he had never seen snow before so, he decided to let him out of the stables to enjoy the scenery with him.


    "Come on, Noir! It''s not that bad! I promise!" Casimir encouraged him.


    Cautiously, Noir stepped on the snow and was surprised by the coldness, looking at Casimir as if blaming him.


    An eight foot tall beast was actually so scared of snow! Casimir laughed to himself at the thought.


    "Come on, you big baby! It''s really not that bad!" Casimir laughed and walked on the snow. "See? Nothing bad is gonna happen."


    After much reassurance and encouragement, Noir finally stepped into the snowy world.


    Suddenly, a single snowflake fell on Noir''s nose, causing him to stare at the intruding object cross-eyed then, he sneezed.


    Casimir finally couldn''t take it anymore and burst out laughing.


    Noir stared at him and, if a Skaduwee could scowl, it probably would have already done that.


    In the end, the two of them just sat under a peach tree that had long grown bald and enjoyed the sight of snowflakes falling gently from the sky.

 17 Cashmere and Occamy

    It was the 24th of December, the day before Christmas.


    Despite most people being festive, the Proulx manor was still calm as ever; everyone just did their work normally.


    At this time of the year, many nobles were throwing banquets, balls, and such, and they would invite other nobles to attend. Of course, this didn''t exclude the Proulx family but, they didn''t attend most of the time.


    Because most of those who invited them were only after their information network or something similar. Some would even outright propose to marry off their daughters to Casimir in order to strike a connection with the Proulx family.


    In the end, it was all for power.


    But, this year was a bit different. How?


    Well, let''s just say, a visitor with the name of Draco Malfoy came to visit. And quite obnoxiously at that.


    "Casimir Proulx! I have arrived on this fine morning to bring you presents! Thank me!" He yelled right after he entered the lounge, being led by Alphonse.


    Surprised by the sudden intrusion, Casimir nearly dropped the violin he was holding.


    "Oh? A violin? I didn''t realize that you wanted to be a street performer. Forgive me for not bringing coins today." Draco smirked in an irritating way. "I only brought a Cashmere scarf for our dear Casimir. Perhaps it will do."


    ... Melecrit''s mom!


    "Good day to you as well, Draco!" Casimir tried to smile brightly but it came out somewhat stiff instead, placing his violin beside him on the empty space of the couch he was sitting on. "Would you like some tea?"


    "Oh?! Your English seems to have improved?" Draco stated in surprise as he took off his thick coat and made himself comfortable on the couch. "And yes, I would like some tea. Thank you."


    "I''ve been trying my best to learn English after our first meeting." Casimir smiled as he elegantly served Draco some tea. "I''m glad to know that it has improved."


    "You still have a thick accent though." Draco pointed out as he sipped his tea. "Hmm? What kind if tea is this?! I''ve never tasted it before!"


    He''s still a brat!


    "It''s called Matcha green tea. It was gifted by a merchant from a country called Japan to the east." Casimir said, deciding to put up with Draco''s brattiness. At least until Alphonse goes away.


    "Well, it''s quite good. Maybe I''ll ask father to have some servants get some of these." Draco said as he took another sip and put the cup down. "Now that we''ve had the time to actually have a proper conversation rather than you pulling me around to go to who knows where, I have realized that you''re not bad to talk to."


    Just as Casimir was about to smile, Draco continued. "At least your intellect is a bit better than a dog''s."


    This Brat!!!


    Casimir just sighed to himself. "What exactly is your purpose in coming here, Draco?"


    "As I''ve said before, I''m here to send you presents." Draco said indifferently and handed a small package to Casimir. "Here. It''s a late birthday present and a Christmas gift."


    "Oh. I see. Thank you." Casimir mumbled, feeling a bit guilty since he had no presents to give him.


    Perhaps seeing Casimir''s discomfort, Alphonse came forwards to whisper something in Casimir''s ear.


    Moments later, Casimir''s eyes lit up. "Indeed! How could I forget about that?"


    Meanwhile, Draco just watched them in confusion.


    "Come! Come! I also have a present for you!" Casimir stood up in excitement.


    "Alright but, you have to open the present first." Draco said with a wide grin, as if he was anticipating something to happen.


    "Okay...?" Casimir felt like something was off but, he still opened the package tentatively to not seem rude.


    What he saw inside though, caused his face to darken.


    ... He wasn''t joking about the cashmere scarf, it seems. Fortunately, it''s black so it''s still wearable.


    "How is it? Pretty good right? I picked it myself so of course it''s good! Its cloth is enchanted with a spell that will keep its temperature constant. Cool in the summer, warm in the winter." Draco stated proudly.


    This kid needs some serious lessons in social conduct. Maybe I should teach him while he''s still young so he won''t be so unbearable when he grows up. I''ll just think of it as me adopting a new younger brother.


    The first step to deal with an arrogant child is to praise them from time to time but not too much. Just enough to satisfy them.


    So, with a straight face, Casimir said. "Mm. It''s really good. I''ll treasure it till the moment of my death."


    "Yes, that is only natural!" Draco said, his grin widening.


    "Now, come. It''s my turn to give you your present."


    ...


    Inside a separate building near the stables, Casimir was speaking with Edgar, explaining to him the circumstance. From time to time, Edgar would shake his head after glancing at Draco.


    As they were speaking, Draco was just looking around and checking the place, unable to understand a single word they were saying. Curiously enough, the building was not cold at all, instead, it was as warm as a summer afternoon. Soon, Draco began feeling humid.


    Fortunately, Casimir and Edgar''s conversation seemed to have come to a conclusion and Casimir bidded him to come over with a victorious smile while Edgar just sighed helplessly. "Come! Come! It''s here!"


    Casimir led Draco into a room inside the building where he saw three occamy hatchlings huddled together at the center. Speaking of the Occamy, they are magical creatures that look like beaked serpents with two legs and a pair of wings. Most of them come in bluish to purplish colors and could control their size at will.


    Draco looked at Casimir in confusion to which the other boy just laughed. "What are you waiting for? Go and pick one!"


    Not knowing on what basis he had to pick since he had never seen this kind of creature before, Draco just ended up picking the one that caught his eye the most; one which shone with a purplish blue color that was unlike its siblings which were just purely blue. "This one."


    "Good choice! Six weeks old, a female." Edgar commented from the side.


    "What are they anyways?" Draco asked.


    "They''re called Occamy. They were sent here a few days ago after they were found being illegally smuggled in India." Casimir explained with a smile.


    "What are you? A magical creatures care center?!" Draco exclaimed.


    "You know, I was wondering about that as well." Casimir replied honestly.

 18 How to Troll a Ghos

    When midday arrived, Mr. Malfoy came and chatted with Mr. Proulx for a while before he took Draco (with the Occamy... Maybe he didn''t notice the occamy actually. It was inside Draco''s pocket anyways.) and disappeared.


    It seemed like the man had said something important to Mr. Proulx since he had not left his office since. Not even to eat lunch.


    Casimir then, was left on his own once again... As he should have been.


    Finally... Some peace and quiet once again...


    He picked up his previously abandoned violin and was about to continue where he left off in the Moonlight Sonata (1st mvt) score sheet after eating lunch but, his plans had to be cut short, unfortunately.


    Mr. Proulx suddenly appeared in front of Casimir out of nowhere, startling the boy into almost dropping his violin, again. "F-fuck!"


    "Hey! Where did you learn that word?!" Mr. Proulx asked in anger.


    "N-nowhere..?" Casimir stuttered.


    "We''ll talk about this later." Mr. Proulx said seriously. "We have more important matters to discuss."


    Casimir secretly sighed in relief. It seems that he''s safe... For now.


    "I have been discussing with Mr. Malfoy..." Mr. Proulx started then, paused, checking if Casimir was still listening. "Since you and Draco have been confirmed to have the ability for magic, he suggested that we begin homeschooling the both of you..."


    "In preparation for when you both enter your respective schools for magic." Mr. Proulx continued slowly, as if preparing for a drastic reaction from Casimir.


    Surprisingly to Mr. Proulx, Casimir was actually taking the news pretty calmly. "Oh, I see! I''ll just follow whatever decision you make, father."


    "Oh... Alright." Mr. Proulx said slowly, as if in disbelief. "Well, have a good day."


    He disappeared again.


    This time, instead of continuing to play his violin in the lounge, he directly packed all of his stuff and went to his room.


    So when people decided to disturb him, they at least had to knock first.


    ...


    As he was reading a book about dark arts on his bed, the very same book that he had stolen from his father''s office all those months ago, Magick Moste Evile, he accidentally kicked the package that Draco had sent onto the floor.


    Oh right! I need to hang that somewhere in the closet. His expression darkened significantly when he remembered what happened during that morning.


    When he got up to pick the package off the floor, he began to feel as if something was wrong.


    The weight is off.


    If one judged by how a normal scarf would weigh, then they too, would notice that something was off.


    The package was a bit heavier than it should be; as if it contained an object other than the scarf.


    So, doing as most people would do, he directly dumped all the contents of the package onto his bed.


    Plop.


    A terribly worn-out book fell out along with the scarf.


    Hmm? What is this? A diary?


    Tom Marvolo Riddle..? Who''s that?


    Maybe someone Draco knows accidentally put it inside or something...?


    Well, it''s none of my business anyways. I''ll just leave it here until Draco visits again... For safekeeping.


    Then, Casimir continued on reading.


    ...


    Somewhere in the Malfoy Manor, Lucius Malfoy was standing in front of an unlit chimney in the darkness, holding a single sheet of paper and reading through its contents in a seemingly obsessed manner.


    "Since he won''t give Salazar Slytherin''s locket to me..." Lucius Malfoy muttered to himself. "Then I will just send the other six to him!"


    Inside the letter, a few scattered words were written.


    ''In order to prevent the resurrection of the dark lord, these seven items are required to be placed within the presence of each other:


    Tom Riddle''s diary


    Marvolo Gaunt''s ring


    Salazar Slytherin''s locket


    Helga Hufflepuff''s cup


    Rowena Ravenclaw''s diadem


    Harry Potter


    The dark lord''s snake, Nagini ''


    ...


    "I can''t take it anymore! I''m gonna read it." Casimir said to himself, grabbing the diary and flipping it open.


    First page, blank. Second page, blank. Third page, blank. Fourth page, blank. All pages were completely blank!


    You have got to be kidding me!


    You sent me diary that has nothing in it?! Seriously?!


    Whoever this Tom Marvolo Riddle is, you better not let me catch you or you''re dead.


    So, in his rage, he did whatever a person called Casimir Marie Proulx would do.


    He vandalized the diary.


    ''Fuck you, you dirt baguette!'' He wrote on the first page.


    Curiously though, when he finished writing, the words he wrote disappeared.


    Afterwards, a single question mark replaced them.


    What the fuck?! Is this a ghost diary?!


    Most people would have stopped by now and threw the diary as far away from them as possible then, sleep it off, hoping that it was just a dream.


    But, unfortunately, we''re dealing with a person who''s as far away from normal as the distance between the earth to Andromeda.


    ''You dead bro.'' Casimir wrote down, snickering. His previous rage quickly disappearing since he found something far more entertaining than reading some boring diary entries.


    ''What do you mean?'' The diary replied.


    Oh English! This ghost is an English ghost! Casimir then, switched to English in order for the ghost to understand him.


    ''I just stated the truth, Tom Marvolo Riddle. You dead.'' Casimir grinned to himself, having fun with confusing the ghost diary.


    Unknown to them, they were both misunderstanding the situation.


    Casimir thought, he was talking to a ghost that had inhabited the diary.


    What Tom Riddle thought was that, Casimir already knew about his original identity and was implying about the death of his corporeal body.


    Truly, this was one beautiful misunderstanding.

 19 The Malfoy Manor

    Afterwards, Casimir just closed the diary and threw it somewhere in his closet, quickly getting bored of it and went to sleep.


    Some people might question his decision, asking. Why would you just leave a haunted diary inside your room then go to sleep?! Don''t you know that this is how a horror film starts?!


    Well, we all already know that Casimir isn''t exactly what you would call normal at this point, right? Most likely, he would just reply to them with: I thought it would be fun.


    ...


    Through the course of the next few days, everything went on as normal. If you managed to ignore Mr. Malfoy''s owl coming and going from their manor from time to time.


    The good news was, Casimir finally figured out how to stop those weird things from happening around him.


    All he had to do was stay perfectly calm and nothing would happen.


    Most of the time.


    Casimir also didn''t touch the diary that was inside his closet, as if he had completely forgotten about it.


    As of now, it was already well into January of the year 1988, and Casimir was currently packing a few quills and some notebooks into a parcel, ready to go for a trip to the Malfoy manor in the name of joint home schooling.


    Basically, the schedule that his father and Draco''s father had come up with was: Basic Magic Theory, Magic History, Introduction to Charms, and Transfiguration, would be taught in the Malfoy manor; minimally, of course, since they''re still not allowed to have their first wand until they''re eleven. While Astronomy, Herbology, Potions, Mathematics, and Introduction to Magical Creatures would be taught in the Proulx Manor.


    If you would look closer at the distribution of subjects, you would notice that they were arranged and sorted to which family was more proficient in that subject.


    For example, since the Proulx Manor had a larger and more complete garden and herbal field than the Malfoy Manor as well as a fully equipped laboratory, Herbology and Potions would be taught there. The reason for the Introductory to Magical Creatures doesn''t need to be explained, does it?


    Whilst, as the Malfoys were more proficient in Charms, Transfiguration, and other combative magic related subjects, courtesy of Miss Narcissa Malfoy and Mr. Lucius Malfoy himself, they would learn them in the Malfoy Manor.


    So, Mondays to Wednesdays, they would learn in the Malfoy Manor, and Thursdays to Saturdays would be spent in the Proulx Manor.


    Now, the only question Casimir had was how to get from France to England within fifteen minutes.


    Mr. Proulx''s answer to that was,... A Fireplace!


    Well, a silvery powder in a fireplace, to be exact.


    "Don''t worry. This is just floo powder." Mr. Proulx patiently explains to his son. "You take a pinch of it, throw it into the fireplace, and enter it when the fire turns green. After you say the name of your destination, Clearly, you should be able to arrive there quick. In most cases..."


    That explanation doesn''t exactly sound reassuring, father... Casimir sweat-dropped.


    Despite thinking so, Casimir decided to trust his father this time.


    With a deep breath, he took a pinch of floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, and entered it when the fire turned green. Surprisingly, the heat that he had expected didn''t come; the temperature inside the fireplace was exactly the same as the temperature outside of it.


    It''s a magical world, what else should I expect? Casimir thought to himself.


    Not wasting any more time thinking about it, he sighed to himself, hoping that he won''t end up at the other side of the world or something like that.


    "Malfoy Manor." He said as clearly as he could. Hopefully, my accent doesn''t mess it up. He crossed his fingers.


    Moments later, he found himself being spun around in a quick speed then, it stopped.


    He looked around him and realized that he was in a different looking fireplace. This one was quite a bit darker than the one in the Proulx Manor. Most likely, it wasn''t cleaned as often.


    When he stepped out of the fireplace, he realized that it was awfully quiet.


    Strange...


    Then, from his right, he noticed a small, big-eared creature that was wearing rags just sitting on one corner.


    A house elf perhaps..? Casimir recognized them from the stories Edgar told him about the lives of other nobles.


    Tentatively, Casimir approached the house elf who seemed to not have noticed him yet.


    "Excuse me? This is the Malfoy Manor, yes?" Casimir asked quietly to not startle the creature.


    Unfortunately, it was still startled considerably. "...Y-yes. Are you master Casimir Proulx..?" The creature replied hesitantly.


    "That is indeed my name! And you are?" Casimir spoke amiably.


    "My name is Dobby, sir. I am here to lead you to master Draco..." Dobby said, seeming to remember its purpose for being there. "Please follow me."


    "Ah, I see. Thank you, Dobby." To Casimir''s words, Dobby''s eyes lit up.


    "No one has ever thanked Dobby before...! Dobby is happy!" Dobby mumbled.


    Well, that''s sad. But it''s none of my business anyways... Casimir smiled to himself.

 20 The Talking Snake

    It''s been three years since then.


    Three extremely long years of boring home schooling with his highness, Draco Malfoy the Great!


    After having interacted with Draco nearly everyday for three years straight, Casimir began having the thoughts of hanging himself and committing suicide or just murdering Draco.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t quite change his naturally arrogant nature as it seems like he was just born with it. It was like, if Draco was a potion, then his arrogance was a freebie that came with it.


    Well, if we were to think of a positive outcome of this, then, Casimir''s tolerance for bullshit had increased significantly.


    Fortunately, today was a Sunday. The only day in the week where he was able to take a break from Draco''s stupidity.


    Due to him thinking of such things that were related to Draco, the F¨¹r Elise piece that he was playing began to sound like an agitated Elise instead.


    Noticing this, he sighed to himself and put down the violin. Fortunately, his skill in playing the violin had also improved by quite a bit. If it hadn''t, he would have chopped off his hands for being so useless.


    Right now, it was currently late into the summer. The same season as when he had first arrived to this world three years ago.


    Ah... Time sure does fly fast.


    In order to calm down, Casimir decided to take a walk around the gardens to enjoy the scenery. Hopefully, it would help appease his agitated emotions.


    Another thing he noticed in these three years were that his emotions were much easier to agitate. From time to time, he would suddenly feel furious for no reason at all. Even his father had the same problem.


    Now that he thought about it, most of the people staying for long periods inside the manor actually had the same problem.


    Fortunately, Casimir was more mentally fortified than most people so, he managed to suppress those emotions quicker than them.


    Casimir was curious about the origin of these raging emotions but, since neither Alphonse nor Mr. Proulx himself were saying anything about it, he decided to leave it to them.


    It was almost time for him to go to a formal school anyways. Maybe it''ll subside when he goes away.


    ...


    As he was walking around the garden, just enjoying the warm rays of the sun as it hit his skin and looking at the peaceful scenery around him, he suddenly heard something akin to whispering.


    ''...slither...slither...''


    Curious, Casimir followed the sound and saw, underneath some rose bushes nearby, a small ladder snake, a common snake in France, was slithering slowly, seeming to be enjoying the rays of the sun just like him.


    ''..slither...ow, my eye!..''


    The snake seemed to have had its eye poked by a stray branch from a rose bush.


    What a stupid snake. Casimir snickered.


    Hearing him snickering, the snake was surprised and was about to flee but, "Wait!"


    Casimir was surprised. He had just spoken in a language that he had never heard of but, the snake seemed to have understood him and stopped, looking at Casimir curiously.


    "... Are you alright? You seemed to have poked your eye on a bush there." Casimir asked tentatively to the snake.


    Just then, to Casimir''s amazement, the snake shook its head.


    ''It ssstingss...''


    It can understand me! It can really understand me! Holy Melecrit!


    Is this a newfound ability or something? Does it only work on this snake or does it work for all snakes? Is this even a normal ability? Can all wizards do it or is it just me?


    Dozens of questions flew in his mind but, for now, the priority was to get this snake to come with him.


    "Here. Come with me." Casimir offered his hand to the snake. "I''ll help you get it checked. It wouldn''t be good if it gets infected."


    ''...thanksss...''


    The snake cautiously slithered and wrapped its body on Casimir''s hand.


    "No problem! You''re the first snake I''ve ever met here." Casimir said with a smile.


    ...


    "Edgar! Edgar!" Casimir shouted as soon as he entered the stables, making the workers present turn to look towards him then, went back to doing their jobs when they saw that it was only him.


    ''Many...humansss...''


    "Has anyone seen Edgar?" He asked around.


    "He''s at the back, feeding the Occapy, young master." A worker informed him, then, spotted the snake on his hand. "Is that a ladder snake?! Young master, please be careful with that! It might bite you!"


    The snake flicked its tongue towards the worker, causing the worker to step back hastily and give the snake a dirty look.


    "Relax. This one''s gentle." Casimir said with a smile. "Well, thanks for the info!"


    He quickly jogged to the back part of the stables, looking for Edgar. When he did find him, he grinned widely and shouted. "Edgar! Edgar! Come quick!"


    Edgar, who was peacefully feeding the two Occamy siblings, nearly dropped the bucket containing dead cockroaches in surprise. "Young master?!"


    "Edgar! I need your help!" Casimir approached Edgar. "This snake poked its eye on a branch and I need you to help me check if it''s injured."


    "Snake?" Then, Edgar noticed the thin, grey snake with black stripes, that was wrapped around Casimir''s hand.


    At first he felt surprised but, when he remembered how Casimir had tamed Noir years ago, he instantly calmed down.


    Without asking questions, Edgar reached towards the snake to check it but, the snake hissed at him aggressively, not wanting for him to get any closer.


    ''Away... You... Away...''


    "Calm down. He''s just going to check your eye. He won''t hurt you, I promise!" Casimir laughed as he tried to calm the snake down. This time, he spoke in French and not in that weird language he used previously.


    To Edgar''s surprise, the snake actually did calm down and allowed him to check its eye but refused to leave Casimir''s hand, causing Casimir to smile wryly.


    It seems that the snake had taken a liking to him.


    Some moments later, Edgar finally stepped back and looked towards Casimir. "It just had its eye enflamed a bit. Should be fine within a few days. I suggest getting it cleaned though so it won''t get irritated."


    "Oh, alright! Thanks Edgar!" Casimir then ran back to the manor, leaving Edgar to himself once again.

 21 Mothers Side of the Family

    After having finished cleaning the snake, Casimir laid on his bed, watching the, now, clean snake which was still wrapped around his hand. Casimir previously tried to get the snake off of his hand but, after succeeding briefly, it would just return to his hand and wrap around it again, refusing to leave.


    Helpless, Casimir just gave up and let it stay there.


    Now that the snake was much cleaner than it was before, Casimir realized that the snake wasn''t actually grey and black. It was actually a light silver with ladder-like black patterns on its back.


    "...After your eye heals..." Casimir spoke quietly, catching the attention of the snake. "Do you want to be free again or do you want to continue staying with me?"


    ''Ssstay...'' The snake replied almost instantly, making Casimir''s eyes light up.


    "Then you would need a name!" Casimir grinned in excitement. "Let''s go with Echelle, alright?"


    The snake just nodded as it didn''t really care much about names.


    ...


    That night, while he was eating dinner with with his father, Mr. Proulx asked him. "You found a new pet?"


    "Not exactly, father." Casimir answered with a laugh. "I suddenly heard him talking in the garden and now, he doesn''t seem to want to leave my hand anymore."


    All of a sudden, Mr. Proulx''s face went pale. "...Spoke to you?"


    "Yes, father. I found out that I could speak to snakes today." Casimir explained, then, noticed Mr. Proulx''s odd expression. "Is something the matter, father?"


    "N-no..." Mr. Proulx smiled stiffly. "It''s good that you... inherited your mother''s talent... Haha..ha."


    "My mother''s talent? You mean this wasn''t normal for wizards, father?" Casimir asked in surprise. Since Edgar wasn''t so surprised when he saw him bring in the snake in the stable this morning, he had assumed that being able to talk with snakes was normal for wizards.


    Mother? It''s been three years and I haven''t even caught a glimpse of her. How come she''s mentioned now?


    "It''s called Parseltongue, son. The language of snakes." Mr. Proulx was talking very quietly, as if he was afraid other people would hear them. "It''s an ability of the Gaunts... Your mother''s side of the family."


    It actually turned out to be a hereditary ability!


    "Oh! Cool! Does it mean I can talk to all kinds of snakes?" Casimir asked in excitement.


    "Well, yes. I suppose so." Mr. Proulx replied hesitantly.


    I''m gonna have so much fun with this!


    "Casimir!" Mr. Proulx suddenly called him as he was planning out how he would use his newfound ability, causing him to look at Mr. Proulx curiously. "Yes, father?"


    "... You mustn''t let anyone know of this ability of yours... Especially the Malfoys." Mr. Proulx said gravely. "Never tell anyone."


    Although he did not know why his father was so adamant about it, he still agreed to his decision. "Yes, father. I shall do so."


    "Good." Mr. Proulx nodded, the paleness of his face lessening. "This ability must be kept secret."


    At the corner of the room, Alphonse just stood still, staring at Casimir in horror.


    Alas! The monster has begun to reveal its fangs!


    ...


    A few months after that, it was already his birthday once again, his tenth birthday! But, this time, they weren''t throwing a banquet.


    Instead, Mr. Proulx had a small wooden crate delivered from Thailand to their manor, containing this year''s gift for Casimir.


    When the crate finally arrived, Casimir could barely contain his excitement.


    There was a perfectly good reason for his excitement and that was... Mr. Proulx gives great presents.


    He really does!


    During the first birthday when he had arrived in this world, Mr. Proulx had given him a Violin and a Skaduwee who was now called Noir. During the second birthday, he had given him an Egyptian Sickle-sword that was made purely of gold. On the third birthday, it was a bicycle and a television.


    Casimir finally couldn''t contain himself anymore and after the lock was removed from the crate, he hurriedly opened it.


    This year''s present was... A vine?


    Wait no! It moved!


    Holy Melecrit! It was a snake!


    A snake that looked perfectly like a vine unless it moved!


    ''...water...water..''


    Ah! It was thirsty! Casimir hurriedly found a small container and gave the snake some water, admiring it as it drank slowly.


    What a pretty snake...


    ''...who...?..who..?''


    Echelle suddenly poked his head from inside Casimir''s sleeve and looked at the newly arrived friend inside the crate.


    When the new snake heard another snake''s hissing, it raised its head up to look then, shrunk back when it saw two pairs of eyes looking at it curiously.


    ''Go... Back.. Back..''


    Such a shy child. How adorable.


    "Hello! My name is Casimir and this guy is called Echelle. I hope we could be friends!" Casimir said amiably to the snake in Parseltongue.


    ''..friends...?'' The snake seemed confused.


    "Yes. Friends. We''ll always help each other and never part." Casimir said, offering his hand to the snake. "What do you say? Are you in?"


    ''...friends... I want...'' The snake hissed softly then, climbed onto Casimir''s hand, entering his sleeves and wrapping its long, thin body on his arm.


    At the corner of the crate, a sticker saying ''Asian Vine Snake'' was stuck on, informing him of what type of snake it was.


    "From now on, you will be called Fleur!" Casimir said with a grin.


    A beautiful name for a beautiful lady.


    ''..Fleur... Thank...you..''


    Today was truly a great day!


    Not only did he receive another great present, he would also be able to experience another great thing later on.


    Today... He would visit a muggle city for the first time!

 22 Orleans

    "Young master, today, on your trip to Orleans, the capital city of Loire Valley, mister Edgar would be your guide and companion. I apologize for not being able to accompany you as my presence is required in the manor at all times." Alphonse said as he motioned to Edgar who, for the first time, was wearing neat clothes.


    He seems to have trimmed his unruly beard too!


    "Remember, Edgar. Keep watch of the young master. Never let him out of your sight or it will spell for disaster. The muggle currency is inside the pouch I gave you this morning so you can buy whatever the young master wishes to outside. Do not let the young master wander around at all costs. Do you hear me?" Alphonse reminded Edgar who just nodded at everything Alohonse said, looking somewhat comical.


    ...I''m right here, you know? Casimir smiled wryly.


    "Alright! Let''s set off!" He said, obviously excited.


    This time, they weren''t traveling by floo powder since it would scare the muggles. They would be traveling by car instead!


    He didn''t even know they had a car and he''d been living in the manor for more than three years already! Did it just suddenly pop out of nowhere today?!


    Hesitantly, Casimir got on the shotgun seat of the car, looking around curiously. Smells like leather and air freshener. Suddenly, the car started up, surprising Casimir when the engine roared to life.


    Even more surprising was that, Edgar actually knew how to drive! He even had a driver''s license! Casimir had his eyes wide open in shock.


    Wait... He was a muggle-born so, maybe it was actually possible.?


    Casimir squinted his eyes as he stared at Edgar in suspicion.


    Now that he was taking a good look at this cleaned up version of Edgar, he realized... This guy actually doesn''t look bad.


    Not exactly handsome. He was too rough for that. It was actually more like...wild?


    Yes! Wild! That''s the word! He was more like those rough and tough mercenaries that Casimir used to see around brothels in his past life. Ah... The good times...


    Edgar shivered, feeling unnerved by Casimir''s constant staring as he drove out of the Proulx manor''s gate and into the main road.


    "...Young master, it might take a while before we arrive in Orleans so, I suggest you take a nap to rest first." Edgar hesitantly advised.


    "Oh... But I''m too excited to take a nap! What do I do?" Casimir grinned cheerfully.


    "Then, how about listening to some music?" Casimir''s eyes lit up to Edgar''s suggestion.


    "Ooh! Okay! I''m curious about the kind of music that muggles like to listen to!" He said excitedly.


    So, following his wishes, Edgar turned on the car radio.


    ...


    "Young master? Young master?" Casimir heard a voice calling him softly, waking him from his nap. "Young master, we have arrived in Orleans."


    Hmm..? Eh? Eh?! I actually fell asleep?! Casimir was in disbelief. It was a trap! The radio was a trap! An assassin for more than two decades being tricked like this?! How pathetic, I have become!


    So, with a dark expression, Casimir got off the car and followed behind Edgar.


    It didn''t take long for his expression to ease though as his eyes were filled with such great sights.


    It was the most bustling and lively place that he had been to in all of his life in this world. People were walking here and there, hawkers were advertising their wares, children were running around, and from time to time, you would catch a few street performers singing and playing their instruments.


    "Young master, this is a market. Please feel free to buy whatever item that you are interested in." Casimir''s eyes glistened and he grinned.


    "I was just about to do that." He then proceeded to hop from one stall to another, buying whatever he wished, and acting like the willful young master that he really was.


    Unfortunately, his high-key actions caught the sight of some individuals with less than proper intentions.


    Slowly, they made their way towards him, going unnoticed by the masses but, their suspicious actions didn''t escape Casimir''s eyes.


    Thieves..? Casimir thought to himself as he saw them getting closer to him.


    It seems that some things never change. Even in other worlds.


    Soon, they were already flanking his sides and blocking his exits. The money''s not with me anyways. They''ll most likely just leave after they find out that I have nothing on me.


    But, just as Casimir thought that, he was suddenly grabbed from behind and pushed into a narrow alley, away from the bustling market.


    What..?

 23 Murder

    Casimir was trapped.


    In front of him was a wall that was five meters high while, behind him, three men were blocking the exit.


    "Hey there, lil missy! I hope you don''t mind us taking you here. We just need to talk with you for a moment, see? And the crowd back there isn''t exactly... Convenient." One of the men said with an obvious drunken slurr.


    Lil missy? Casimir turned to look at the guy who spoke with an eyebrow raised. Bro, are you blind?


    Well, he couldn''t exactly blame the guy for getting his gender wrong since he had very long hair and the guy was dead ass drunk.


    Though, he really couldn''t help but feel a tad complicated. Should he feel happy that someone had finally acknowledged his previous gender as a female, or should he feel offended that someone had mistaken his current gender as a male? He really didn''t know. Maybe he was bisexual..?


    Clearing those thoughts from his head, he decided to take care of these matters first, then, think about it later.


    "Is anything the matter, monsieurs?" Casimir asked politely with a fake smile.


    "You see, lil missy, we''re sort of short on cash right now and we need your help. It should be nothing much for you but, it''ll mean a lot to us." Another man said with a sickly smile.


    Although he spoke somewhat politely, the way they were blocking the exit, possibly armed with knives or some other sort of weapon, it was clear that they weren''t actually giving Casimir a choice.


    Ah... So this is robbery.


    "I don''t have money with me. It''s with my companion." Casimir told them honestly, hoping that they would just let him go and not make things more complicated than it should be.


    "Your companion? Ah! You mean that big man who keeps on following you around? Well, what a pity." The man sneered at him. "He won''t be able to find you here."


    "Gus, stop wasting time talking with the kid. Just take ''er and go." The man who had previously been watching quietly from the back said. "We''ll just take her hostage and ask for ransom from ''er parents."


    "But, what if that doesn''t work?" The man who was identified as Gus asked.


    "Then, we''ll just do the same as we did with the last one." The other man replied coldly. "We''ll sell her."


    Child trafficking..?!


    It seemed that the man''s answer delighted Gus as he began grinning widely. "You heard that, lil missy? We''ll sell you! So, you better hope your parents give us the money, alright?" He cackled, walking closer to Casimir and pinched his chin. "With such tender and young flesh, you''re bound to sell for quite a lot..."


    Casimir nearly reeled in disgust as he smelled the toxic smell of mold and alcohol from the man''s breath.


    "You know..." Casimir''s eyes began to turn cold, and so did his entire presence. "Your type of trash..."


    "Is the type I hate the most."


    ...


    "Hey! Get back here, you little runt!" A teenage who had features that were akin to a rat''s yelled as he chased after a small child.


    Louis was a ten-year old child, born and raised in Orleans, France. He came from a family of five, consisting of a construction worker father, a restaurant singer mother, and two older sisters who were currently studying in high school. He was the youngest child in the family. Also the weirdest one.


    He was born with black hair and blue eyes which, in their family, was an oddity. His father had brown hair and brown eyes and, his mother had blond hair and green eyes. Due to that, he had always felt different from them since he was a child. As it turned out, he had actually inherited his great grandfather''s features.


    According to the doctors, it was actually an occurrence that happens when a certain gene skips a generation or two then, appears on their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Still, that didn''t help with his situation in school as he was still being bullied here and there.


    Right now, Louis was busy trying to run away from Aaron, a local bully in this part of the city. How did this happen, you ask?


    Well, it all started this morning, when Louis was reading a book that he had borrowed from the library, minding his own business. Suddenly, Aaron came along and grabbed the book, then, proceeded to rip the pages apart in front of him, calling him an illegitimate peasant child and saying that his mother was a whore.


    In his rage, he punched Aaron right in the face. When he realized what he had done, he immediately ran away towards the market in hopes that he would lose Aaron there.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t seem to be working as Aaron used his much longer legs to catch up to him quickly.


    He''s catching up! I need to find a place to hide! Somewhere he can''t reach! Think, Louis! Think!


    Suddenly, as he was starting to panic, he found himself growing lighter and, the next thing he knew, he was in a completely different place from before. It was a narrow allyway, completely blocked from the sunlight.


    Drip... Drip... Puchi!


    "Mmf!!!..." From somewhere to his right, he heard a voice scream in pain but, the sound seemed to have been muffled by something, causing him to not hear it clearly.


    Curiously, he turned to look at where the sound came from and immediately regretted.


    His face turned ghastly pale, as if all of his blood had been drained.


    M-murder! There''s a murderer here!


    In the alleyway further in, three men were laying face down on the ground, their bodies covered in wounds and their own blood.


    He hurriedly crouched down and hid behind the shadows of the garbage dump beside him, thankful that it existed.


    Suddenly, he heard a voice that would haunt him for many years speak.


    "Hey, monsieur..." The voice said with a drawl, as if a predator teasing its prey. "Your friends seemed to have gone off without you... Well, what a pity."


    The voice is too clear to be an adult''s. Don''t tell me it''s actually a child?!


    (Alphonse: OAO The monster has revealed itself!)


    ...


    At this moment, Casimir was staring coldly at the bloody body sprawled on the ground in front of him as he playfully spun the broken metal pipe which he had used for a weapon around.


    "Hey, monsieur! You were being extremely talkative just a while ago! Why are you being so quiet now huh?!" Casimir growled, his teeth bared like a wild animal.


    "... Have you ever thought... For one single moment... The fate of the children that you sold..?" Casimir mumbled in a seemingly deranged way. "Have you?!"


    "You haven''t right?... All your kind think about is money... Trash!!!" In rage, Casimir used the sharp point of the pipe and stabbed and stabbed and stabbed.


    Child trafficking was a very sensitive topic for Casimir as he had been chased by traffickers on more than one occasion in his past life, nearly causing him to die in some of those cases. He had friends who fell to child traffickers, never to be seen again. He knew the consequences of being caught; slavery. That was why he abhorred anything that had to do with it.


    Fourty six stab wounds on the body. The man had no chance for survival.


    Casimir took deep breaths to calm himself then, flipped the dead body over to take out the dirty cloth in its mouth to wipe the blood that was splattered on his impromptu weapon.


    Fortunately, the laws stated that wizards were not allowed to kill muggles with magic. But what if he didn''t use magic to kill them? And right now, he still wasn''t formally part of the wizard world.


    Would they investigate this incident, or would they just leave it as a normal murder? Casimir decided to experiment using this incident, noting it for future reference, in case he would have to do something like this again.


    Slowly, with silent, deliberate steps, Casimir headed towards the old garbage dump near the opening of the alleyway. Then, with the grace and silence of a cat, he leaped on top of the dump''s cover, peering over the edge to see the top of a child''s head.


    "Had fun playing hide and seek, wizard boy?"

 24 Monster

    Hearing a voice come from above him, Louis was startled so much that he jumped in freight and tried to get as far away as possible but, due to his knees shaking so much, he ended up tripping. Perhaps, due to his intense desire to get away, even though he tripped and was unable to stand up stably, he still used his hands and knees to crawl away.


    Casimir snickered. Now this, was a reaction that he was more used to. Oh, how they fear!


    In his previous life, the mere mention of his name would make men''s faces pale, women''s knees weak, and children would cry.


    It''s been a long time since he had felt this superior. So notorious! So...lonely.


    Casimir sighed wryly to himself and jogged leisurely to catch up to the boy. "The way you''re going leads to a dead end, you know..."


    He tried to inform the boy helpfully but, was ignored. It seemed like the boy had grown deaf in fear.


    Soon enough, the Louis did reach the dead end, staring hopelessly at Casimir who approached him slowly.


    "S-stay back! Stay back, you monster!" The boy wanted to shout for help but he feared that the child in front of him would kill him before he managed to even open his mouth. And, even if he did manage to scream, he wouldn''t even be sure that people would hear him.


    "Relax, kid..." Casimir raised both his arms in a non threatening manner. "I won''t hurt you. In fact, I''m the same kind as you."


    "The same kind?! I''m not a murderer like you!" Louis shouted at Casimir, confused and scared.


    "A murderer..? Well, I suppose I am one now." Casimir muttered. "But, I didn''t mean that. What I meant was, I am like you. A wizard."


    "A wizard?! Don''t joke with me, you murderer! Wizards aren''t real!" Louis retorted, tired of talking with this deranged murderer.


    "But, that was magic you used just then, right?" Casimir whispered coldly, stepping closer to Louis slowly and deliberately, like a predator on the hunt. "The one that made you appear here inexplicably.... It was magic."


    Suddenly, Casimir stretched his hand towards a pile of bricks and, with a flick of his wrist, the bricks toppled down with a crash, making Louis look at him with a combination of fear and awe. "...You see? I can do it too."


    "Come with me..." Casimir stopped in front of Louis and offered his hand to him. "I can show you a bigger, much better world."


    "All you have to do is take my hand..." Casimir smiled amiably as he tried to persuade Louis.


    "I... I..." Louis stuttered, hesitant on making such a decision. "I think I''ll-"


    Suddenly, Louis disappeared from the alleyway, leaving Casimir alone with his hand stretched out towards an empty corner.


    "Mm... I see." Casimir lowered his arm and stared at the place where Louis had been sitting in previously. Then, he started laughing madly. This was the first time that someone has refused him, either directly or indirectly.


    But... Since the kid had shown signs of being a wizard, it wouldn''t take long before they would meet again. And at that time, Casimir would make sure that he would give him a straight answer.


    So, with elegance befitting of his identity, he walked out of the alleyway as pristine and unruffled as he had been before he was dragged inside it, leaving the three corpses behind.


    He reckoned that, if no one knew exactly of what happened inside that alleyway, they never would have known that it was him who had done it.


    At least, except for that one wizard boy.


    ...


    "Young master! Young master!" Edgar ran around the market, looking everywhere for Casimir and seeming a bit disheveled. "Young master, just where have you run off to?" The man muttered to himself.


    "Boo!" Casimir said from behind Edgar, suddenly appearing out of nowhere holding two candied apples.


    "Young master!" Edgar exclaimed, nearly tearing up in relief. "Young master, where have you been?! I''ve been looking all over for you!"


    "Calm down, Edgar. It''s only been fifteen minutes." Casimir tried to appease the man with a small smile. "I just got some candied apples from a stall that was giving them out for free. Here! Have one!"


    Casimir handed one of the candied apples to Edgar who took it from him gingerly.


    Fortunately, those traffickers carried some money with them. Casimir sneered at them in his mind but, still retained his smile on the outside. The pipe had also been thrown into the sewers so he should be free of suspicion now.


    "Thank you, young master. But, please do not wander around anymore! Not all people here have good intentions. You may end up bumping into some of them!" Edgar tried to warn sincerely but, Casimir didn''t seem to heed his advice.


    Bah! What bad people? I''m probably the worst person in this market to bump into!

 25 Two Letters

    Time flowed quickly like the flowing of water in a river and soon, it was already late into the Summer of 1991.


    On this day, Casimir was having tea with Draco inside the Malfoy manor as they took a break from their lessons, enjoying the slence that would come very rarely in Draco''s presence.


    "Pass me the sugar cubes, Marie." It seems that Casimir spoke too soon.


    "I''ve told you many times, Draco. Call me Casimir or Cas at least." He sighed, regretting the day he had told Draco his full name. Now, the boy won''t stop calling him Marie.


    Doesn''t he ever get bored of being such an asshole? It was like he made irritating everyone his life mission.


    Fortunately, all those years of interacting with Draco had made him more bullshitproof than most people to the point that he could keep a straight face even when Draco was spouting nonsense like he was rapping nonstop.


    Another thing that he noted during the course of this time was that, as long as no magic was involved in a wizard''s confrontation with a muggle, the ministry of magic would more or less turn a blind eye to it. Well, at least the French Ministry of magic would. He didn''t really know about the circumstances in other countries.


    "Your first name is too hard to pronounce on a daily basis. I have to pause every now and then to prepare my tongue just to say your name right!" Draco complained, making Casimir roll his eyes. "You can''t expect me to pause in the middle of a conversation just to think of how to say your name properly, right?"


    Casimir snorted at Draco''s antics.


    "What if I were suddenly being chased by a hungry dragon one day and needed your help? I can''t just yell, ''Help me....ugh.. Casimir!'' in the middle of running for my life!" Draco portrayed in a rather realistic way.


    There was a short moment of silence, then, the two started laughing aloud.


    "Wow! Draco, I didn''t know you were good at acting! Maybe you should consider being an actor!" Casimir joked. "But, honestly, I can actually envision it happening."


    "Don''t jinx it, Proulx. I swear, if that happens to me in reality..." Draco gave a playful glare to Casimir. "The first one to die will be you."


    "Oh! I''m so scared, Lord Malfoy! Please, have mercy!" Casimir snickered.


    "Having fun here, boys?" Suddenly, Mr. Malfoy entered the room and found Casimir and Draco joking around.


    "Ah, good morning, sir Malfoy!" Casimir greeted the man, rather confused about the reason for his sudden appearance.


    "Father, is something the matter?" It seems like Draco had the same thoughts.


    "Nothing too important, I presume. Just two letters addressed to Mr. Draco Malfoy and Mr. Casimir Proulx. Most likely, acceptance letters to Hogwarts." Mr. Malfoy put down two identical letters on the table.


    "Me as well? But I''m neither English, nor am I Irish." Casimir said, confused.


    "Well, you''re in England so often, you might as well be English." Draco pointed out. "Don''t worry about it. It''s probably just that old, bag of bones Dumbledore trying to recruit as much mini minions for his school as he can."


    "Oh, I see..." Casimir smiled in amusement, finding Draco''s choice of words to describe the current headmaster of Hogwarts quite befitting.


    Seeing them talking with the each other peacefully, Mr. Malfoy turned around to leave. "I still have matters to take care of so, you boys can have the rest of the day to yourselves."


    The second they heard that they could do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day, the two of them looked at each other, nearly in sync, both their eyes glistening with mischief.


    The two boys merely looked at each other and, instinctively, they already knew what the other was thinking.


    "Last one to get his broom is a smelly dog!" Casimir yelled and began running as fast as he could.


    "Hey! Get back here, you traitor!"


    ...


    ''Mr. C.S. Proulx, the resting lounge, Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England.


    HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY


    Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE


    (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. , Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)


    Dear Mr. Proulx,


    We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed, a list of all necessary books and equipment.


    Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.


    Yours sincerely,


    Minerva McGonagall,


    Deputy Headmistress''


    Oh? There seems to be a second page.


    ''HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY


    UNIFORM


    First-year students will require:


    1. Three sets of plain work robes(black)


    2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear


    3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)


    4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)


    Please note that all pupil''s clothes should carry name tags.


    COURSE BOOKS


    All students should have a copy of each of the following:


    The Standard Book of Spells(Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk


    A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot


    Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling


    A Beginner''s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch


    One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore


    Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger


    Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander


    The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble


    OTHER EQUIPMENT


    1 wand


    1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)


    1 set glass or crystal phials


    1 telescope


    1 set brass scales


    Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.


    PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK


    Yours sincerely,


    Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus


    Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions''


    Casimir was reading through the contents of the letter with Draco as they were resting on the driveway after a short game of broom tagging, wrapping the scarf which Draco had gifted him years ago around his neck.


    "Are you going there? Hogwarts, I mean." Casimir asked Draco curiously.


    "Most likely, yes. How about you?" Draco replied, having just finished reading his letter as well.


    "I''ll go wherever you''re going, I guess." Casimir shrugged. He really didn''t care much about which school he would be going. To him, as long as he was able to learn there, it was good. But, having a companion would be nice.


    "Oh?! I didn''t know you liked me that much!" Draco exclaimed dramatically, making Casimir roll his eyes.


    "You wish! I''m just afraid that you''ll somehow stir up some trouble if I''m not with you! You might end up offending some powerful wizard and get yourself killed." Casimir smirked.


    "Well, the same could be said for you!" Draco retorted with a scowl. "I bet that if I''m not with you, you''ll end up wandering into some cursed place and die."


    "Makes sense..." Casimir shrugged. "In conclusion, we need each other to keep us in check."


    "Agreed." Draco snorted.

 26 Off to Diagon Alley

    That night, as Casimir was eating dinner with his father, Mr. Proulx suddenly asked. "A letter came today?"


    "Yes, father." Casimir answered. "How did you-"


    "Mr. Malfoy informed me." Mr. Proulx cut him off. "Another letter actually came today from Beauxbatons."


    "Oh, I see..." Casimir mumbled.


    "... You''re mother attended school in Beauxbatons." Mr. Proulx in a seemingly careless manner.


    "Mmm..." Casimir hummed indifferently.


    "... You''ve already decided, haven''t you?" Mr. Proulx sighed helplessly.


    "Yes, father. I''ll be attending whatever school Draco decides to." Casimir replied with a careless smile.


    "Hogwarts it is then." Mr. Proulx smiled wryly. "Go get me a parchment so I can inform Mr. Malfoy. Him and his wife, Mrs. Narcissa, offered to take you along to Diagon Alley when Draco buys his stuff."


    Oh? They''re that close now? That''s surprising.


    "It''s also about time you get to see your own vault inside Gringotts, I suppose..."


    What''s Gringotts?


    ...


    A few days later, Casimir was once again in the Malfoy Manor, sitting on a chair obediently. Somewhere behind him, Draco was having the time of his life, laughing at Casimir''s misery. Unfortunately, Casimir couldn''t turn around to glare at him since he was currently in a difficult situation.


    "How can your hair be so messy, dear? Today is the day when you will be meeting your first wands and buying your supplies, possibly meeting your future classmates and housemates!" Narcissa lectured, armed with various combs and brushes, about to go to battle with Casimir''s long, messy hair. "I will not permit for you to leave this house with such a horrid appearance!"


    Casimir''s expression darkened. I''m pretty sure my hair isn''t that bad...


    "And you, Draco!" Narcissa pointed at the laughing boy at the back, causing him to freeze up. "You''re next."


    This time, it was Casimir''s turn to snicker.


    So this is what it feels like to have a mother...


    ...


    Some time later, Casimir, Draco, and Narcissa were standing in front of a dirty looking bar called Leaky Couldron. As they looked at the rundown establishment, both Draco and Casimir looked at each other with unsure expressions. The moment they looked at each other though, both of them couldn''t help but laugh at the other.


    After the great battle of hair which was won by Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy, Casimir''s hair turned into long, glistening locks which were tied up with a blue ribbon. Meanwhile, Draco''s hair looked overly slicked back, nearly sticking to his head.


    Seeing as both boys were in their own world once again, Narcissa began to drag them by the arm inside. "Let''s go. Lucius already went ahead us to buy books for the both of you. We''ll be meeting up with him later."


    Once they entered the establishment, everything seemed to grow silent. People just stared at them as they passed as if they were exotic animals in a zoo, making Casimir feel uneasy.


    Fortunately, they soon arrived at their destination.


    After tapping a brick wall in a certain pattern and sequence, the wall began to move and rearrange itself. Then, Narcissa turned to look at the two boys standing behind her. "Welcome to Diagon alley, boys!"


    Following behind Narcissa, Casimir looked around curiously. They passed by all sorts of shops on their way; shops selling robes, owls, broomsticks, telescopes, and much more that Casimir had never seen before.


    Soon, they arrived in front of a fairly large establishment.


    "First stop is Gringotts." Narcissa said and led the way inside and, without a single pause in her steps, she headed directly towards the goblin sitting on the highest podium.


    "Ahem!" Narcissa cleared her throat, attracting the attention of the goblin. "We would like to gain access to the safes under Narcissa Malfoy and Casimir Marie Proulx."


    "Are the keys with you, ma''am?" The goblin asked.


    "I have mine with me." Narcissa answered.


    Finally, Casimir knew the reason why Mr. Proulx handed him a small key that morning and told him not to lose it no matter what.


    "I have mine as well." Casimir said after a short pause.


    "That seems to be in order..." The goblin said after checking their keys.


    A few moments later, they were being led in a narrow passageway by another goblin. The goblin suddenly whistled and, the next thing they knew, an old and possibly dangerous looking cart was speeding towards them on the tracks that were on the ground.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Get on!" Narcissa told them when she realized neither Draco nor Casimir were moving.


    "This looks dangerous." Casimir commented. "And dirty." Draco added.


    "Quit dallying, the both of you!" Narcissa said helplessly and finally, Casimir and Draco got on with a lot of hesitation.


    The ride was a long and winding one. They were going left, right, down, right, left, down, and even more down. At one point, Casimir began doubting his eyes as he thought he had actually seen a dragon on one of the spaces that they passed.


    Casimir turned to look at Draco to see if he had seen what he had and nearly burst out laughing. There, beside him, was a very green looking Draco Malfoy, looking as if he was about to throw up at any moment.


    Casimir snickered. "If you dare throw up on me, Draco, I swear I''ll push you off this cart." He whispered quietly to the boy beside him.


    Fortunately, the ride ended a few moments later and Narcissa got off with Draco following closely, looking very sick.


    "My vault is in this passage, dear. " Narcissa said. "I''m not sure if yours is here as well or-"


    "Sir Proulx''s vault is a bit further down, ma''am." The goblin said as he took a big flashlight like object from the cart.


    "Oh, is that so?" Narcissa turned towards Casimir. "Then I''ll have to trouble you to wait here for a moment, dear."


    "It''s fine, ma''am. Please take your time." Casimir smiled politely, reassuring Narcissa.


    Since he wasn''t part of the Malfoy family, he really couldn''t blame them for asking him to wait outside as they entered the vault. It was basic courtesy.


    A few minutes later, they emerged from vault with Narcissa giving Casimir a small, grateful smile.


    It really didn''t take long.


    As they boarded the cart again, they began heading downwards once more, to Draco''s despair.


    Shortly afterwards, they stopped on another passage. This time, it was Casimir''s turn to get off and, with an encouraging look from Narcissa and a rather green squint from Draco, Casimir entered the vault through the guidance of the goblin.


    What he saw inside caused him to feel astounded.


    Piles and piles of golden galleons filled a large room. How large you ask?


    Well, let''s just say that it wasn''t any smaller than the stables in the Proulx Manor.


    I knew the Proulx family was rich but... I didn''t expect it to be this rich!


    Although Casimir wanted to admire the sight for a bit more but, he remembered Narcissa and Draco who were still waiting for him to come back so, he just shoved a few piles of galleons inside a bag which seemed to have a never ending space inside of it.


    After concluding that he took enough, he exited the vault and, together with Narcissa, Draco, and the goblin, they headed back.


    Some minutes later, they were once again outside of Gringotts.

 27 Poor Boy

    After walking around for a while, Casimir decided to buy a bottle of cool lemongrass tea in a nearby stall for Draco who still looked quite sick since, unlike Draco, he didn''t like watching his friends suffer as long as he''s concerned.


    Thanks to the tea, Draco began to look a bit better but still looked somewhat pale. Nevertheless, the tea worked.


    "Thanks..." Draco said hesitantly as if unused to saying the word. "It''s fine. Don''t mention it." Casimir smiled at him.


    Narcissa secretly smiled to herself when she saw the interaction of the two, then, led them towards a small shop. Madam Malkin''s Robes for all Occasions..?


    "Alright, boys! You go and get fitted in your robes. I''ll be checking the wands for a bit." Narcissa told them. "Draco, your father is just in the neighboring shop buying your books. If you need something, go find him. I''ll come and pick you up after." She then left after giving those series of instructions.


    The two entered the shop and saw a short, smiling witch beam at them. "Hogwarts, I presume?"


    "Yes, ma''am." Casimir answered for the both of them since Draco always managed to say the wrong things when he first meets someone. "We''ll be troubling you."


    "Not at all, dears. Just doing my job." She led Casimir and Draco further into the store and had them stand on footstools.


    She called for another witch to come and measure Draco''s robes while she herself handled Casimir''s. "Ah... Time surely does fly fast. It was like it was only yesterday that the previous year one students came here to have their robes made. Unknowingly, already a whole year has passed and here we are again." Madam Malkin said to herself as she worked.


    "All done! You can wait over here while your friend gets fitted, dear." Madam Malkin said and pointed to a chair at the side. "Thank you, ma''am" Casimir smiled politely.


    Suddenly, they heard something akin to a bell chime. "Ooh! Another one? We''re awfully busy today!" Madam Malkin headed towards the front to welcome the new guest.


    Soon enough, a small, thin boy wearing glasses was led to the back and stood on the stool beside Draco, being measured by Madam Malkin.


    Perhaps due to boredom, Draco decided to talk to the boy. Or maybe he was just curious.


    "Hello." Draco said "Hogwarts, too?"


    "Yes." The boy replied


    "My father''s next door buying mine and my friend''s books." Draco motioned to where Casimir was sitting with his chin. "And mother''s up the street looking at wands." Draco had a bored, drawling voice but, Casimir knew that Draco''s voice was just weak from feeling sick until some moments ago.


    "Then I''m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don''t see why first years can''t have their own. I think I''ll bully father into getting me one and I''ll smuggle it in somehow." Draco chatted with the boy. Casimir was feeling a bit surprised. How come Draco is so talkative suddenly?


    "Have you got your own broom?" Draco went on.


    "No." said the boy.


    "Play Quidditch at all?"


    "No." The boy said again, looking very confused.


    "I do. Father says it''s a crime if I''m not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you''ll be in yet?"


    "No." The boy said again.


    "Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I''ll be in Slytherin, all our family have been. Imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I''d leave, wouldn''t you?"


    "Mmm."The boy just said, looking uncomfortable, making Casimir snicker. He truly had to admire Draco''s innate ability to make people uncomfortable.


    "I say, look at that man!" Draco said suddenly, nodding toward the front window, making Casimir look to wear he pointed and saw a giant bearded man standing there, grinning at the boy and holding two large ice creams.


    To be honest, he really did look quite unnaturally big. Perhaps he was part giant.


    But that''s not the point. Casimir noticed that Draco was getting quite close to crossing the line. He''d better stop him quick before he manages to say anything worse and cause irreplaceable damage.


    "That''s Hagrid." The boy said. "He works at Hogwarts."


    "Oh." Draco said."I''ve heard of him. He''s a sort of servant, isn''t he?"


    "He''s the gatekeeper." The boy muttered, clearly disliking how Draco referred to the giant man.


    Crap! Need to shut Draco up quick! But this is much too entertaining to stop! What do I do?!


    "Yes, exactly. I heard he''s a sort of savage; lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed. "


    Alright! This needs to stop!


    "Draco, shut up for a bit, will you? You''re scaring the poor boy." Casimir stood up and approached the two just in time for the two witches to finish measuring the two.


    "I apologize for my friend''s behavior. He''s like this to everyone but he doesn''t mean any harm... Most of the time" Casimir said with an apologetic smile.


    "I was just talking to him, Marie! There was no need for you to step up!" Draco scowled as he stepped off the footstool.


    "How many times do I have to tell you, Draco? Think before you speak! Don''t go offending people here and there!" Casimir flicked Draco''s forehead.


    "Y-you!" Draco gaped at Casimir in horror. "You actually dared!"


    "What? You want a punch instead?" Casimir smirked.


    "... If you only weren''t my friend, I swear I would have..." Draco mumbled under his breath.


    "What was that? I didn''t hear you quite clearly." Casimir teased Draco, causing the boy to turn silent and just glared at him.


    "Sorry about that." Casimir said and glanced at the boy who was feeling left out. "It seems like that man is waiting for you outside so, let''s meet again at school, alright?"


    Casimir bid the boy farewell and continued to wait for Narcissa with Draco who was still glaring at him.


    "... Are you gonna stop?"


    "No."


    "... Can you please stop?"


    "No."


    "Even if I buy you that broom you wanted?"


    "Nimbus 2000?"


    "Yeah."


    "Okay."


    Ah... Children are so easy to deal with...

 28 The Wand Chooses the Wizard

    Casimir and Draco were walking along Diagon alley, accompanied by Lucius and Narcissa as they headed towards a shop called Ollivanders to buy their wands.


    As they entered the shop, Casimir looked around to see a narrow, messy place and, from somewhere deep inside the shop, a soft tinkling of a bell was heard.


    It''s extremely messy. Casimir commented to himself.


    No kidding. It was like a hurricane came and messed the place up then left.


    Beside him, Draco was scrunching up his nose in distaste.


    "Oh? Two more guests for today, it seems." A voice suddenly said from behind them, making Casimir tense up inwardly. It''s been too long since someone had snuck up on him without being sensed.


    That just means that the person who they were dealing with was very powerful.


    "Well, well. If it isn''t the Malfoys. Lovely to see you here again. I presume young Draco is here to get his first wand?" An old man said as he walked towards them slowly then, turned to look at Casimir. "... And this is..?"


    "Casimir Proulx. He''s here to get his wand along with Draco." Lucius answered for him, unwilling to waste time in niceties.


    "I see, a French nobility. No wonder I didn''t recognize him." Ollivander rubbed his chin with a free hand. "I remember everyone I''ve sold a wand to, you see."


    "Now, boys, I need you to stand still for a moment but, before that, which one is your wand arm?" Ollivander asked, taking out a tape measure from his pocket.


    "Right." Draco said curtly, it was obvious that he didn''t want to converse with such a weird old man for too long.


    "And you, Mr. Proulx?" Ollivander turned to Casimir and asked.


    "I''m ambidextrous, sir." Casimir said politely and smiled.


    "Both-handed, I see!" Ollivander said in surprise. "That''s a bit tricky." Although he said so, he seemed to be very happy for some reason.


    "Now, stand there and reach out your wand hand... Well, both hands for Mr. Proulx." As they did so, the tape measure suddenly floated and began measuring the two on its own, to Casimir''s surprise.


    Although he had seen newspapers which knew how to flip their own pages when Mr. Proulx was reading newspapers during their breakfast, a tape measure which could measure on its own was a whole other level!


    "Let''s see... Ah, yes. Mr. Malfoy, please try this Cherry wood and Dragon heartstring. Eleven and a half inches. Very domineering. Please give it a wave." Ollivander said as he handed a light colored wand to Draco.


    Draco hesitantly waved the wand but, barely a second after, the wand was immediately snatched away. "Not it."


    Ollivander mumbled to himself as he picked up the tape measure which had fallen to the floor after it had finished measuring the two.


    "Then let''s try this. Hawthorn and Unicorn hair. Ten inches. Reasonably springy."


    Draco gave the wand a wave and, this time, Casimir actually felt the wind shift around Draco and soon, the wand''s tip glowed in a greenish light.


    "Ah, perfect!" Ollivander commented. "Next up, Mr. Proulx..."


    Ollivander trailed off as he rummaged through various wand cases. "Try this Cedar wood and Phoenix feather. Nine inches. Steadfast yet flexible."


    Casimir tentatively waved the wand and, like Draco''s first try, it was immediately snatched from him.


    "I guess not. How about this Holly wood and Unicorn hair. Seven inches. Valiant."


    Nope.


    "Larch wood and Dragon heartstring. Twelve and a half inches. Strong and Dependable."


    Not it either.


    At this moment, Draco was already bored to death, watching in mild humor as Ollivander scuttled all over his shop, looking for the right wand for Casimir.


    Finally, after rummaging about, Ollivander returned with a long and thin, pointy, black wand in hand. "I have a feeling that this might be it! Blackthorn wood and Dragon heartstring. Fourteen inches. Adaptable and Clever."


    This time, from the moment Casimir held the wand, he felt as if something was trying to connect to him. Thinking that it might be the wand, Casimir let go of all his mental barriers, hesitantly welcoming the wand''s presence.


    When the connection was formed, a gust of wind seemed to have formed with him at its center then, the wand glowed for a moment. Fortunately, it only lasted for a second and everything went back to normal.


    Ollivander smiled. "You have found your partners, it seems, boys. Do take care of them well. Remember, the wand chooses the wizard."


    After paying for their wands, the four of them quickly went back to the Malfoy Manor.


    Including Casimir.


    Why did he go back with the Malfoys instead of returning to his own home?


    Well, that was because, since travelling to and from France when he would just return to the Malfoy Manor early the next morning was far too troublesome according to Narcissa, they decided to have Casimir stay over for the night instead.


    Meaning... A sleepover!

 29 Cupcake Boys and Fangirl

    During the course of the last month before they formally entered Hogwarts as students, Casimir spent most of his time in the Malfoy Manor despite their joint lessons being finished. At first, he just visited due to the boredom of being cooped up at home for too long.


    Then, he began visiting more often for the sole reason that he wanted to make fun of Dr- I mean, have fun with Draco. Cough.


    Of course, Fleur and Echelle would tag along, hiding somewhere underneath his clothes, unnoticed by everyone. Until now, Draco hadn''t even known they existed yet. And he was the person Casimir spent the most time with!


    From time to time, he would also bring along Noir with him.


    Speaking of Noir, the big cat has lately been feeling quite moody. Perhaps it was because Casimir had been forcing him to drink one Shrinking Potion daily in order to train him for their life in Hogwarts.


    Since the letter stated that students may bring a toad, a cat, or an owl, Casimir decided that he would be bringing Noir with him since, technically, Noir was a type of cat... Just much bigger.


    But, to be safe, he''ll have him drink a shrinking potion daily so he would at least look like a strange looking black cat.


    Hopefully, no one would notice.


    ...


    On this slightly overcast day, exactly one week before they would enter Hogwarts, two visitors suddenly arrived in the Malfoy Manor as Casimir and Draco were playing around on their newly bought Nimbus 2000''s.


    "Draco! Casimir! Come down for a moment, boys!" Narcissa called to them as she led two pudgy boys towards them. "You have visitors!"


    "Visitors? You know them?" Casimir asked Draco as they landed on the ground.


    "So-so. They''re sons of some so-called family friends." Draco shrugged. "Just lackeys if you''d ask me though."


    "You know, Draco,sometimes I really do admire you." Casimir said indifferently, getting off of his broomstick. "I admire how you are able to say something so offhandedly without worrying about what other people think."


    "And here I thought you were about to say something nice." Draco snorted, making Casimir raise an eyebrow.


    "Draco, Crabbe and Goyle are here to see you. I''ll be heading back inside so, you boys just have fun, alright?" Narcissa said and hurried back inside the manor.


    "What did you come here for?" Draco asked, going straight to the point immediately.


    "Parents made us come. So now we''re here to bother you." One of the pudgy boys said, pulling a cupcake from the pocket of his trousers.


    Wait... Why did he have a cupcake there? And why aren''t anyone else surprised that he just pulled a cupcake out from his pocket?! Is this normal?!


    "Whatever. Do what you want to do. Just don''t bother us." Draco said, dismissing them like an experienced gang boss and went back to his broom. "Marie, you coming or not?"


    "Oh, right!" Casimir shook his head in confusion as he jogged to catch up with Draco.


    ...


    During the following days, Casimir began to see those two cupcake boys more often, visiting every once in a while to talk with Draco for some time then leave.


    On one of those days, a short and temperamental looking girl visited as well and wouldn''t stop talking about how great Draco is. All he heard was Draco this, Draco that, Draco Draco Draco. If he didn''t excuse himself early that day, he would bet that he would''ve become deaf afterwards. It was obvious that the girl was Draco''s number one fangirl.


    And, despite having seen those children already, Casimir still didn''t know their names. At this point, it would be too awkward to try and introduce himself to them. And besides, he wasn''t really interested in making friends with them.


    What he needed were useful allies for the future. Not heavy burdens that will just drag him down.


    He had great ambitions. Ambitions so great, most people wouldn''t even dare to think about them. And, for the sake of that ambition, he was willing to do all it takes. Everything was doable. Even if he had to kill, he would do it. It wasn''t like he hasn''t done it anyways.


    His aim was to reach the top of this world; to become the strongest existence to have lived. The dream which he had in the previous world that was never fulfilled as he clouded his head over grief and the desire for vengeance.


    But, now that nothing was holding him back, he would make sure that his dream would be fulfilled.


    September 1 marks as the first day of school for Casimir. At the same time, it also marks as the day Casimir''s extended break would end.


    That day, the world will welcome another legend.

 30 The Train to Hogwarts

    This is it.


    This is finally it.


    September 1, 1991.


    Casimir stood in front of the Proulx Manor''s fireplace carrying the shrunk version of Noir in his arms, being sent off by his father, Alphonse, Edgar and the rest of their house servants.


    "Young master, all of your things have been packed inside your case. If you need anything, please send a letter and I''ll be sure to prepare it as quickly as possible." Alphonse said, seeming to be tearing up.


    "I''ll be sending packages containing Fleur, Echelle, and Noir''s food around once a week, young master." Edgar informed him.


    "Yes, please do. Thank you." Casimir smiled at them. "Then, I''ll be off."


    Just as Casimir was about to enter the already green flames in the fireplace, Mr. Proulx suddenly called him. "Casimir."


    "Yes, father?" Casimir turned to look at Mr. Proulx in confusion.


    "... Take care of yourself, son." Mr. Proulx said.


    Casimir smiled brightly. "I will father."


    Then, he stepped into the flames. "Malfoy Manor."


    ...


    "Draco... I don''t know if you''ve noticed but, our train ticket says we have to go to platform nine and three quarters." Casimir said as he read through their train tickets after they arrived at King''s Cross Station, being followed by Noir who kept looking around in curiosity


    "Yeah. What about it?" Draco asked Casimir dubiously.


    "Well... There is no platform nine and three quarters." Casimir said, making Draco turn silent.


    Fortunately, Narcissa was there to clear their confusion. "Nonsense! There is a platform nine and three quarters! It''s just hidden from the eyes of the muggles! And the way that leads there..." She trailed off and pointed towards an unsuspecting pillar between platform nine and ten. "is through this pillar."


    As if to clear their suspicions, Narcissa walked towards the pillar and, right before their eyes, she went through it.


    Oh! So it''s like the underground ballroom that we have at home! I see!


    "Well, ladies first, Marie." Draco glanced at him.


    "How gentlemanly of you, Draco." Casimir rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, picking up Noir who had bumped into his legs from not looking at where he was going.


    "Quit dallying now, boys. The train will be leaving soon." Lucius said from behind them.


    "Sorry, Mr. Malfoy." Casimir said apologetically and proceeded to drag Draco by the arm towards the pillar, much to Draco''s surprise. "Let''s just go."


    The passed through the pillar without any accidents happening and met up with Narcissa who was waiting for them at the other side.


    "Hurry on, boys! Up the train!" Narcissa ushered them towards an old but clean looking train which looked to be still running on coal fuel despite the world already moving on from that era.


    When they entered the train, they discovered that quite a few children were already in it, talking with each other or looking for a free cabin to sit in.


    Doing the same as them, Draco and Casimir began their hunt for a free cabin and finally found one at the back part of the area designated for the first years.


    Upon settling in their chosen cabin, the first thing Draco did was to open the window to bid goodbye to his parents. Not paying attention to what they were talking about over the window, Casimir just took a small pillow from his case and directly took a nap with Noir settling down on his lap.


    He didn''t really get enough sleep the night before since he was too busy trying to look for the phantom fifth floor for one last time before he left. Unfortunately, his search was unfruitful so, he had to accept that maybe that one maid had made it all up.


    So, without any more care for anything else, Casimir wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck and closed his eyes; not entirely asleep yet not entirely awake either.


    With his eyes closed, he could hear things more clearly. He heard the sound of the window sliding closed when Draco finished his conversation with his parents, the sound of children chatting outside their cabin, and the sound of luggage bags being dragged along the train''s corridor.


    Minutes later, the cabin''s door suddenly opened, causing Casimir to open his eyes into narrow slits, too tired to fully open them but too curious to have them remain closed.


    "Oh? How surprising to see you here, Malfoy!" A lanky and awkward looking boy said and entered the cabin uninvited. "I was sure you would be entering Durmstrang!"


    Right off the bat, Casimir didn''t have a good impression of the boy just because he was being too loud when he wanted to just rest in silence. Even Draco knew how to keep to himself at this time.


    "Shut up, Nott." Draco said in a kind of snobbish way which was ignored by the other boy.


    "Who''s this? Your friend?" The boy who Draco called Nott gestured towards Casimir''s figure.


    "Yeah." Draco answered.


    The boy''s eyes grew wide in surprise. "I never thought that I would live to see the day you would acknowledge someone as your friend! Just what kind of person is he to make you call him your friend?!"


    Seeing that he wouldn''t be able to take a nap with this boy around, Casimir just sighed and gave up, returning his pillow to his case.


    "Oh? So you were awake after all, Marie!" Draco turned to Casimir as if to use him to escape the other boy''s questions.


    "Marie? Nice name! Are you Draco''s girlfriend?!" The boy asked quite loudly as he made himself comfortable on the seat across Draco and Casimir. At this point, Casimir was pretty sure the children in the neighboring cabins had heard them.


    ""No!"" Both Casimir and Draco exclaimed at the same time and showed similar looks of disgust.


    "We basically grew up with each other!" Draco said. "We''re practically like siblings." Casimir continued.


    "And besides, he''s a boy!" Draco exclaimed, surprising the other boy.


    "A boy?!" The boy exclaimed and looked closer at Casimir''s face. "... Well, now that I really see what you look like,you don''t really look like a girl after all. I must''ve been confused by your hair. Sorry about that."


    The boy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I''m Theodore by the way. Draco''s other friend."


    (Draco: Since when? Theodore: Since now.)


    "Casimir." Casimir nodded at Theodore curtly.


    "I thought your name was Marie..?" Theodore said, glancing between Draco and Casimir in confusion.


    "That''s my second name." Casimir sighed helplessly.


    "His first name is too hard to pronounce so I just call him Marie." Draco interjected.


    "Oh..." Theodore was enlightened. "Can I call you Marie as well?"


    ""No."" Both Draco and Casimir answered.


    "I''m special." Draco continued.


    "Well, I''ll be going out for some fresh air for a bit. You two... Do whatever." Casimir said and left the cabin, leaving Noir with Draco and Theodore.

 31 Oops

    Casimir walked through the noisy corridors, trying to get rid of the remaining sleepiness in his system whilst, trying to avoid the other children who would be his future schoolmates as they ran around.


    He walked further and further into the train and soon, he arrived at a location where he could barely see any other people.


    Finally, he could be alone in his thoughts.


    "Croak."


    ... He seemed to have spoke too soon.


    In the middle of the corridor in front of him, right at the dead center of it, a big, fat, and very ugly toad sat, blocking the entire section of the corridor.


    ''Ssnacksss...''


    Suddenly, from inside his sleeves, a small, green head poked out.


    Fleur flicked her tongue out from her mouth as if tasting the air then, slithered on the ground after uncoiling her body off of Casimir''s arm.


    "Fleur? What is it? Are you hungry?" Casimir asked as he silently followed behind Fleur.


    Perhaps curious, Echelle too, poked his head out of Casimir''s sleeve but, returned inside soon after, not having any interest in the toad.


    Fleur on the other hand, silently slithered towards the toad who, unaware of the predator stalking it, kept on croaking horribly, not moving from its spot.


    Fleur paused, possibly looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. Then, a few moments later, Fleur moved.


    With a single swift motion, Fleur had latched tightly onto the toad''s body with her mouth. Some seconds later, Fleur had her body coiled around the toad and proceeded to swallow it whole, head first.


    It seemed that this pretty lady didn''t really eat in a very ladylike manner.


    After around ten minutes of struggling to swallow the fat toad, Fleur had finally finished, slithering in a satisfied manner towards Casimir''s already outstretched arm.


    "Was it good, Fleur?" Casimir asked the snake in a doting manner, caressing her head gently with a finger.


    ''Good... Tastesssss good...''


    "That''s good to hear." Casimir said as Fleur''s head disappeared once again into his sleeve while he walked back towards the cabin he shared with Draco and now, Theodore as well.


    At some point, during the time Fleur was eating her meal, the train had begun moving, heading towards Hogwarts where the students would be spending seven years of their lives in, studying.


    As he travelled on the corridors, two boys ran past him, heading towards where he had previously been. One of them happened to be a familiar looking boy who wore glasses and was being followed by another boy with orange hair.


    "Over here, Ron!" The boy with glasses said to his friend. "I swore I heard a voice come from somewhere around here."


    "But there''s clearly nothing there, Harry." The boy called Ron said.


    Unfortunately, Casimir was already far away from them and couldn''t hear their conversation or else, he would''ve found out a mystery which would prove to be a great help to him in the future.


    ...


    When he came back to the cabin, he found that another person had joined the small group while he was away. Upon recognizing the new addition as Draco''s little fangirl, Casimir just groaned inwardly and headed straight for his case and took a black earmuff out, wearing it, then took a seat beside Theodore since the girl occupied his previous seat beside Draco.


    Since his appearance was too sudden and unexpected, the three people inside couldn''t really react and just gaped at him, surprised.


    "Cough! Well, nice to see you back, Marie." Draco said awkwardly, trying to break the oppressive silence that Casimir had cast over them.


    "Mm." Casimir just hummed in reply, making the atmosphere even more awkward.


    (Draco: Hey! Don''t just ignore me when I''m trying to start a conversation here! Casimir: Not my problem.)


    "That reminds me! Draco, you haven''t seemed to introduce us to each other yet." The fangirl finally realized this.


    "He''s Marie. Now you know him." Draco said curtly, not bothering about any more information.


    Suddenly, Casimir removed his earmuffs and turned towards Draco, taking out a small package from the pocket of his coat. "I bought you an apple by the way. Nearly forgot about it."


    "Granny Smith?" Draco asked with an eyebrow raised.


    "What?" Casimir answered with a question of his own, confused about what Draco was asking about.


    "Is it a granny smith apple?" Draco clarified.


    "Oh. If you mean those green apples, then yeah. I''ve only ever seen you eat those kinds." Casimir answered and handed the package to Draco.


    "Thanks." Draco grabbed the package with a rarely seen gleeful look.


    (Casimir: The only eternal love in this world is Drapple. Draco and an apple. Draco: Says who?! Casimir:...Everyone.)


    Some moments later, the door to their cabin was suddenly pushed open, revealing a messy-heaired girl and a boy who looked very...mousey..?


    "Has anyone here seen a toad? Neville has lost his toad." The messy haired girl asked while the boy behind him showed a very nervous expression.


    Perhaps, due to the combination of a missing toad and the boy''s nervous expression, the three children aside from Casimir had burst out laughing.


    "A toad?! I knew Hogwarts allowed toads to be brought there but, I never really expected someone to actually bring one!" The fangirl cackled.


    Meanwhile, Casimir had a complicated expression on.


    Unnerved by the children laughing and mocking them, the messy haired girl directly banged the door shut and walked away to ask the other people in other cabins.


    After a while of laughing, Draco realized that Casimir wasn''t laughing with them and just sat silently with a complicated expression.


    "Anything wrong, Marie?" Draco asked still looking as if he would burst out laughing the next second.


    "...No. Not really. It''s just that, one of my companions may or may not have eaten the toad they were looking for..."


    "One of your companions? But Noir was here with us the entire time." Draco said in confusion as he petted Noir who had made himself comfortable on his lap. It was nice to see Noir interacting with other people aside from Casimir.


    Well, I might as well show them now. They''ll be able to meet them sooner or later anyways.


    "Echelle. Fleur." Casimir called and, a few moments later, two snakes slithered out of his sleeves and into his hand.


    "These are my companions." Casimir said to the gawking children. "And Fleur may have eaten Neville''s toad."


    "Oops..?"

 32 Harry Potter

    At around noon, the four children inside the cabin were peacefully eating their snacks. No words were exchanged in this duration.


    After a while, Draco had finished eating and excused himself to go to the washroom, leaving Casimir with the other two.


    "So... When did you and Draco meet?" Theodore asked, trying to start up a conversation.


    "Around four years ago at my birthday banquet." Casimir replied, nibbling on a chocolate frog.


    "Four years ago?! You two knew each other before I met Draco then!" Theodore exclaimed. "I met him around a year and a half ago when my father brought me to meet his parents."


    "Oh. I see." Casimir muttered.


    It seems that, if Draco wasn''t around, his little fangirl was actually very quiet.


    At this moment, Draco finally returned with two other boys following him. "Found Crabbe and Goyle while I was out. And, you wouldn''t guess who is on this train with us."


    "Who?" Casimir asked curiously.


    "Harry Potter! The legendary boy who lived!" Draco exclaimed. "Me, Crabbe, and Goyle were just about to head out and look for him. You coming?" Draco turned to Casimir.


    Harry Potter? I''ve been hearing that name quite often lately. Maybe it''s about time I meet the legendary person himself.


    "Sure. I don''t see why not." Casimir replied and followed behind Draco, leaving Theodore and the fanigirl behind, looking at them with forlorn expressions.


    ...


    After asking for some directions from a few other children, they arrived in front of a very normal looking cabin.


    Without any unnecessary actions, Draco directly pulled open the door and strode right in as if he owned the place.


    Surprisingly, who they saw in front of the cabin was actually the boy whom they met at Madam Malkin''s shop. How coincidental! Though, Casimir was unfamiliar with the other boy with him.


    "Is it true?" Draco said. "They''re all saying down the train that Harry Potter''s in this compartment. So it''s you, is it?" Draco looked towards the boy they had previously met.


    "Yes." Harry replied, looking at the other boys behind Draco and Casimir.


    "Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle. The one beside me is Marie. You''ve met him before." Draco carelessly introduced as Casimir smiled amiably at Harry with a polite nod. "And my name''s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. "


    The orange haired boy gave a slight cough, seeming to want to laugh but hid it. Draco looked at him, obviously displeased.


    "Think my name''s funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford. "


    O?O Draco has entered his Sass mode! Must stop this at once!


    "Sorry for my friend''s mouth. He didn''t mean it that way. He didn''t get enough sleep last night so he''s a bit cranky. Please don''t take it to heart." Casimir said as he covered Draco''s mouth.


    "Mmf! Mm!" Draco glared at Casimir, trying to remove the hand on his mouth but was unable to.


    "Oh. It''s alright, Marie. Everyone gets cranky from time to time, I guess." Harry replied with a complicated look.


    "My name''s Casimir actually. Draco just calls me Marie. Nice meeting you." Casimir smiled at them. "Well, we better not disturb you any further. Have a nice day."


    And just like that, they exited the cabin without any other accidents happening.


    ...


    Inside the cabin they just left, Ron was looking at Harry inquisitively. "You know them?"


    "I met them at Madam Malkin''s. Don''t know about Draco but, Casimir seems alright..." Harry explained.


    "I don''t know about that. He seems really fake to me. And he hangs out with Malfoy." Ron said with derision. "Anyone who hangs with the Malfoys are no good themselves."


    Suddenly, the door slid open and the messy haired girl from before strode in but, Ron ignored her presence and continued to speak with Harry.


    "I''ve heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they''d been bewitched. My dad doesn''t believe it. He says Malfoy''s father didn''t need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side. "


    "So you better not be tricked by them." Ron continued.


    "They seem to be really good friends though..." Harry mumbled, secretly envious of such closed knit friendship.


    ...


    After they arrived at their own cabin, Casimir directly shoved Draco into his seat. "You really need to put a stopper on your mouth."


    "But he-" Draco was about to speak but, Casimir cut him off.


    "I don''t care if he was laughing at your name or what not. You really need to control your temper." Casimir lectured. "That mouth of yours will end up offending someone you shouldn''t if you don''t fix it soon."


    Like being poured with cold water, Draco turned silent and just sat on his seat, looking at everything except Casimir''s face.


    Meanwhile, the other children stared at Casimir in awe. They never thought they would meet someone who had the guts to lecture Draco in their entire lives.


    "I''m sorry for calling you Draco''s girlfriend a while ago." Theodore apologized sincerely. "I came to realize that you are actually more like Draco''s second mom."


    ... Both Draco''s and Casimir''s expressions turned dark as they both glared at Theodore, making the boy shut up.


    "... It''s about time we''ll be reaching Hogwarts. I''ll be going to the washroom to change into my robes. You should do so as well." The little fangirl said after a while, breaking the silence in the room. Crabbe and Goyle followed after her since their luggage were in a different cabin.


    At last, Draco, Casimir, and Theodore were left alone.


    Without saying anything, Casimir began taking off his clothes in front of the two boys, surprising them.


    "What are you doing?!" Draco stood up and stared at the now half naked Casimir in horror.


    "Changing clothes." Casimir stated seriously and pulled out his robe from his case. "And you two should do the same if you don''t want to be late."


    Without minding them anymore, Casimir proceeded to change his clothes.

 33 Reeks of Snake and Ambition

    The train slowed to a stop and, outside of their cabin, children began to rush past each other in order to get out of the train and onto a dark platform. Unlike the children outside, Casimir and the other two with him decided to wait until most children had left before heading out themselves.


    As Casimir wasn''t really a fan of crowded places and neither Draco nor Theodore wanted to be mixed with the ''mud-bloods'' as they called them, they all came up with the same decision.


    Finally, when the crowd had thinned considerably, they got up from their seats and went out, stepping onto the dark platform and following behind the crowd of children but not mixing in with them.


    "C''mon, follow me. Any more firs'' years?" From the front of the crowd, Casimir spotted Hagrid, the giant man whom he saw at Diagon Alley. "Mind yer steps now! Firs'' years follow me!"


    Ah, it seems that Draco has noticed the man as well, curling his lips in disgust.


    They began walking along the muddy and rocky path, going cautiously, trying to avoid the rocks and branches that may cause them to trip.


    The perks of walking at the back was that, you would be able to see which spots were tricky by making an example out of the victims who walked in front.


    "Yeh''ll get yer firs'' sight o'' Hogwarts in a sec." Hagrid said rather loudly. "Jus'' round this bend here."


    "Ooooh!" From the front, quite a few children gasped and marvelled at the sight of the school.


    Honestly, Casimir wasn''t really awed by the sight. Perhaps, living in a large manor for four years had set his expectations for architecture in a high standard.


    Glancing beside him, Draco and Theodore also showed similarly dull expressions, feeling the same exact way as he did.


    "No more''n four in a boat!" Hagrid yelled.


    Casimir headed towards an empty boat, followed by Draco and Theodore. It seemed that the fangirl had found some new friends while she was in the washroom and chose to follow them instead. That left only three of them in the boat.


    Casimir wasn''t complaining. In fact, it was nicer with fewer people.


    "Everyone in?" Hagrid shouted, occupying an entire boat to himself. "Right then. FORWARD!"


    To his command, the boats began to sail across the lake, moving closer towards the castle on top of a cliff.


    Finally, after passing through a passage under the cliff, they had finally arrived in front of a large door which Hagrid knocked on thrice.


    The door swung open, revealing a tall witch wearing emerald-colored robes.


    "The firs'' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said.


    "Thank you, Hagrid. I''ll take them from here."


    They followed Professor McGonagall through a set of marble staircase and into a small, empty chamber. She then informed them about the sorting ceremony and adviced them to smarten up then left.


    To be honest, Casimir wasn''t exactly sure of what the Professor said as he tried to keep himself from yawning. It seems that his previous sleepiness had come back for revenge. Now stronger than ever.


    "What house do you reckon you''ll be in?" Draco asked as he tugged on Casimir''s sleeve, seeming to have already forgotten what had happened on the train. "I bet I''ll be in Slytherin. Everyone in my family had been."


    "I''ll go where you go." Casimir yawned.


    "You don''t get to choose your house, stupid. I heard there''s some sort of test to find out which house you''ll be in." Draco snorted, making Casimir raise an eyebrow.


    (Casimir: Did you just call me stupid? Draco: Yeah, I did! What you gonna do about it?)


    Suddenly, around twenty ghosts appeared, talking to each other, making the students gasp and scream in surprise.


    Well, aside from Draco and Casimir who continued chatting, unperturbed. Though, it was mostly Draco who was doing the talking, bragging about how his parents were from Slytherin and his Godfather was the Professor in charge of the said house.


    Finally, Professor McGonagall returned, shooing the ghosts and leading the students towards the Great Hall where the rest of the students from other grades were in.


    In the hall, thousands of candles were lit and floated on top of four tables. Casimir wasn''t impressed.


    The wispy orbs at home are much better. And they come in different colors!


    Suddenly, there was singing.


    Casimir looked towards the front and saw a very dirty hat singing something. Being too sleepy, Casimir couldn''t really make out most of the words of its song.


    "That''s a very dirty hat." Draco commented.


    (Casimir: Good job pointing that out, captain obvious!)


    Casimir just hummed in reply, not bothering with anything anymore. Right now, he just wanted to get sorted quickly and go straight to bed.


    Finally, the hat stopped singing and everyone started clapping. Everyone aside from the gloomy duo, namely Casimir and Draco.


    Professor McGonagall then, started calling out names. "Abott..."


    "HUFFLEPUFF!" The sorting hat yelled.


    "Bones..."


    "HUFFLEPUFF!"


    "Boot..."


    "RAVENCLAW!"


    ...


    "Dupont, Louis!"


    "RAVENCLAW!"


    ...


    After some time, many people had already been called. Nott, fangirl, and the cupcake boys had already been sorted, all of them being in Slytherin. Draco and Casimir were the only people in their group who haven''t been called yet.


    "Malfoy, Draco!"


    ... Then, Casimir was left alone.


    Draco arrogantly strode towards the hat and sat down and,...


    "SLYTHERIN!"


    The hat hadn''t even been put on Draco''s head, yet, it had already yelled his house, making a certain table cheer.


    A few other names were called until it arrived to a name which caused everyone to grow quiet.


    "Potter, Harry!"


    Whispers filled the hall as the boy was being sorted. This time, the hat took its time. Then, after a while the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!".


    Thunderous cheers filled the hall, causing Casimir to scowl.


    I hope I won''t be sorted to that house. He thought to himself.


    "Proulx, Casimir!"


    It''s a good thing they didn''t mention Marie. Casimir shuddered and walked towards the hat, smiling politely to the Professor as he sat.


    "Reeks of snakes and ambition." The hat seemed to mumble. "SLYTHERIN!"


    The table where Draco and the others sat in applauded loudly. Casimir walked towards them and sat on the empty seat beside Draco, closing his eyes to rest briefly.


    Somewhere on the Ravenclaw''s table, a young, dark-haired boy stared at Casimir in horror, his face extremely pale as if he had seen a monster.

 34 Feverish

    The headmaster seemed to have given a speech or something similar since people started clapping. Casimir wasn''t entirely sure, not paying attention to anything. All he knew was that, food suddenly appeared on the previously empty plates after the clapping stopped. At that moment, Casimir began feeling a little lightheaded but, he just brushed it off, thinking that it was just due to not getting enough sleep.


    "You better eat something before going to sleep." Draco nudged Casimir. "If you get stomachache in the middle of the night, you better not be complaining to me."


    "Mmh." Casimir hummed and glanced at Draco through half lidded eyes. "That''s surprisingly caring of you."


    Draco rolled his eyes. "What caring? I just don''t want you whining at me at 2 A.M. in the morning."


    "Aww, Draco. Just admit that you love me." Casimir grinned and suddenly hugged Draco tightly, surprising the boy.


    "Get off me, you weirdo!" Draco yelled and tried to struggle his way out of Casimir''s arms.


    "I will never let go of you!" Casimir laughed.


    "You will let go of me or my father will hear about this, Marie!" Draco threatened.


    "Oh, I think your father and especially your mother would be very happy about this instead, don''t you think?" Casimir teased but, his face seemed to grow increasingly pale.


    "Just get away from me!" Draco pushed Casimir''s face away but ended up recoiling his hand away right after.


    "Why are you so hot?" Draco asked in shock.


    "Well, thank you for the compliment, Draco but, unfortunately, I have no such interest in you in that manner." Casimir tried to joke.


    "I''m being serious here, you nitwit! You''re burning up!" Draco smacked Casimir''s hand away from his shoulder and placed the back of his hand on Casimir''s forehead. "How can you be sick today of all days?!"


    "No wonder you started acting all weird suddenly." Draco muttered to himself.


    "It''s fine." Casimir smiled weakly and pulled the scarf closer to his neck for warmth. "I just need to rest for a while."


    "Eat a little before you sleep then, you git!" This time, it was Draco doing the lecturing instead of Casimir.


    Meanwhile, the other people of their little group were showing complex expressions, feeling left out from this show of brothers love.


    Casimir just smiled happily and content, acting in a spoiled manner as Draco shoved all kinds of food into his plate.


    "Eat already, dimwit!" Draco commanded.


    It was nice to see Draco care for someone and refused to show it properly but would end up doing something that made it very obvious.


    "As you command, Lord Malfoy." Casimir''s smile widened and he began eating under the watchful eyes of Draco.


    Seeing as he was eating obediently, Draco too, began to eat.


    When everyone had already finished eating and the food began to disappear, Casimir had barely eaten half of his, becoming nauseaus and unable to eat more.


    Perhaps, because of barely having slept for four days straight and the stress he put his body in, trying to start the training he had done in his previous world as an assassin again, his body finally couldn''t take it.


    A wizard''s only weakness is their own weak body, he heard Lucius Malfoy say once, during their lessons. He then concluded that, if his body and magic were unequalled, then, nobody could overpower him, therefore, he began training his body the same way he trained in the previous world.


    It seems that he had overworked his body, resulting to this; a fever.


    Soon, everyone was eating desert aside from him. Draco didn''t force him to eat this time since he knew Casimir didn''t really like sweets much.


    The sickly sweet taste of those delicacies didn''t quite appeal to his taste. It reminded him of the bitter memories of his youth, trying to earn enough money for a single piece of hard bread a day. At that time, he wouldn''t even glance at the sweets being sold, let alone eat one.


    When the children finished eating, they stood up and began leaving the great hall. The first years too, began to leave, following behind their house''s prefects who took charge in leading them to their rooms which were down in the dungeons.


    Through coincidence or something else, Casimir and Draco ended up sharing a room.


    Upon getting there, Casimir directly laid down on the bed farthest from the door, not even surprised when he saw Noir already there, napping.


    "You''re sleeping already?" Draco stood at the foot of Casimir''s bed with arms crossed, looking at Casimir with distaste. "Go take a bath first at least to cool off your body, you oaf."


    "I think you''ve called me a year''s worth of insults in just today alone." Casimir said, his voice muffled by the pillows.


    "Stop changing the topic and just take a bath, frenchie." Draco threw a pillow right at Casimir''s head.


    "Hey! That''s not even an insult anymore!" Casimir pointed out as he removed the pillow from his face and threw it back to Draco, getting up from his bed and rummaged through his case, looking for a set of sleepwear. "Alright. I''ll go take a bath. Bye~"

 35 Compass of Mysteries

    The next morning, Casimir had woken up to the sound of footsteps coming from outside of their door. Most likely, the early risers have begun their daily routine, getting ready for their first day of school.


    As for Draco, no need to mention that boy. He was still fast asleep.


    Checking his watch, it showed that it was already 8 A.M.


    Deciding to get ready since he was already awake, Casimir pulled his sluggish body off the bed, still feeling somewhat feverish but, much better than the night before. He reckoned it''ll be gone by the end of the day.


    ...


    "What''s our first subject for the day?" Draco asked as they were eating breakfast.


    "Wait. Let me see." Casimir said, taking out a timetable containing their class schedule. "Since yesterday was a Monday, I presume, we''ll start with the Tuesday schedule which makes... History of Magic as our first subject at 9:30 to 10:30...followed by a thirty minute break then Transfiguration. After lunch, we''ll have Charms, then, Defense Against the Dark Arts."


    "... I just asked for the first subject." Draco said with furrowed eyebrows. "Why do you French people always make things longer than they should be?"


    (Casimir: Are you referring to the baguette or the French Revolution?)


    "Well, I just thought that, since I''ve already taken a look at the timetable, I might as well say everything!" Casimir defended.


    "Alright. I get it." Draco surrendered and stood up. "We better go. We still need to find where our classroom is."


    "You''re alright now, right?" He suddenly turned to look at Casimir.


    "Yeah. Sorry for making you worry." Casimir smiled.


    "Who''s worried about you?! I just don''t want you to suddenly fall unconscious and have to be dragged by me to get healed!"


    ...


    "I think we''re lost." Draco said, staring at a set of hallways that he would''ve sworn they had passed by twice already.


    "Nope. We are Really lost." Casimir said with a straight face.


    "Oh, yes. Very helpful clarification there, Marie! Extremely helpful!" Draco exclaimed, rolling his eyes.


    "Thank you for the sarcasm. I needed that to help digest my breakfast." Casimir smirked. "But you seem to be forgetting something, Captain Draco."


    "When going on a voyage through unexplored territory, there is no need for any worry! For who am I? I am Casimir Marie Proulx! The omnipotent wanderer!" Casimir arrogantly declared.


    "Yeah. But, do you know the way?" Draco asked indifferently, apparently already used to such antics.


    "Of course! Have you ever wondered how I never got lost even after wandering so much?" Casimir said mysteriously, pulling out something from his pocket. "That''s because, I have a secret weapon."


    "The compass of mysteries!" Casimir pulled out a bronze compass from his pocket.


    "It doesn''t have an arrow." Draco pointed out as he looked the compass over with a dubious expression.


    "That''s because it''s not an ordinary compass, Draco dear. It''s a magical compass!" Casimir said proudly. "All you have to do is say your destination aloud while holding it in your hand and an arrow made of light will appear to point the way! Neat right? I found it one time in the storage room of our manor."


    "Well, what are you waiting for then?! Hurry and have it lead us to our class if it''s so great!" Draco shouted.


    "Got it, Captain! Compass! Take us to the History of Magic classroom!"


    ...


    Ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a set of doors that led to the History of Magic classroom, barely having five minutes left before the class would start.


    "... Well, I''ll admit that the compass or whatever was helpful this time." Draco coughed and entered the classroom.


    "Thank you for your praise, captain!" Casimir playfully saluted and entered after Draco, finding their seats at the back part of the class.


    The class turned out to be very horrible.


    It was so boring that Casimir felt he would rather listen to Lucius Malfoy recite poetry than to sit there for one more minute than necessary.


    The class was taught by an old ghost who had died when he had fallen asleep in front of a staff room fire. The next morning, he had directly gotten up from his dead body and went on to teach class. His name should be, Professor Binns? Casimir tried to recall.


    That class, Casimir went to take a nap, deciding to just copy the notes from the ever diligent Draco when they get to their room later on.


    After taking a short break, they went on to their next subject which was Transfiguration, taught by, Professor McGonagall herself.


    At first, they didn''t notice the teacher but, somehow, the tabby cat on top of the teacher''s desk made Casimir feel as though it was human. It looked too smart to be a normal cat.


    Due to that, Casimir stayed quiet and just stared at the cat cautiously. Soon enough, the cat noticed his staring and began to stare back. Pretty soon, they were having a full blown staring contest.


    When the clock struck exactly eleven, the spell was undone and the cat turned into a human. It was Professor McGonagall!


    "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts." She began to speak after the students had quietened down. "Anyone messing around my class will leave and never come back. You have been warned."


    She then turned the door into a dog and then back to being a door again, catching them in surprise and awe. Soon, everyone wanted to be able to do the same but, it proved to be much more difficult than expected.


    After a while of listening to lessons and watching Draco furiously write down notes, they were finally given matches and were instructed to turn them into needles.


    Fortunately, Draco and Casimir had been taught by Lucius Malfoy himself about the basics of transfiguration and had even been shown some of his notes.


    Needless to say, the both of them managed to turn their matches into perfect needles on their first try, garnering the praise of Professor McGonagall and looks of either envy or admiration from the other students.

 36 Snape

    The days passed and soon, it was Friday.


    "What''s the first in our schedule today, Assistant Casimir?" Theodore spoke seriously as they were eating breakfast. Today, the whole group was present, eating breakfast together. The fangirl, who Casimir had discovered was called Pansy Parkinson, was also there, bringing her friend, Daphne Greengrass, with her.


    "We would be having double potions with the Gryffindors from 9:30 to 11:30, Secretary Theodore." Casimir replied, equally as serious, elegantly finishing his breakfast. Casimir reached into his pack and brought out a small brown package. "Master Draco, your apples."


    "...How did this skit even happen?" Draco had a hand covering his face and sighed ruefully but still reached for the apples because... Well, apples.


    Suddenly, owls streamed through the hall, carrying letters, packages, or presents from the students'' parents. Somehow, despite not receiving anything from his father for the past few days, this time, Casimir saw a particularly fast owl head straight towards him.


    Wait... That''s not an owl. That is definitely not an owl!


    It was his father''s falcon, Bleu!


    Bleu, upon spotting Casimir, let out a loud screech and swooped towards Casimir''s outstretched arm, attracting the attention of pretty much everyone in the hall.


    "Bonjour, Bleu! Got anything for me today?" Casimir smiled and fed the falcon a strip of bacon which it gratefully gobbled up.


    "A falcon?!" Crabbe and Goyle looked at the falcon in awe.


    In comparison, Draco wasn''t too surprised, already having seen the falcon many times due to his father and Casimir''s father being frequent pen pals.


    "Leave it to the Frenchie to attract attention everywhere." Pansy commented. Honestly, Casimir didn''t really appreciate other people calling him nicknames and acting all familiar.


    In the end, he just smiled stiffly but, the expression on his face was off. Unfortunately, Pansy didn''t see it. Draco and Theodore did though, being as clever as they were.


    On the falcon''s leg, Casimir saw a rolled up piece of paper tied and held together with a blue ribbon. Upon unrolling it, he discovered that it was actually a letter from his father.


    My son,


    (Casimir: Yep. It''s really him. Not even putting dear and just going straight to the ''my son''.)


    Congratulations in getting into Slytherin. Make sure to study well and not bring shame to our family name. Your birthday is coming around soon. Bleu will come to bring you your gift at that time. Be prepared to receive it. (Casimir: Be prepared to receive it? Is it just me or does it really sound so ominous? Help?)


    You father.


    Short and concise. Just like the sender''s personality. Casimir sighed to himself, sending Bleu off with a wave.


    "Who''s it from?" Draco asked, biting into the apple Casimir had given him.


    "My dad. Who else?" Casimir smiled wryly.


    "Oh." Draco nodded. "Guess she hasn''t contacted you still, huh?"


    "Yeah." Casimir sighed listlessly. But, a few moments later, he reverted back to his usual self. "Well, since we''re all done waiting, we better get to Potions class soon! Professor Snape will be teaching us!"


    Theodore and Draco glanced at each other with complex expressions. This boy is obviously smiling but, why does he look so lonely?


    Meanwhile, a certain boy in the Ravenclaw''s table was staring at them obsessively. Don''t be tricked by that monster!


    ...


    "Remind me to bring along Casimir whenever I decide to go travelling somewhere." Theodore said when they arrived ten minutes before class time in the Potions lab which was down in the dungeons.


    "Hands off! He''s already my personal navigator! Go find the Weasely twins or something." Draco denied as they entered the lab, making Casimir burst out laughing.


    By the time the got there, nearly everyone had already gotten to their seats. Well, except for Harry Potter and the Weasely boy he seemed to have stuck with these days.


    "Here!" Well, never mind. They seemed to have arrived at the last minute, right before Professor Snape stormed in, his long robes billowing with a nonexistent wind. How was that even possible?


    Right off the bat, Casimir knew that he was going to enjoy this subject.


    Before he began with the lessons, Snape started off with a roll-call and, right when he was in the middle of it, he paused.


    "Ah, yes." Snape muttered. "Harry Potter. Our new...celebrity."


    Draco snorted in amusement while Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. Meanwhile, Casimir and Theodore just stayed quiet but had amused looks. On the inside, they just wanted to tell their professor how much of an understatement being called a mere celebrity was for Harry. Of course, who didn''t know the legendary ''boy who lived'' in their generation?


    He was far too famous for his own good!


    "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making." Although Snape spoke very quietly, everyone in the class heard his voice clearly. It was as if his very presence commanded silence and attention.


    "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don''t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death... If you aren''t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." Snape muttered in a dignified manner, looking at each of the students in the room in a seemingly condescending way.


    Yep. This is by far my favorite professor here. Casimir stared at Snape attentively. Perhaps because he had stared too intently, Snape had noticed him and glanced their way but, after having seen Draco beside him, he turned away and focused more on Harry.


    Such a cold gaze! I think I''m in love. Casimir mentally swooned.


    Ah~ Sadly, this middle-aged auntie is in the body of an underaged kid. This forbidden romance is doomed to be cut off before it manages to bloom...


    Casimir sighed regretfully, staring on in sorrow as Snape continuously fired question after question at Harry, leaving the boy looking stupid and confused.


    "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"


    "Sleeping potion, right?" Draco suddenly nudged Casimir''s arm.


    "Yeah. It''s the one that''s deathly potent." Casimir answered.


    "I don''t know, sir." Harry said honestly.


    "Tut, tut... Fame clearly isn''t everything." Snape sneered. "Let''s try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"


    Crabbe and Goyle began shaking with laughter, making Casimir turn to give them a look of disapproval. How dare they laugh in the class taught by his crush- I mean, professor!


    Being looked at in such cold eyes and thick killing intent, the two boys were frozen still. Satisfied, Casimir turned back to continue ogling at Snape.


    "I don''t know, sir." Harry answered yet again.


    "Thought you wouldn''t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Snape coldly stared at Harry, making Casimir feel jealous. Professor, please notice me!


    "What''s the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"


    "This one is-"


    "Same plant, different names." This time, it was Theodore who answered, cutting Draco off.


    "I wasn''t asking you, Nott." Draco had his eyebrows furrowed.


    "I don''t know." Harry said quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don''t you try her?"


    Only then did Casimir notice the messy-haired girl from before, standing up while raising her hand vehemently.


    Some people laughed but, Casimir frowned. His impression of Harry plummeted drastically in that instant. At the same time, Snape wasn''t looking so pleased as well.


    "Sit down." Snape snapped at the girl."For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren''t you all copying that down?"


    For the first time in the whole week, Casimir actively copied down notes, scribbling away diligently and tried his best to catch every word Snape said and wrote them down, making everyone in their group stare at him in shock, wondering if they had gone blind.


    "A point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." Snape said as he walked around the class to check if everyone was taking down notes as they should.


    As the lessons continued, the Gryffindors began losing points more and more from their house for failing to answer questions correctly, talking too loudly, or doodling on their parchments instead of copying notes which, were fairly justifiable.


    Meanwhile, Casimir, Draco, and Theodore, kept on earning more points for Slytherin, answering as much questions as they knew, boosting their house''s morale while crushing Gryffindor''s.


    Halfway through the lesson, Snape put them all into pairs with the goal of creating a potion which can cure boils. Fortunately enough, Casimir had been paired with Draco, again.


    Either Draco and I am destined to be together or, someone is purposely setting us up to be together. Casimir thought to himself.


    Snape then, began walking around yet again, criticizing people here and there. Except for him and Draco of course since Draco was his godson and Casimir was the partner of his godson who, was actually doing things perfectly according to the instructions.


    Snape began praising Draco''s work aloud then, gave a nod of approval to Casimir''s, making the boy smile gleefully.


    Suddenly, clouds of green smoke began billowing outwards, coming from the couldron of someone from Gryffindor. It turned out that the boy who had lost his toad managed to melt another student''s couldron, with their potion spilling onto the floor, burning holes into the shoes of the people who didn''t manage to get away in time.


    Fortunately, the boy who had caused the entire accident and was nearest to the couldron, had ducked out of the way just in time, scrambling to get on top of a stool.


    Seeing as the potion was nearing his and Draco''s location, Casimir clicked his tongue in distaste and flicked his wand, casting a cleaning spell to get rid of the nuisance. He then, continued on brewing the potion with Draco, acting as if nothing had happened.


    "Idiot boy!" Snape began to berate the boy who caused the accident which, Casimir learned to have been called Neville. Then, Snape began to berate Harry as well for not stopping Neville beforehand. In the end, another point was taken from Gryffindor and a point was added to Slytherin for Casimir''s timely action of cleaning up the spilled potion.


    The point wasn''t my intention... All I wanted was to appear cool in front of Snape! Casimir smiled wryly to himself.

 37 Remembrall

    The day ended without much incidences after potion class and, as of now, Draco and Casimir were walking together back to their rooms down in the dungeons.


    As they reached the common room, Draco slumped down on a chair in exhaustion while, Casimir walked towards a wall where he noticed a parchment hanging on it.


    "This day has been needlessly exhausting! Hopefully, we won''t get any other joint classes with the Gryffindors." Draco groaned.


    "... We have flying classes with the Gryffindors on Thursdays." Casimir informed, pointing towards the parchment on the wall. It turned out to be an announcement for the change in schedules of the first years.


    "I just jinxed myself, didn''t I?" Draco grumbled as he stood up, grumpily trudging towards the room he and Casimir shared.


    ...


    Soon enough, Thursday arrived. On this morning, the group had just finished eating breakfast and Draco was currently in the process of opening the package of sweets he had just received from his mother.


    "Come on! Just once! Just this one time!" Draco insisted, trying to shove a piece of chocolate into Casimir''s mouth.


    "Nope!" Casimir stared in horror at the chocolate on Draco''s hand. "You know I hate that stuff!"


    "If you still consider us as friends, then, you will eat this chocolate!" Draco haughtily declared, using the chocolate as a weapon.


    "For Melecrit''s sake, Draco! That''s just a piece of chocolate!" Casimir stated helplessly, looking towards Theodore for help but, the other boy just averted his eyes, pretending to not know the two people beside him, his expression seeming to say ''you''re on your own bro''.


    Knowing that he had been abandoned, Casimir gave up. "Fine then!" He accepted the chocolate that Draco was shoving to him and ate it. "..."


    Meanwhile, as he was chewing, Draco was just staring at him in anticipation.


    "... What kind of chocolate is this?" Casimir asked after a momentary pause, getting up from his seat to head for their class.


    "It''s dark chocolate. I had father buy the most bitter chocolate he could find just so you can eat some type of sweets. You better be grateful." Draco arrogantly said as he and Theodore stood up as well, walking past the Gryffindors table.


    "Mm. It''s not bad. Thanks." Casimir said quietly with a small smile.


    Suddenly, from the seat beside them, something seemed to fall to the floor and roll right towards Draco''s feet. Curious, Draco picked up a ball-like object made of glass.


    "A remembrall?! Who even has those anymore?" Draco snorted in disdain.


    "Draco, give it back!" Ron, Harry''s constant tag-along said, standing up and glaring at Draco with unmasked hostility.


    Perhaps, sensing trouble about to break out, Professor McGonagall came to them. "What is going on here?"


    "D-Draco took my remembrall, Professor." Neville stuttered, giving the blame to Draco who was actually innocent. Most people would believe him, seeing his fearful expression but, to the people who had seen exactly what happened, they knew that Draco had simply picked the remembrall from the floor.


    Casimir narrowed his eyes, his impression of Neville going to the negatives.


    "I was just looking." Draco gritted his teeth and tossed the remembrall to Neville then, walked away, clearly in a bad mood.


    Concerned, Casimir and Theodore chased after him but, just before they did, they gave Neville a warning look then gave a short glare at Ron.


    Harry though, remained seated, watching everything happen in silence. What people didn''t know, though, was that, Harry had seen how Neville purposely dropped the remembrall and had it roll towards Draco''s feet. It seems that he had misunderstood the wrong people.


    ...


    "That boy... Longbottom, is it?" Theodore asked Casimir who nodded in reply. "Has Draco offended him somehow?"


    "Not that I know of." Casimir replied, glancing towards Draco who was walking in front of them grumpily. No one has ever dared to wrong him this way before. Most likely, he was planning on how to exact vengeance soon.


    "Just why exactly did he do that though?" Theodore asked, confused.


    "I just heard it from Pansy but, I''m not entirely sure if it''s true but, it is rumored that Neville''s parents were tortured to insanity by deatheaters." Casimir said quietly, keeping an eye on Draco to make sure he didn''t hear them.


    "You mean..." Theodore hesitated.


    "Quite possibly." Casimir said, knowing what Theodore wanted to say but was unable to. "Everyone knows about Draco''s parents by now, anyways. Well... Your parents as well."


    "You father isn''t any better, you know?" Theodore grumbled. "Being Grindelwald''s former informant."


    Casimir smiled wryly. "In the end, we''re just a group of some misfit''s sons."

 38 Play Along, Potter

    It was 3:20 in the afternoon. Ten minutes until the time most students in year one Gryffindor and Slytherin were either dreading or looking forward to.


    Flying Class or, to be more exact, Broom Flight Class.


    And to make matters worse, Draco hadn''t calmed down from his morning rage yet!


    Just having a look at his face, Casimir had already predicted that something bad was about to happen.


    ...


    Broom flight class was taught by a lively professor with short grey hair and yellow eyes who was called Madam Hooch.


    Like usual, the Gryffindors were slower than the Slytherins by quite a bit when arriving to lessons.


    "Why do they always seem to insist on being late or almost late?" Theodore grumbled.


    "There''s quite a few mudbloods this year in that house. That''s probably why." Draco snorted in disdain, glancing at one particular girl with messy hair.


    Mm. Totally makes sense. Casimir rolled his eyes at Draco''s obvious show of dislike for people with ''impure'' heritage.


    Casimir himself didn''t quite understand the muggle-born wizards as well but, he didn''t show it outwardly. To him, he and the majority of the muggle-borns can never see eye to eye since they always seem to complain about how unfair the treatment is for them when compared to the purebloods.


    If Casimir were to be faced with such complaints by them, he would just retaliate by saying, ''If you hate it that much, then become powerful! So powerful that people will ignore your heritage and respect you for your own hard work!''.


    Going back to the topic, the Gryffindors had finally arrived, officially starting their first joint flying class.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Go stand by a broom!" Madam Hooch instructed, motioning towards twenty brooms that were placed on the ground in two neat lines.


    "Alright, now, stretch your arm out towards your broom and say ''up''." Madam Hooch passed by the center of the rows, inspecting each one of the students to see if they were doing it correctly.


    "Up!" The students said at the same time. Well, most of them did. With years of experience in handling brooms, Casimir and Draco just had to will the brooms to fly up to the skies with their minds, let alone, have them fly to their hands.


    So, without any verbal commands, the both of them grasped their brooms, looking very experienced, receiving the praise of the professor.


    Aside from them, Harry also grasped his broom on his first try, surprising many students since everyone knew that he had been raised by his muggle relatives and had no prior encounters with magic and brooms.


    Soon after, when everyone had managed to grasp their brooms, the professor decided that it was about time they learned how to fly them. She then, began to teach them the correct posture on the broom and nodded to herself, satisfied after correcting the postures of many of the students.


    Casimir and Draco had nothing to worry about though, already knowing exactly what to do. "At the sound of my whistle, you will launch yourselves on your brooms into the air."


    Madam Hooch began counting down, preparing the students mentally. "One... Two..."


    Suddenly, before she had even finished counting, Neville had suddenly flown off on his broom, surprising everyone."Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch shouted but, Neville just kept rising higher and higher into the air, his broom losing control and swerving all over the place. It was no surprise when he fell off soon enough.


    Thud!


    As soon as he fell, everyone heard a nasty crack. It was obvious that he had broken a bone somewhere. Casimir glanced at Draco and saw him smiling to himself. Well, as long as he''s happy, I guess.


    "Broken wrist." Madam Hooch muttered as she checked on Neville who was glancing around with a pained expression, seeming to be looking for something or someone. "Come on, boy. It''s alright. Up you go."


    "None of you are to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you''ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say ''Quidditch''. Come on, dear." Madam Hooch instructed severely as she left, supporting Neville.


    "Did you see the look on his face?" Draco laughed loudly, obviously delighted by the retribution the boy got.


    The other Slytherins joined him, laughing. Casimir just stood aside and watched, not stopping it nor, joining in. He just allowed Draco to do as he liked thinking that, sometimes, a person needs to express who they really are. Being repressed too much would do a person no good. Evil or not. And Draco, wasn''t exactly a good person in the first place.


    "Shut up, Malfoy." A Gryffindor girl snapped.


    Oh? Someone actually had the guts to stand up to Draco? How brave... Or maybe stupid. Well, bravery and stupidity goes hand in hand so maybe both?


    "Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom? Never thought you''d like fat little crybabies, Parvati." Pansy mocked with a sick smile on her face.


    Suddenly, Casimir noticed a familiar ball near him on the grass, glinting when the sunlight hit it. Curious, he picked it up.


    "Hey! Isn''t that Longbottom''s stupid ball?" Draco said, noticing him holding the remembrall. "Good job finding it, Marie!"


    Damn. Now, I look like a bad guy!


    "Give it back, Proulx!" Ron shouted.


    "Don''t give it to them, Marie. Let''s just wait for Longbottom and give it to him...personally." Draco sneered at Ron.


    "Give it back." This time, it was Harry who spoke, making everyone grow quiet and watch.


    Casimir sighed to himself and walked towards Draco, tossing the remembrall up and down his hand. "How about this... We''ll play a game, Malfoy against Potter. The one who wins will get the remembrall."


    "That''s a great idea!" Draco immediately agreed to Casimir''s proposal while Harry looked a bit more hesitant.


    "Alright. We''ll be playing something called Seeker Match. Draco should be familiar with this already, right?" Casimir glanced at Draco.


    "We''ve been playing this game for years, Marie!" Draco declared arrogantly.


    "It''s pretty simple. I''ll throw the ball far away and, the first one to touch it, wins." Casimir said.


    "That''s not fair! You two have been playing this for years and Harry''s only touched a broom today!" Ron shouted at them.


    "What? Are you chickening out?" Draco taunted, accompany by the jeers of the other Slytherins, riding his broom and taking off into the skies, hovering in wait for Harry.


    "Casimir-" Harry was about to say something when he was suddenly pulled by the collar.


    "Just play along for a bit, Potter. Draco has had a bad day and I''m just giving him a chance to vent a little. If you do this, I''ll owe you a favor. How about that? I''ll stop you guys if it gets out of hand anyways." Casimir whispered to him hastily but, for the rest of the students there, they just thought he was threatening Harry.


    Casimir then, hurriedly let go of Harry''s collar when he was done and backed away, sending a look to Harry who just sighed and nodded. "Alright, I accept."


    "Harry, wait! You can''t possibly agree to this!" The messy haired girl said. "Yeah, Harry! Did he threaten you into doing this?" Ron asked, glaring at Casimir. "And you can''t even fly a broom!" The girl added.


    Harry just replied with a wry smile and rode his broom, following after Casimir who had taken off before him.


    "Alright. Both of you are ready?" Casimir asked, gaining a nod from both. "Begin."


    As soon as he said that, he threw the remembrall and both of them hastily chased after it, neither one gaining distance from the other.


    They were going neck to neck and, from time to time, they would shove each other, trying to outbalance the other off of their brooms. They brushed past the walls of the castle and nearly bumped into them, almost crashing into the windows and brushing above trees.


    Then, the ball began to descend and the both of them swooped down, too concentrated on catching the ball that they didn''t realize how close they were to crashing to the ground.


    Casimir then, began to feel as if an accident was about to happen so, following his instincts, he speeded off towards them on his broom, flying past like a blur and, right before they crashed into the ground, he had pulled the both of them off of their brooms by the collar of their robes, saving them from certain doom. Well, certain injuries, at least.


    Unfortunately, the remembrall wasn''t as lucky as them, shattering to pieces the moment it hit the ground.


    Nobody had the time to regret about that though, as three professors had suddenly appeared on the ground below them.


    "Harry Potter!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "Come with me."


    "Malfoy, Proulx... In my office, now." Professor Snape grumbled.


    When I said I wanted Snape''s attention on me, I didn''t want it to be like this! QAQ


    And for some reason, Quirrell was also there, muttering about student safety and whatnot, getting constant warning glares from Snape.

 39 Plot Twis

    "I have already prepared myself for cleaning up Malfoy''s messes..." Snape grumbled as they walked along the halls of the dungeons, heading towards Snape''s office which was actually very close to their Potions classroom. "But you, Proulx..."


    Snape glanced at the corner of his eyes to look at Casimir. "I expected better from you."


    Draco gritted his teeth. He knew his friend had done it for him to help him cool off his raging emotions. "Godfather, he didn''t-"


    "No. Professor, it was my fault." Casimir cut Draco off and shot a small grateful smile to him. "I was the one who instigated the whole matter."


    "I will bear full responsibility for my actions." Casimir said sincerely, looking right into Snape''s cold, dark eyes without fear.


    (Casimir: You have such pretty eyes. Marry me. Draco: My respect for you has been falling drastically lately.)


    "It is good that you know your responsibilities, Proulx." Snape muttered then, turned to Filch who was passing by with Mrs. Norris in tow. "Filch, have Marcus Flint come to my office. Now."


    Just why Snape wanted the current captain of the Slytherin quidditch team to come to his office when they were about to be punished was unknown to Casimir and Draco but, they knew he was connected to their punishment somehow or else, Snape wouldn''t have called for him.


    "Right away, sir." Filch then, hurried off.


    "Sit." Snape opened the door to his office and motioned for the two of them to sit on the chairs as they waited.


    A while later, there was a knock on the door. "Professor, it''s Marcus. You called for me?"


    "Come in, Flint." Snape said quietly but still managed to be heard. What is this sorcery?!


    The door opened, and in came a student who seemed to be five to six years their senior.


    "Malfoy, Proulx... This is Marcus Flint. The captain of our house''s quidditch team and...now, your captain." Snape suddenly dropped a huge bomb on them. "I expect the both of you to not bring shame on our house honor."


    "This will serve as your punishment."


    ...


    By the time dinner came in, Draco was trembling in excitement, being followed by Casimir who just looked at his friend in amusement. Draco was so excited, he didn''t even notice that he had passed by Harry and Ron who were looking excited as well on their way to the Slytherin''s table. Casimir did though, giving a subtle look to Harry as the both of them nodded to acknowledge each other''s presence then, he continued on his way as if nothing had happened.


    "Didn''t he just threaten you this morning? How are you able to nod at him so calmly?!" Ron looked at Harry in shock when he saw Casimir walk far away.


    "Threaten me? What gave you that idea?" Harry was confused.


    "Didn''t he whisper threats into your ear to get you to agree to the whole game thing?!" Ron was even more confused.


    "No! Why would he do that?" Harry was surprised by his friend''s too wide imagination. "We just had a deal, that''s all!"


    "But..." Ron looked at Harry inquisitively. "What kind of deal..?"


    "I don''t think that''s something you should know."


    ...


    "Hey! I heard you and Draco had just been added into the quidditch team! Is it true?" Theodore asked, barging into Casimir and Draco''s room when Draco was taking a bath. "Oh wow! What is it doing?"


    Right at that moment, Casimir was in the process of feeding Fleur and Echelle, making things very awkward. Surprisingly, unlike Draco''s show of disgust, insisting on Casimir only feeding Fleur and Echelle when he takes a bath, Theodore looked fascinated instead.


    ''Intruderssss...''


    "This, Nott, is how snakes eat. And yes, me and Draco are now part of the quidditch team for Slytherin." Casimir answered, shooing Theodore''s face which was getting dangerously close to the feeding snakes away. "Where did you even hear that from?"


    "Well, Crabbe and Goyle were sort of telling it to everyone so it would be strange if I didn''t hear it."Theodore said, making himself comfortable on Casimir''s bed.


    "I knew it was a bad idea to tell the both of them. I should''ve stopped Draco when I had the chance." Casimir groaned.


    "Too late now. Everyone in Slytherin already knows." Theodore snickered. "Which reminds me... Hoew old are you?"


    "Ten. Well, eleven on Saturday. Why?" Casimir replied in confusion.


    Suddenly, Theodore sat up straight. "Holy smokes! Do you know what this means?!"


    Casimir shook his head.


    "You''re the youngest quidditch player in over a century!"

 40 Three-Headed Doggy

    That night, for some reason, Casimir had trouble falling asleep.


    It was already nearly midnight yet, he was still wide awake. It was as if something was forbidding him to sleep just yet.


    So, after confirming that Draco was already fast asleep, he got out of his bed, threw on a coat, and went out of their room to take a walk. For some reason, his instincts told him to bring his violin and so, he did.


    His instincts were always right. No matter how weird it was.


    Like a specter, he travelled along the corridors silently, exiting the dungeons within a few minutes. Without any hesitation, he stepped out.


    Unlike in the day, the castle at night looked very ominous. The long corridors were dark and foreboding, as if they were the mouths of huge monsters, ready to swallow anyone who dares to venture whole.


    Casimir sighed to himself. Better just satisfy his instincts so he could sleep soon.


    He walked along the corridors and climbed the ever-changing stairs, arriving at a deserted hallway on the third floor, having resigned himself to his fate.


    This door..?


    Cautiously, he opened the door and entered.


    ...


    "I''m not sure we should be doing this, Harry." Hermione said as they exited the Gryffindor tower through the fat lady''s portrait.


    "Well, Neville hasn''t returned yet. Someone has to pick him up somehow." Harry replied, looking left and right to check if Filch was patrolling nearby.


    "This is one of the times I wish Fred and George were with us." Ron grumbled to himself and led the way to the Hospital wing.


    After a few minutes of getting lost and almost getting caught a few times by a patrolling Filch, they finally arrived to their destination and found Neville who was curled up on the floor.


    "You''ve finally arrived! I''ve been waiting for hours already!" Neville exclaimed loudly.


    "Shh!!!" The trio shushed Neville but, unfortunately, they were too late. Filch''s footsteps were heard rushing to their direction so, in a hurry, the four of them took off in different directions to escape.


    Hermione grabbed Neville''s arm and ran towards the trophy room. Ron ran towards the washroom. And, Harry scrambled towards the staircase, running as fast as he could up towards the restricted third floor.


    Suddenly, as he was running through the hallways, the door to his left jerked open and a hand grabbed his arm, pulling him into the room while another hand wound its way to his mouth, trapping the surprised shout that he was just about to release inside. Then, the door shut, trapping him in the room with his captor in darkness.


    "Potter...?" His captor spoke in a whisper, sounding confused. "Whatever. Just stay quiet."


    The two stayed still, so quiet that only their breaths were heard. Soon enough, an anxious set of footsteps passed by the door of the room they were in and disappeared.


    Finally, Harry''s captor released him from his tight hold and, the first thing Harry did when he regained his freedom was to take a good look at the person who seemed to have accidentally saved him from detention.


    "Casimir?!"


    "Fancy seeing you here on this lovely night, Potter." Casimir grinned at Harry mischievously.


    "What are you doing here? And isn''t this the restricted area on the third floor?" Harry asked, looking at Casimir in suspicion.


    "You know, I could ask you the same thing." Casimir replied, equally as suspicious but still smiled to cover it up.


    "... We were supposed to pick Neville up from the Hospital wing but-" Harry tried to explain.


    "Filch caught you?" Casimir had an eyebrow raised.


    "Almost! We ran in different directions to confuse him." Harry denied.


    "... You have terrible luck." Casimir commented with a snicker.


    "You haven''t answered my question yet!" Harry said, pulling back Casimir by the sleeve just when the boy was about to exit the room.


    "Well... Let''s just say I was helping a puppy with sleeping problems." Casimir winked at Harry and left. Only then did Harry notice the violin Casimir was carrying.


    A puppy with sleeping problems? Just what could that mean?


    Outside the room, Casimir was surprised to see three people running along the hallways. Oh Harry''s friends..? Looking for him, I suppose.


    "Good evening, Miss Granger. Lovely night for a stroll, isn''t it?" Casimir smiled at Hermione and ignored the other two people beside her, earning him scowls and an eyeroll. "If you''re searching for Potter, he''s in the room twenty two paces down to the left. Have a good night."


    He then left, as silently as he came.


    What he didn''t notice though, was the look of suspicion Neville shot him.


    ...


    "Harry? Are you in there?" Hermione whispered to the door which Casimir had pointed to them.


    "Hermione?" Harry creaked the door open. "Is Filch gone?"


    "I think so...?" Hermione answered, unsure.


    "Bloody hell, Harry! What were you thinking, going here of all places! Don''t you know that this is the exact room Dumbledore was forbidding everyone from entering?!" Ron exclaimed.


    "It wasn''t my idea! Casimir just pulled me in right when I was running away from Filch." Harry explained.


    "Proulx did?! Why would he save you though? He''s a Slytherin for Merlin''s sake!" Ron was aghast.


    "B-b-behind!!!" Suddenly, Neville stuttered out in horror, looking at something behind Harry.


    Confused, the other three turned to look at what Neville was looking at and, similarly, their faces turned pale.


    Deep inside the room laid a huge, three-headed dog. Fortunately, it seemed to be asleep but, to not take their chances in case it suddenly woke up, the four of them quickly ran out, heading back to the Gryffindor tower.

 41 Early Morning Ambiguity

    The next morning, everyone already heard about the three year one students who have become part of the quidditch teams for their houses.


    Unsurprisingly, this started a controversy about who the youngest of them was. Each of them debating on which house had the player who was the youngest to be part of the quidditch team in over a century.


    Some people said it was Draco, while some said it was Harry. Perhaps because of how mature Casimir seemed to act compared to the two, most people seemed to have ruled him out. Well, except for Theodore who knew the truth.


    So, when someone investigated the ages and date of birth of the three, everyone was surprised.


    Draco was the oldest amongst them, being born on the fifth of June. The next was Harry, born on the thirty first of July. The youngest, Casimir, was actually born on the thirteenth of September which was literally the next day! He wasn''t even eleven yet when he was accepted to the quidditch team!


    That meant that he had just broken the record for the youngest house quidditch player in the last two hundred years!


    On that day, Casimir suddenly realized that more and more people wanted to befriend him out of nowhere, making it inconvenient for him to go anywhere, therefore, he just skipped breakfast to hide somewhere.


    By the time he came back to the hall, everyone was already more or less done with eating and the owls had started swooping in to deliver mails. This day, Casimir''s father''s falcon had come as well, bringing with it a rather long package and a letter. Similarly, both Draco and Harry received long packages of their own as well, making it obvious what was inside.


    Unsurprisingly, inside the packages were broomsticks. It turned out that Mr. Proulx''s intelligence network spread even to the inside of Hogwarts. So much for being the safest place in the world.


    Being the proud father Mr. Proulx was, he immediately informed Lucius of the news and, the two, being outwardly cold but inwardly supportive dads, directly bought the newest broomsticks off the stocks. They weren''t even available for the public until early the following year!


    Draco and Casimir looked at each other with similar grins, holding onto their brand new Nimbus 2001.


    Theodore just rolled his eyes at the two, feeling left out but was happy for his friends.


    At the Gryffindor table, Harry was similarly holding his new broom. The only difference was, his was a Nimbus 2000.


    ...


    The rest of the day passed without much happening and soon, it was already Saturday.


    Casimir''s birthday. (Again)


    At around nine in the morning, Casimir was still fast asleep, enjoying the freedom that weekends bring.


    Unfortunately for him, Draco and Theodore had plans to ruin his freedom.


    Right now, the two people in question were crouched on both sides of Casimir''s bed, prepared to wake him up in the most surprising way possible. A tickle war.


    One of the mysteries that Casimir brought to the two boys were... He wasn''t ticklish anywhere.


    But, today, they vowed that they would find Casimir''s ticklish spot for sure!


    Draco and Theodore nodded at each other, signalling the start of their plan.


    Then, Draco pounced.


    ...


    "Nee-sama! All those years you were lying to me... You were actually lying to yourself more than to me!" A sickly looking child said.


    "Gao... Lin..?" Casimir- no, Ayami said.


    "Nee-same... Did you forget already? No! I won''t let you forget! I will never let you forget how much of a monster you are!" Gao Lin shouted hysterically. "You don''t deserve such happiness!"


    "I know." Ayami nodded, accepting everything Gao Lin said.


    "That''s why..." Gao Lin smiled in a crazed manner. "I will take away everything you love!"


    Suddenly, Gao Lin started melting like wax. This time, Ayami felt panicked and rushed towards Gao Lin.


    "No!" Casimir shot up from the bed and hugged the body which was pouncing towards him.


    Draco was surprised. He just wanted to pounce on Casimir to wake him up by tickling him. He didn''t expect this outcome at all.


    Just when he was about to push Casimir off, he heard a weak voice whisper in desperation. "Don''t... Don''t leave me.."


    This one sentence halted Draco''s actions, making him freeze. What..?


    It''s just a dream... Casimir took deep breaths to calm himself, his back covered in cold sweat. I''m Casimir. Not Ayami. Ayami is dead.


    After a while, Casimir had finally calmed down and slowly, started letting go of Draco who was still frozen.


    "Sorry... about that." Casimir smiled weakly.


    "Whatever... Stupid." Draco coughed awkwardly.


    "Happy Birthday..?" Theodore stood at the side, not knowing what to do, small sparks being emitted at the end of his wand.


    Suddenly, the door opened and in came Draco''s two minions who, after seeing what was happening inside, stopped in their tracks with awkward expressions that seemed to say ''did we come at the wrong timing?''.


    Well, Draco was sitting on top of Casimir who was laying on his bed, one hand on Draco''s waist while Theodore was standing at the side, sparks flying from the tip of his wand.


    Of course, anyone would feel as if something that shouldn''t be said was happening when faced by this sight early in the morning.


    Perhaps, only Casimir was able to face something like this calmly but, unfortunately, he was the cause of the whole incident this time.


    "Cough. Good morning, Crabbe, Goyle." Casimir greeted as naturally as he could.

 42 Fathers Questionable Gifts

    That morning, during breakfast, the most awaited visitor had finally arrived.


    Bleu, the falcon, came swooping in, carrying a small basket filled with what was assumed to be Casimir''s birthday gift.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!" It seemed like, after being friends for years already, Draco had become used to Mr. Proulx''s amazing presents and was now more excited than the actual receiver when it came to opening them.


    Speaking of receiving presents, after Mr. Proulx had known Draco''s date of birth, he too, had begun sending equally great presents to the boy yearly, which made the relationship of both families feel much closer. This then, ended up with Lucius visiting more often to just casually chat with Alexander over tea.


    Casimir shook his head wryly and opened the top of the basket.


    Inside, unlike the presents from the previous years, were a few plain-looking books but, after taking them out and reading the covers, they discovered that they were far from being plain.


    "Guide and Tips to Becoming an Animagus?!" Theodore exclaimed, picking up one of the books, attracting curious glances from the other students.


    "Advanced Alchemy?! Hexes, Jinxes, and Basic Curses?!" Draco had his eyes wide upon reading the covers of two other books. "Aren''t those dark arts?!"


    "The Possibility of Immortality..?" Pansy suddenly reached out to take one book. "How absurd!"


    "I think we should keep these books a secret." Theodore whispered, glancing around to see if there were any professors nearby.


    "Hey! I think there''s something else in the basket." Crabbe pointed out. And there really was something else in there!


    A pair of black earmuffs and a letter.


    My Son,


    (Casimir: Will it kill you to write ''dear'' in your letters?!)


    You might be confused about the use of the earmuffs. I will just clarify that those earmuffs are no ordinary earmuffs. They are enchanted with a spell which allows you to hear and eavesdrop on any conversation within your line of sight. In short, it is a spyware device. I have decided that, on your eleventh birthday, you are already old enough and responsible enough to come in contact with our family''s line of business; intelligence. Do have fun with it and, Happy Birthday.


    Your father


    After Casimir had read the letter, Draco immediately snatched the letter from his hands and began reading. "Spyware device?!" He exclaimed, then, stared at Casimir dubiously. "You father gives you questionable presents."


    (Casimir: Father, why did you write in English?)


    "My thoughts exactly." Casimir replied but still wore the earmuffs. Fortunately, he could choose to turn off the eavesdropping function when he wanted to, or else, he would just hear everything around him every time he wore it.


    So, he decided that, unless necessary, he would not turn on the function and just wear the earmuffs as an accessory, the same way he wore the scarf Draco gave him.


    Just then, right when Casimir had packed the books inside the basket, Harry and Ron passed behind him. "Happy Birthday, Casimir." Harry greeted in an unsure voice. "I''m not entirely sure if it is really your birthday today. I just heard it from the others."


    "Heard is an understatement, Harry. Everyone was talking about it!" Ron had an ugly scowl on his face as he and Draco began to have a glaring match, looking about ready to start a fight any time soon.


    "Thank you, Harry. It really is my birthday today. Got any presents?" Casimir had a teasing smile on his face as he winked at Harry.


    "I-I..." Harry stuttered, looking around awkwardly.


    "Haha! It''s fine! I was just joking!" Casimir laughed and slapped Harry''s shoulder reassuringly. "Even my own best friend didn''t give me a present!"


    "Who said I had no present for you?!" Draco suddenly interjected. "I haven''t just given it yet!"


    "Oh really? Where is it then?" Casimir had an eyebrow raised.


    "It''s... Somewhere, alright! I''ll give it to you when I feel like it!" Draco snorted haughtily, making Casimir and Harry laugh.


    They don''t seem so bad after all. Harry thought to himself. Maybe Ron just heard more of the bad things about them than the good things.


    "Well, will you look at that? It''s nearly time for quidditch practice!" Draco suddenly stood up, still glaring at Ron. "We better get going, Marie. Don''t want to be late for practice like the Weaselys, don''t we?"


    "Come on, Draco. Play nice." Casimir laughed.


    "Yeah, Malfoy. Play nice. Don''t want your father to know about this, do you?" Ron mocked Draco.


    "Oh, I''m so scared! I don''t want the entire Weasely army to suddenly barge into my room in the middle of the night for making their precious Ronny cry." Draco mocked back.


    "Weasely army?!" Ron exclaimed.


    "What? I think it''s quite befitting. There''s around a hundred of you Weaselys scattered around the world!" Draco snorted.


    Meanwhile, Casimir and Harry just looked at each other helplessly, rolling their eyes at their respective friend''s childishness.


    In the end, Casimir had to drag Draco away and Harry had to drag Ron. "Well, I''ll see you when I see you, Potter!" Casimir said and began to head to the quidditch field, dragging Draco by the arm with Theodore following them.


    "Yeah, see you, Casimir!" Harry waved and watched them leave.

 43 Every Seeker Needs a Supportive Husband- I mean, Beater

    "How are you and Potter suddenly so familiar with each other?" Draco asked as they were walking towards the quidditch field.


    "Well, some things happened and now, we''re more or less acquainted, I guess." Casimir shrugged.


    "... Are you gonna tell me what kind of things happened?" Draco had an eyebrow raised in suspicion.


    "I don''t think you should know..." Casimir answered mischievously.


    Casimir and Draco arrived at the field just in time for the Slytherin team to finish their practice, having a last minute glimpse on how each of them cooperate with each other.


    Although there were supposed to be seven players in a quidditch team, they only saw five people playing. Perhaps the people they were supposed to be replacing had already left or were forced to leave. Anyways, it wasn''t any of their business anymore.


    When the team landed on the ground, signaling the end of their practice, Marcus finally noticed the two of them and began heading their way, followed by the rest of the team. "Hey, you''re here early!"


    After introducing each of the players to them, they immediately began guiding the two into their roles. As the captain, Marcus personally taught Draco how to be a qualified seeker, while Casimir was being guided by the other beater in the team, Allen Beech.


    "If I may ask, why was the previous beater removed from the team?" Casimir asked the older student curiously.


    "Oh that guy? You don''t need to worry too much about him. Nobody in the team liked him much. He was playing too much like a Hufflepuff, you get me?" Allen said dismissively, guiding Casimir on how to hold the bat properly.


    "You grip the bat like this here. Your dominant hand should be the one holding the bat at most times. Never let it go else you''d be defenseless if the bloody bludger decides to suddenly hit your face. Wham! You''d be the first casualty in centuries!" Allen joked.


    "What if my dominant hand is both my hands?" Casimir asked seriously.


    "...You serious bout that, kid?"Allen stared at Casimir in surprise.


    "Yes..?" Casimir just asked casually but was taken aback by Allen''s exaggerated reaction.


    Suddenly, Allen drew closer to Casimir and whispered. "Don''t tell anyone this talent of yours, kid. When the time is right, this could prove to be our team''s hidden hand! Quite literally!"


    "How?" Casimir was confused.


    "You know, most beaters only use one hand to carry their bat, right? In their dominant hand. That makes it difficult for them to maneuver the bat when the bludger passes through their less dominant side. So, since you can freely switch hands, this''ll prove to be a great asset, you feel me?" Allen whispered seriously.


    "Mm... I see..." Casimir whispered as well.


    "But! That aside, I better teach you how to be a good beater now!" Allen patted Casimir''s shoulder and handed him a bat. "C''mon! Show me the skills that got you recommended by Snape!"


    With that said, the bludger was released.


    ...


    "Proulx! Wait! No! Stop!!!" Allen was nearly in tears, trying to run away from the bludger that Casimir had just sent flying accurately right at him on his broom. "Are you trying to kill me, Proulx?!"


    "Now that is how Slytherins play!" Marcus and the other chasers laughed heartily at their other teammate''s suffering.


    "You asked for it, Allen! Who told you to insult Draco in my presence, huh?" Casimir yelled back, playfully twirling the bat on his hand as he hovered on his broom. "Only I am permitted to do that!"


    "Fine! I''m sorry!" Allen cried out, dodging away from the crazed bludger, making everyone laugh.


    What most of them didn''t notice though, was that, Draco, sitting on his broom at another corner of the field, had a downcast expression. It was obvious that, whatever insult Allen said had hit him hard.


    After the practice ended, Casimir dragged Draco down to the dungeons. "Come. Have a walk with me."


    Seeming to be out of it, Draco just followed him blindly.


    It had already been two months since they had started studying at Hogwarts and today was Halloween; an unfamiliar celebration for Casimir.


    Fortunately, due to this reason, most of the students were already at the great hall, enjoying their Halloween feast, leaving the dungeons empty.


    Suddenly, Casimir stopped walking, nearly making Draco bump into his back. "Draco, to be honest, when compared to Potter, you''re a bit worse off than him in being a seeker."


    Draco had his head lowered, teeth gritted, and his hands were clenched into fists. "Shut it, Marie."


    Casimir heard the fury in his voice but, this was something that had to be said sooner or later. It was better this way that he was the one to tell him instead of someone else. "You''re not decisive enough, not fast enough, not concentrated enough. You get distracted easily, get arrogant too easily, get mad too easily."


    Draco was starting to tremble in anger. He knew what Casimir was saying was all true but, he didn''t want to listen to any of it. "Shut up, Marie!"


    Casimir acted as if he didn''t hear him. "Most importantly... You don''t trust enough."


    Draco looked at Casimir in surprise. "What..?"


    "It''s fine if you don''t trust our opponents. It''s fine if you don''t trust our captain. It''s even fine if you don''t trust our other teammates!" Casimir smiled at Draco helplessly. "But... Can''t you even put your trust in me?"


    "I..." Draco hesitated.

 44 Consider Being a Butcher

    Just before Draco was able to answer, they suddenly heard suspicious sounds coming from somewhere nearby.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    "Shh!" Casimir motioned Draco to stay quiet and began heading towards where the sound came from.


    When they rounded the corner, they saw it.


    A monster more than three meters in height, had long arms, and stubby legs. It''s whole body was rancid, smelling like mud, sweat, and grime that hadn''t been washed for decades. It was a troll!


    They saw the troll enter the girls washroom and a few moments later, there was a scream.


    "Aaahhh!!!" There was a person inside!


    "Let''s run while we can, Marie!" Draco began pulling Casimir away to escape, his face contorting in fear.


    "There''s a person in there." Casimir replied calmly.


    "I don''t care! Let''s go!" Draco was starting to panic.


    "Draco. Draco! Listen to me!" Casimir gripped Draco''s shoulders hard to make him calm down. "Draco... I need you to go find the professors. As quickly as you can."


    "Me?! But what about you?!" Draco asked Casimir, horrified.


    "I need to get that person out of the washroom." Casimir answered gravely.


    "But...!" Draco hesitated.


    "Draco... I need you to trust me. Can you do that?" Casimir asked seriously.


    "I..." Draco had a hesitant expression but, his eyes slowly glowed with determination.


    "Alright."


    "Go. Quickly." Casimir pushed Draco away, towards the staircase that led to the great hall.


    "I''ll trust you this time, Marie." Draco said as he turned away, running towards the staircase. "Don''t you dare let me down, idiot!"


    It''s just a single troll, Draco. It''s not enough to bring me down just yet. Casimir thought to himself, heading towards the girls washroom.


    ...


    When Hermione skipped three classes straight to hole herself up in the girls washroom down in the dungeons, she didn''t expect to hear sudden, loud footfalls that seemed to appear out of nowhere.


    Nor did she expect to see a gigantic troll when she peeked through the door of the stall she was in.


    No, it was all a horrifying surprise to her. So, she did the first thing her body told her to do; close the door and scream.


    This then, led the troll to discover her location and began heading towards her.


    Frightened, all she could do was tremble and wait for help to come.


    Fortunately for her, help did arrive. Just not the one she had expected.


    Casimir snuck into the washroom, unnoticed by the troll and, after watching the troll''s actions, he realized that it was actually very slow and very clumsy, only using its huge body size and enormous strength to overpower its opponents. Aside from that, it practically had no skill to speak of.


    Casimir licked his lips. It was exactly this type of opponent that he was most skilled against.


    Without further ado, he directly pulled out his choice of weapon from his bag; the Egyptian sickle-sword that his father had gifted to him years back. Finally, it would have its chance to taste blood for the first time on this day.


    But, first thing''s first, he had to get the person trapped inside the stall out before having his fun.


    With a starting sprint, Casimir ran straight towards the troll and leapt high up to kick its weak spot at the back of its neck while hitting its temple with the blunt handle of his sword, dazing it and causing it to stumble to the ground.


    Taking this chance, Casimir landed on the ground stably and ran towards the closed stall. He yanked the door roughly and opened it, revealing a horrified Hermione inside.


    "Miss Granger, let''s go!" Casimir shouted and tried to pull Hermione away but, the girl was frozen stiff as if she had been petrified.


    The troll was starting to get up, not leaving much time for hesitation so, Casimir just pulled Hermione roughly and began running towards the door.


    What he didn''t expect was, two boys suddenly entered the washroom just when he was about to run out, causing them to crash into each other and fall on the ground.


    At this time, the troll had finally gotten up and turned its sights to them in rage.


    With a resounding roar, it charged towards them, its wooden club waving around wildly.


    In moments like this, a bad teammate was scarier than a good opponent.


    "Damn you, Potter!" Casimir yelled out and stood up as fast as he could and grabbed his sword, just in time to deflect the club which was aimed to smash their heads open.


    "Get out of here, now!" He screamed at the three people who seemed to have frozen behind him, his shoulders aching from the force impacted on them.


    Even though he had been training for a few months already, coupled by his experience being a top assassin once, it still didn''t change the fact that his current body was still too weak. It was already a miracle that he had deflected the full forced attack from a troll!


    Hearing his scream, the three finally reacted and scrambled away, giving him enough room to battle with the troll.


    "Bring it on, you big monkey!" Casimir yelled out, challenging the troll with his sword pointed right at it.


    "Graaaaahhhh!!!" The troll roared at him in reply, the smell of mold, decay, and dirty sewer water, billowing out towards Casimir.


    Then, it charged.


    The moment it did, however, Casimir moved as well, running towards the wall to his right and leapt, using the wall to propell himself upwards and somersaulted, his body flying in a clean arc right above the troll''s head.


    While he was airborne, he extended his right hand where he held the sword and slashed hard.


    At this moment, Draco finally returned, followed by McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell. What they saw inside the washroom, however, was not the gory sight they were expecting.


    Thud!


    In front of everyone''s eyes, a headless troll stood, its head rolling on the ground near its feet and soon, its body followed, falling on the ground with a loud thud.


    Everyone then, turned to look at the boy who stood at the very front, holding a bloody sword in his hand.For some reason, aside from his sword, his body was free from blood...or any dirt for that matter.


    ...


    "Marie, I think it would be better if you''d choose a different career aside from being a wizard." Draco suddenly said, breaking the silence. "Being a butcher might do you more good."