***
Time flies when you are engaged in something interesting. And for a wizard, what could be more interesting than magic? Magic, which has been developing inside you little by little since childhood. It is as much a part of you as your arms and legs. At first, you feel a slight warmth in your solar plexus and begin to understand how energy moves within you. Then you feel that you are becoming a little stronger, faster, more agile and more resilient than an ordinary child. Daily meditation gives you inner peace and confidence in your abilities. Those around you also feel the wonderful changes happening inside you.
And then one day, when you turn eleven, on your birthday, you wake up with a small moonstone in your hand. Only the sleepy messengers know how it got there. Your parents are asleep in their room, no one has come in to disturb your sleep. No magical owl knocked on the window, and Grandfather Fire did not bring you gifts from Mount Kilimanjaro.
One morning, you simply woke up to find a small milky-white stone clutched in your child's palm, slightly cloudy and completely ordinary in appearance. But if you have become the owner of such a treasure, know that you are expected at the Wagadu School of Magic at the beginning of autumn. And if you can't go there, you will most likely lose your chance forever. The chance to become a great wizard in time.
Cassius often woke up early. From the moment he moved in with his grandfather Chibuzo Inu, his morning wake-up time depended on the sunrise. As soon as it started to get light, it was time to get up. Therefore, as soon as the first ray of sunlight touched the young wizard's face, Cassius's eyes immediately opened. Habitually sending magic through his body with meditation, the boy immediately felt invigorated. He lay there for a while and dreamed about what gifts his parents would send him from England. Maybe this time they would come themselves, Cassius even closed his eyes. If only he could see his brother again. Draco was a wonderful and funny little boy. He was fair-haired, like him, but he was so important. He even crawled around with a sense of his own importance. An aristocrat, as his father said, a real Malfoy. He missed his family and dreamed of seeing them all more often. But the examples repeatedly demonstrated by his teacher, when the dark component of his inner strength could break free from his body uncontrollably and harm someone, convinced him that until he could fully control his gift, it was better to see his family only here and for short visits.
As he pondered this, Cassius decided that it was time to get up, when he suddenly noticed something in his left hand. Bringing his hand closer to his face, Cassius looked with surprise and growing joy at the small milky-white pebble that had been clenched in his fist all this time. When the boy finally realised what he was holding, the large house shook from a powerful magical blast. The feeling of joy was so great that even the bottomless reservoirs in the four towers located at the edges of the estate flashed with a sky-blue glow.
At breakfast, Chibuzo asked Cassius about the reasons for such a strong display of emotion, to which he proudly showed off his sleep stone. Chibuzo was very happy for his student; the appearance of this artefact in Cassius meant a lot to the African. But the main thing was that the boy had passed all the tests that Chibuzo had regularly set for him over the years. His student had grown considerably stronger, both physically and magically. And if he had always walked around without removing the amulet that hid his European appearance, any resident of Gombe would have recognised him as an ordinary, strong eleven-year-old boy from among the local kids who often played on the streets of Kinshasa.
Over the years, Chibuzo had instilled in the boy a general understanding of magic as it was studied here on the Dark Continent, a place where magic had appeared much earlier than in England. Cassius had a good understanding of the basics of dark magic, working with his mind, and had developed the skills of Occlumency and Legilimency. Chibuzo Inu made him memorise all of this. Not just by learning long texts by heart, but by immediately translating this knowledge into skills and abilities. After all, even an animal can be trained to perform the same actions, but that does not make it human. A developed mind capable of abstract thinking distinguishes a magician from animals. Roughly speaking, animals cannot dream, but a wizard can and loves to.
So, at the age of eleven, Cassius already had a fairly developed consciousness, even slightly ahead of his biological age. He became able to protect his thoughts from being read by other magicians and, in turn, learned to better understand the thoughts of those he was talking to. Successfully reading people's superficial emotions and non-verbal body signals, he could sometimes even hear their thoughts in real life. Of course, the ordinary children with whom the boy often played in the street had no skills in protecting their minds, and it was quite easy to read their thoughts. But the experience Cassius gained in doing so helped him to better understand this serious science.
Once, Chibuzo brought one of the Mursi tribe from somewhere and ordered him to kill Cassius, while telling Malfoy to sense the Mursi hiding in the garden. When the savage jumped out in front of Cassius, leaping from a tree, it came as no surprise to the boy, who easily immobilised his attacker with telekinesis. Such training took place regularly, and Malfoy quickly learned to sense any attention directed towards him, determine intentions and distance, and accurately identify the source of that attention. Then it was up to him to decide what to do about it. Over time, telekinesis became just another arm or leg, and Cassius could use it to prevent attacks or attack in response.
Some agility training still made him nervous. First, they came to some Masai tribe, where the teacher made him dodge lumps of mud that the children threw at him one by one, and later even arrows with blunt tips that the older ones threw at him. Of course, they didn't aim to hurt him, but it still hurt. As soon as he started to get better, Chibuzo mercilessly closed the distance to the archers. Even a blunt arrow left a significant bruise on the boy's body. And if it weren't for the amulet that softened the physical impact, the boy would most likely not have survived even the first such training session.
As a result, he became as agile and nimble as a mongoose, allowing him to easily dodge the spells that Chibuzo himself cast at him during regular training sessions. Getting caught in a tickling spell was certainly fun, but the master had no intention of stopping, forcing Cassius to dispel the magic himself by accelerating the energy in his body at the point of impact. In general, the training sessions were always interesting and varied.
Today, Chibuzo told him to contact his relatives and invite them to visit. In a month, Cassius would have to go to the school of magic in the moon mountains, and it would be great if his parents could see him off. Moreover, it was worth visiting the magical quarter in Kampala. And then they could easily travel from Kampala to Rwenzori and Uagadu itself, which is located somewhere between the Verunga and Stanley mountain ranges. On one side, it is protected by high impassable cliffs, and on the other by active volcanoes. Sometimes it seems as if the castle is floating in the air. A turbulent river flows directly from the mountain on which Ouagadougou is located and falls in a huge waterfall, so that the cold air, saturated with moisture and freshness, is a constant companion in all the school's rooms. In the morning, rainbows often appear, sometimes even distracting the young students of Ouagadougou from their studies. However, the professors quickly bring the daydreaming children back to their senses.
To get to the school grounds and find yourself in front of the tall iron gates, there are special magical passages in the magical quarters of every capital city of the large African states. But only children who have a sleepy stone and the professors who teach there can pass through them to get to the school. When hired as a teacher, the magician took a very serious oath not to reveal the secrets of the school, including its location. Professors also received moonstones, which were also portals to the castle.
Since the school is located high in the mountains, there has been no normal road there for a long time. Time and the volcanoes in the area reliably conceal the location of this oldest and most prestigious school on the entire African continent. Not long ago, due to an unsuccessful experiment by one of the professors of dark magic, the Nyiragongo volcano awoke and killed more than two thousand people in the resulting eruption.
Among the indigenous population, these places had a well-deserved bad reputation, although the rare animals living here, mountain gorillas, were protected by the state, which had organised national parks on the slopes of the mountains. Wild nature and fresh air made this place a real gem of the African continent, and it was to such mysterious places that Cassius was soon to travel, something he had long dreamed of doing.
Falling onto his bed, Cassius picked up a two-way mirror and began calling his parents. Narcissa was the first to respond. She was sitting on a bench in the garden, watching Draco chase peacocks with a loud laugh.
"Hello, son," she smiled, looking into the mirror, "how are you?
When Narcissa was at home and alone with her family, she seemed to transform into a different woman. She smiled, laughed heartily at her children's jokes, and generally behaved like any loving mother. But in public, no one would have guessed that behind the mask of the Snow Queen could hide such a lively and sociable person.
"Mum! I got an invitation to a school of magic," Cassius reported proudly. "In the autumn, I'll be studying at Uagadu, the oldest school of magic in Africa.
"Wow, son. That's great," Narcissa rejoiced. "Recently, our Hogwarts has taken a course towards simplifying most magical disciplines and completely banning combat magic. I can't even imagine what Draco will be able to learn when he enrols," she sighed heavily.
"You know, Mum," Cassius smiled, "maybe you should gather all our relatives and come visit us in Africa for a couple of weeks? We can sunbathe by the pool, visit interesting places, go to a monkey sanctuary, and eat exotic African food. We could go to Uganda, to the magical quarter. I don't mind buying my school supplies at the local magic shops," he winked at his mother. "I'll be studying under the master's protective amulet and won't have to be any different from the other kids, even in small ways. People here have a rather peculiar attitude towards white people, and it could only get in my way at school.
"I think that's a good idea, son," Narcissa nodded. "Lucius was actually planning to ask Grandfather Abraxas to accompany you, because he's always either at the Wizengamot or at his businesses. But I think I can talk him out of it," she said with a sly smile. "And we can tell Walburga, in case she decides she wants to travel a bit too. She's been stuck at Grimmauld Place for the last few years. Ever since Sirius was sent to Azkaban, she's been completely miserable," she frowned sadly. "She blames herself for everything, for not watching him, for not helping him. She's racked with guilt. And we tried to make Sirius's fate easier," Narcissa sighed. "Especially since no one saw him with our Lord, and now look, they consider him his right-hand man. They accused him of murdering a crowd of Muggles, although of course it wasn't murder, just a violation of the statute. And on top of that, he betrayed the Potters," the woman grimaced. "How could Sirius betray them when he was their child's godfather? I'd rather believe that it was those despicable Weasleys who betrayed everyone.
Narcissa looked at Cassius and sighed again:
"The Potter's son became famous after Dumbledore somehow figured out that it was the baby who defeated the Dark Lord, and the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead became his trademark in England. By the way, Harry Potter himself has also disappeared. They say Dumbledore hid him somewhere, but no one knows where. Maybe he sent him abroad, and the boy is now being raised in some nice family to hate dark wizards," Narcissa sneered contemptuously. "All his relatives here are either involved in supporting Voldemort or dead. Anyway, son, I'll talk to everyone today and we'll be in touch in a couple of days," said his mother and said goodbye.
"Bye, Mum," Cassius waved to her and put the mirror on the bedside table.
Narcissa didn't waste any time and immediately sent an owl to Walburga asking for a meeting. She didn't reply for quite a while, but towards evening she appeared from the fireplace herself.
"Hello, Auntie," Malfoy said cheerfully, getting up from the sofa where she had been reading an entertaining novel by the young wizard Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Hello, Narcissa," Walburga smiled back, warmly but a little forced.
She was quite pale and looked depressed in her dark mourning clothes.
"Auntie, are you feeling all right?" Narcissa asked anxiously. "I think a change of climate would do you good."
"What do you mean?" asked Valburga, surprised.
"I mean, dear aunt, that Cassius is going to school this year and has already received an invitation. He is waiting for all of us, all his close relatives, to visit him, so I am asking you to come with us to Zaire. His teacher, Chibuzo Inu, is a very hospitable and distinguished Dark Magician from Africa. It will not be a humiliation to your honour to stay with us in his manor. You need to take your mind off things, auntie," Narcissa continued insistently, leading Valburga to the sofa. "Sit down, there's nothing we can do to help Sirius right now, but Lucius is already looking for ways to get past the guards. Perhaps in time we will be able to help him, at least anonymously.
So, while talking to Walburga about the children, Narcissa told her about their achievements and interests. Black, forgetting her fears for a moment, also responded, sometimes with "ah" or, conversely, giving advice. In the end, she agreed to the persistent persuasion to go with the whole family to Cassius so as not to be sad alone in the mansion on Grimm Street.
Knockturn Alley was always gloomy and deserted, and now, in the semi-darkness of the alley near Gorbins and Burks, the brilliant Lucius Malfoy stood impatiently waiting for his smuggler acquaintance. The man who approached him was of unremarkable appearance and, nodding silently to Lucius, entered the shop.
Malfoy looked around and followed him inside.
"Hello, Mr. Joffrey," said Lucius, "what have you got for me this time?
"Nothing worthy of you, Lord Malfoy," said Joffrey. "What's more, this was the last shipment. I'll have to shut down my business in England for a while. The DMPA and the Aurors have really cracked down on us smugglers."
Malfoy gritted his teeth in anger. He had an open contract with the goblins, under which he had agreed to obtain several more pounds of uncut diamonds, in exchange for which the little people had promised to provide Lucius with the necessary contacts with Japanese artefact manufacturers. Malfoy tried as best he could to make life easier for the prisoners of Azkaban, constantly looking for new opportunities to improve their stay there.
Even Bellatrix Lestrange changed her attitude towards him, having previously considered him too weak-willed and soft. However, thanks to the timely assistance she received from her sister's family, she had long since begun to treat the Malfoys much better. And although at first glance to any observer, the prisoners looked utterly exhausted, in reality, things were not so bad. However, Malfoy had no idea where to get another batch of diamonds for the goblins.
Returning to the manor in a bad mood, which had become increasingly common in recent years, Lucius nevertheless greeted his wife with a smile. Narcissa ordered the house elves to set the table and told Lucius about the day's events, her conversation with Cassius, and Walburga's visit. At the end, she suggested that they visit Chibuzo Inu to properly gather Cassius and take him to school. Lucius refused, citing business and other problems, but Narcissa was adamant. And as we all know, if a woman really wants something, it is better to give her what she wants than to lose what little sanity you have left.
Lucius decided that Chibuzo Inu might be able to tell him where to get a batch of rough diamonds at a good price. The very next day, Narcissa, Draco, Lucius and Valburga were ready to set off on their journey. A portkey provided in advance transported them to a place they knew well. This time, Cassius was waiting for them near the apparition site, eagerly awaiting their arrival. Five minutes later, when the initial greetings had subsided, Abraxas Malfoy appeared in the portal circle, greatly strengthened by his time away from the English shores. He had been living in France, managing the Malfoy family's French business, and travelling the world in search of new knowledge.
So, as a friendly group, they headed for the estate, asking Cassius about his affairs. Draco looked curiously at the sleepy stone that his older brother had solemnly shown him. In the dining room of the manor, house elves bustled about, setting the table, while at the entrance to the estate, the smiling Chibuzo Inu greeted the guests. Next to him stood a tall, beautiful woman about Narcissa's age, his daughter Adez. After those events, Adez had been living in America with her son and husband, occasionally visiting her father.
Unfortunately for her, her loved ones did not possess the magical gift that she and her father had, so Chibuzo's grandson attended a regular school for ordinary children, enjoyed playing basketball, where he showed remarkable talent, and planned to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the future.
The Adez family's life was far from magical, but Chibuzo didn't mind. It had happened before that magic awakened not in children, but in grandchildren or great-grandchildren. He simply made a mental note to marry his descendant to a worthy witch or squib from a good family. This would definitely bring magic back to their children. Chibuzo Inu had always wanted his daughter to be happy, so he did not seek to influence her family in any way.
***
Albus Dumbledore tapped disdainfully on the door of the house on Spider's Alley. No one answered for a long time, until finally the door opened and a thick smell of alcohol hit Albus. Without flinching, he pushed aside the slightly swaying Snape and went inside. Waving his wand and clearing the well-worn chair, he sat down slowly and with dignity and, flashing his glasses slyly, looked at the owner of this neglected house.
Severus Snape looked extremely unpleasant, his bedraggled appearance betraying nothing of the talented potion master capable of brewing even liquid luck if necessary.
"Severus, my boy, what have you become in this hole?" Dumbledore looked reproachfully at Snape. "It's been several years, and you're still living in the past.
Severus muttered something unflattering, but Dumbledore cut him off without even listening.
"In short, get ready, my boy, you have been accepted as professor of potions and head of Slytherin House.
Snape stared at Dumbledore in surprise.
"I'm going to be a professor?" he croaked in amazement.
"Yes," Albus replied seriously, "the children who end up in Slytherin need protection and support. There are too many children there who have lost out, and they are prejudiced against because of it. And only a Slytherin like them can help them fit into their new reality," Dumbledore flashed his half-moon glasses. "Who else but you is capable of fairly managing the lives of the students of one of Hogwarts' houses?
Snape sighed sadly, but nevertheless did not rush to refuse. After Lord Voldemort's disappearance, Snape felt abandoned. Most of his former friends were in Azkaban, and he rarely saw Malfoy, who was constantly busy with politics and business. And after the trial, when Dumbledore said that Severus was his agent, even the few people with whom Snape had kept in touch turned their backs on him.
He also noticed that being at Hogwarts had a beneficial effect on his mental state. Severus also felt the negative impact of the mark on his psyche, but with the help of Occlumency, he managed to cope with it somehow. So, without even thinking twice, he agreed to Dumbledore's request.
"Very well, Severus, then we'll meet in my office tomorrow," Albus beamed enthusiastically, and after a short conversation, he began to say goodbye. Snape had to arrive at Hogwarts the next day to finalise the terms of the contract.
***
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