The Allure of Darkness

Fear

Disclaimer: I don't own HP. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.

Defense Against the Dark Arts [September 7th]

Remus Lupin stood at the front of his classroom, scrutinizing his new class of third years. They were talking amongst themselves before class would officially start, but their topics of discussion often gave him a headache. Since when was "Merlin's saggy tits" a curse word? Perhaps he was just getting too old to understand these youths.

Judging from the array of green and red neckties and noticing the clear divide between the two groups, Remus concluded this was the notorious Slytherin-Gryffindor batch he was warned of by several other professors.

There were some familiar faces in the crowd, such as his own godson, Alexander Potter. His godson was certainly...unique, so to speak. After all, not every thirteen year old grew up as the Chosen One. He had taught Alexander Potter since he had first been declared the savior of the Wizarding world, but in his opinion, the boy wasn't quite as spectacular as everyone claimed. Yes, he was decent at magic, and yes, he was steadily improving, but there were students probably more skilled than him. Not that he'd ever mention such a thing to Dumbledore, or James. Nevertheless, he still waved back when Alexander excitedly said hello.

His gaze swept across to the other side of the classroom where the Slytherins were gathered around a tall black haired boy who was leaning against the wall–the perfect picture of an effortless aristocrat.

Ah yes, the famous Hadrian Riddle.

Remus had heard mixed opinions from all the professors about Hadrian Riddle. While the majority of them had sung his praises and claimed he would certainly be a fitting Minister of Magic some day, Dumbledore had claimed Riddle was a student to watch for darkness. Though even Minerva had reluctantly admitted the boy was certainly talented, Dumbledore still insisted there was something beyond the boy's perfect student façade.

Remus discreetly narrowed his eyes at Hadrian Riddle as he spoke with his friends. He had only seen the boy about twice–once during the dementor attack–but he didn't see anything overtly amiss about Riddle. Other than his name, of course.

Dumbledore had revealed to him that Hadrian was indeed the son of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. According to the Headmaster, Voldemort didn't know of his child, and Dumbledore seemed intent on keeping it that way. Though Remus was slightly uncomfortable with letting the boy believe he was an orphan, he supposed this was the only way.

Besides, Dumbledore could in fact be correct in his suspicions. Hadrian Riddle was a Slytherin, and he wasconnected to the Malfoys and the Lestrange families–both of which were notorious for being avid Death Eaters. Though he was surprised Bellatrix was human enough to reproduce, and her heir was somehow a Gryffindor, of all things, it still didn't change the fact that the Lestranges were part of Lord Voldemort's merry band of murderers.

Dumbledore also claimed that Hadrian Riddle's mannerisms and charisma were the exact copy of his father's while he attended Hogwarts. Regardless of his captivating personality, Hadrian Riddle was not to be trusted.

However, his friend Lily Potter had some other ideas on the subject of Hadrian Riddle. When he had absentmindedly mentioned the boy during one of their conversations after dinner, Lily had suddenly brightened up and her excited eyes turned as wide as saucers. Apparently, Lily believed Hadrian Riddle was her son.

Remus briefly glanced at the boy who was laughing at something the Zabini boy had said. Grudgingly, he admitted that with Hadrian's dark hair and piercing green eyes, he could easily be James and Lily's son, Harry. There was just one problem: Harry Potter had died several years ago when the Potters had sent him away.