Wool's Orphanage
Zi Carina Lestrange-Slytherin or as he was known now, Zi, was sitting upon his small bed. He sat there staring out the window as he watched the other children of the orphanage play outside. The young boy sometimes wished he could play with them or at least spend some time outdoors, away from the one bedroom he was trapped in.
He had been there since he was a baby, given to the caretaker on one stormy night. The small boy was never treated normally all his time there. He supposed it was because of his aura. Though he couldn't feel it, he had been told that he was filled with darkness, and it led to him being an outcast.
The caretaker was rude to him because of it. She called him an abomination, a monster, and forever tried to beat the darkness out of him. He was given scraps of food, leftovers from the meals she would cook for the rest of the children. She locked him in the small bedroom 24/7 and refused to let him out so as to not disturb the other kids.
When he was smaller, around the age of five, he would sneak out when she left the orphanage and try to play with the children. That never worked too well for him though as none of the children wanted to play with him because they were scared, he would hurt them. The caretaker told them stories about him to strike fear into their minds causing them to avoid him at all costs.
To sum it up, all of his eleven years there were hell and he prayed for a way out every night. Zi knew that there was no way he'd be adopted as he was never allowed to leave the room, but he never gave up small hope that maybe he would be saved one day. Perhaps it would take a magic miracle, but it could happen, right?
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It was a normal Saturday for an eleven-year-old Zi. He was alone in a small room, with one window, one cot, and one small bathroom. He sat upon his bed as always watching as the children played outside.
A small kid noticed him and froze as they made eye contact, the little girl was then pulled away by an older girl who glared his way furiously causing him to close his curtains with a sigh.
"She's coming," A small black snake, named Milo, hissed, slithering up Zi's arm onto his neck to hide behind his hair, his words causing Zi to tense
Milo had come into Zi's room one night and after realizing the young boy could communicate with him, he stayed, only leaving to hunt. He had grown protective of the blacknette after learning of the abuse his owner went through. He however could not interfere as he was just a small snake, and he had no idea what the woman would do if she found out he was there. Milo just needed to be there for Zi as much as he could.
"No want pain," Zi whispered putting his knees to his chest, causing Milo to nuzzle his head against his owner's neck as his caretaker and a tall man dressed in all black with jet black hair walked into his small room
"Zi, this man would like to speak with you," She said in a sickeningly sweet tone,"Be on your best behavior," she said, a small glint in her eyes warning him what would happen if he acted out
Nodding, Zi looked down at his lap in discomfort as she left the room, slamming it behind her causing his to flinch slightly
"Hello, Zi, my name is Severus Snape," Snape introduced, causing the young boy to look up at him with nervous eyes
"Hurt, Zi?" Zi questioned the man, that's all anyone ever did when they walked into this room. The caretaker, the doctors she brought to take the darkness, all of them even when they assured him it wouldn't hurt it always left him with bruises and scars that never fade.
"No," Snape responded, his eyes softening at the child,"I am here to take you from this place," he told him, causing Zi's eyes to widen,"There is a school for people like you. People who can do extraordinary things," he stated, handing Zi a letter though the young boy didn't bother to open it
"School?" Zi questioned, he had never been to such a thing. So many things were foreign to him as he was never allowed to leave his room. He only knew certain words that he picked up from his caretaker's slander and other children's small talk he caught when they spoke outside his window, but it wasn't much.
"A place for learning," Snape clarified, earning a confused nod from the boy,"Hogwarts is a school for magic. A place for young wizards and witches to learn how to control their magic," he told him, noticing that the boy wasn't reading the letter. He figured from Zi's speech pattern and the fact he hadn't heard of school meant he had never been,and in that case also meant he needed to learn the basics. He supposed he'd have to teach him personally throughout the year to catch him up.
"Magic?" Zi gasped, looking at Snape with wide eyes and leaned forward slightly,"Can show?" he asked excitedly, he had watched many of the kid's in the orphanage play 'magic' games
Sighing, Snape pulled out his wand and make the drawer float causing Zi to clap with a bright smile,"There's a lot for you to learn but I do believe we should take our leave now," Snape said, ushering Zi to come along as he felt his own cheeks left slightly and with that, he apparated them to Diagon Alley
9 ¾
The first day at Hogwarts had finally arrived and Zi was nothing but extremely nervous. He had never been outside of that orphanage and being in this new place with all these new people was a bit overwhelming for him.
Snape had helped him buy all of his supplies and clothing but was not able to travel with him to Hogwarts. He was saddened at that fact as Snape had begun to grow on him. During the last three days, the man had taught him things he never learned. He bought him small books to help him learn to read as he had never learned, never being able to go to school. He was far behind in common knowledge known by young wizards and yet Snape didn't treat him rudely.
That's all he ever knew was rudeness and wickedness. Zi was afraid that without Snape with him he would be treated that way once more. These were children and all children avoided him back at the orphanage
But then he remembered something. While these are children, they are also special just as he is. They have magic, just as he does. They're different...just as him.
Finally, Zi stepped onto the train taking a seat after he glided past the various families. It was a bit upsetting to see all of the families surrounding him, reminding him of his reality of having no one.
His head snapped up when the compartment door opened, revealing a blond hair boy,"Can I sit here? The other compartments are full of idiots," The guy wrinkled his nose in disgust,"You look quiet and sensible, so I'll sit here," he said, sitting down across from him
"No mind," Zi mumbled, though the blond had already taken his seat
The boy intimidated him as he seemed to already have a problem with everyone and Zi hoped he wouldn't have one with him.
"Draco Malfoy," The blond, Draco, introduced, holding his hand out for Zi to shake
"Zi," Zi stated,pointing to himself and looking down at Draco's hand confused, and Draco's eyes widened slightly at his name and his voice which was a snake-like whisper even though he was speaking clearly.
Draco had heard of that name before from his mother and father. Zi Carina Lestrange-Slytherin to be exact. It was the name of his cousin and the dark lord's son. They had told him that he should also be attending Hogwarts with him this year and if/when he met him, he should watch him carefully and be there for him.
He quickly looked into the boy's eyes and immediately knew this boy was in fact his cousin. His eyes were brown with bright golden flakes in them, and he could more than feel the dark magic coming from him.
"I can't believe you're the first person I meet," Draco said excitedly, a big smile on his face as he leaned forward,"I have so much to tell you," he said, his enthusiasm confusing Zi greatly
"No understand," Zi mumbled, tilting his head in confusion as the train began to move
"You're going into the Wizarding World," Draco started explaining,"Your father was a dark lord. He had followers and-"
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After Draco finished every single detail that he knew, the blond sighed,"I think that's it," he said, a small smile on his face
"Cousin is family?" was the first thing Zi asked, looking down at his hands
"Yes," Draco replied, watching Zi carefully,"We're family, Zi," he told him, and his cousin looked up at his with tearful eyes,"And I'm gonna be there for you now. I wish we could've met sooner but you were stuck with those muggles," he said, rolling his eyes but giving his cousin a soft smile
"I have family," Zi whispered, earning a smile from Draco and clapped his hands excitedly,"Me have family, Lolo" he spoke to his snake who slithered from his neck to his cheek, rubbing it softly
"You can speak Parseltongue?" Draco questioned, eyes widening slightly though he remembered who Zi's father was and understood that it made sense. Noticing his cousin's confusion he sighed,"Talk to snakes," he said, causing Zi to nod slowly
"Draco, no talk snakes?" Zi questioned, his eyebrows furrowing adorably as he tilted his head at the blonde
"No, it's a gift only special wizards have," Draco replied easily, not blinking at the bad grammar as his parents told him of the orphanage Zi was taken to and the type of treatment he may have endured. He instead noted in his head that he'd teach his cousin proper pureblood grammar along with other necessities
"But Draco special, no?" Zi questioned, he was confused as he thought Hogwarts was for special people like him and Draco was anything but ordinary
"Yes, I am but you have a special gift that even some of the most powerful wizards don't," Draco told him before standing,"We're almost there.I'm going to go change into my robe," he said, and noticed how Zi's eyes saddened,"I'll be right back, little Zi. I promise," he promised and left the compartment