Ares Salazar Riddle| a hp fanfic

chapter twenty

—"ADD ONE DROP OF UNICORN BLOOD INTO YOUR POTION NEXT," SNAPE INSTRUCTED THE SLYTHERINS AND GRYFFINDORS. Ares was amazing at potions. That's why he truly liked the class.

He added one drop of unicorn blood into his and Draco's potion. Draco stirred it counter clockwise.

His head snapped to the Gryffindor side of the classroom when a large "boom!" was heard.

Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were covered in green goo.

Ares rolled his eyes at their idiocy and went back to his potion.

"Potter! Weasley!" Professor Snape exclaimed in exasperation. "How did you mess that up?!"

"We.. um.. added two drops of unicorn blood." Ron sheepishly scratched his neck.

"20 points from Gryffindor!" Professor Snape said, earning groans from the Gryffindors. "Go to the washroom to wash that off and do not come back. I do not want you both in my class."

The two boys rushed to the door, thinking they could get away with—

"And detention! Both of you!"

Nevermind.

✫ ✫ ✫

That night in the common room, Pansy was busy talking to Theo and Daphne was busy talking to Blaise. Every once in a while, they would join the conversations with each other.

Ares, meanwhile, did not join. He would rather read his book and finish it. He wanted to get started with the books Blaise gave him.

Draco walked over to them with a broken broom in his hand and threw it to the floor, catching their attention. "Potter was accepted as a seeker in Gryffindor and I wasn't!"

Ares raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Draco threw his arms up and huffed. "I don't know! I did everything right."

"Except the fact that you broke your broom," pointed out Theo as he frowned. "How did it even break?"

"I might've landed badly." Draco sheepishly said with a shrug. "But it doesn't matter. I was a better seeker than all the others trying out!"

"Yes, Draco. We're sure." Blaise nodded solemnly. "Now, go take a shower and join us. We were waiting for you."

Draco sighed and nodded, disappearing into the boy's staircase as he went to their dorm.

Ares shook his head and went back to his book.

"Why don't you join us, Riddle?" Pansy asked boldly, gaining his attention.

"I'd rather not." Ares answered as he went back to reading and flipped the page. He had only five pages left.

The book was amazing. It was all about dark potions. He had memorized most of them by heart already. He had one more to memorize and that was it.

"What're you reading, anyway?" Daphne asked, making the boy look at her.

Ares merely showed them the title of the book.

"Ah." Daphne nodded. "I've read that. It literally has a potion that makes people kill themselves."

Ares nodded. "That's my favorite one."

"You read so much." Daphne noticed. She always saw Ares with a book. He never joined their conversations or anything. He was always too busy reading.

"I like to educate myself."

"Training to be a dark lord?" Pansy raised an eyebrow as she joined in.

Blaise let out a chuckle. "Of course, he is, Pansy. He's the next dark lord."

Ares didn't reply and went back to his book for the third time.

He supposed it didn't matter; people's expectations. They were right, weren't they? He was the next dark lord, whether he wanted to be or not.

He was Lord Voldemort's son, after all. He had to carry on his father's legacy.

Everyone expected him to be a dark lord. Nobody ever asked Ares what he wanted to be, thinking they already knew the answer.

Ares figured it didn't matter, but it kind of did. What if he didn't want to be a dark lord?

But it didn't matter what he wanted to be. He was the next dark lord.

He wouldn't destroy his father's legacy by not being one. Everyone, every single person— Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or even Hufflepuff— expected him to be the next dark lord.

Every single adult— including his own father— had expected him to be a dark lord.

He was Ares Salazar Riddle. The next dark lord.

But he was also Ares Salazar Riddle. Only a boy.

He ignored the small part of him that didn't want to be a dark lord. Ever since he saw the memory of his father holding him as a newborn, whispering in his ear how he would be the next dark wizard, he couldn't get it out of his head.

Nobody else's expectations for him mattered. He would've been whatever he wanted to be, no matter what anyone else expected him to be.

But his father? His father's expectation mattered.

Ares did not want to be a man his father would've been ashamed of. He did not care if the other adults— more specifically, death eaters— were ashamed of him. But his father mattered.

Ares would follow his father's expectations for him.