The flames danced in the Gryffindor common room fireplace, casting moving shadows on the tired faces of the students. Most had already retired for the night, the corridors had emptied, and only a small group of boys remained awake around a round table worn by time. Among them, James Potter cast worried glances at Marius Rosier, sitting apart. In a few weeks, the teenager had acquired an ambiguous reputation: brilliant, mysterious, but above all gifted with an ease in handling magic that defied all logic.
James, his features marked by exhaustion, exchanged complicit glances with Sirius Black, his best friend. Yet, a silent tension bound them, a worry they struggled to name. Marius was not like them. He exuded something indefinable, a weight, an aura that seemed to drain the very energy from the room.
James is worried.
Since the start of the school year, the young Gryffindor had observed, analyzed, and tried to understand Marius's strange power. The latter was not content to be a prodigy; he seemed almost to play with magic, shaping it at will, without a wand, without apparent effort. This supernatural mastery disturbed James. Worse, Marius had insinuated himself into his circles of friends, cultivating a disturbing charm, subtly manipulating the emotions of those around him.
— Did you see him again today? Sirius whispered, his voice low, as if the slightest sound could betray their presence.
— Yes. Too much. He's scary, Sirius. He's no longer a student. He's... something else.
Sirius shrugged, a half-smile on his lips.
— Maybe you're getting paranoid. He's just... different. You know, I think this boy is dangerous, but not for us. For himself. He's searching for his path.
James shook his head, desperate.
— No. That's not it. Look at how he looks at others, as if he's calculating every weakness. He manipulates feelings, fear, anger... He's always one step ahead. I feel like he's preparing something.
A heavy silence settled. The fire crackled in the hearth, but the cold of suspicion slid between them.
Marius, in the shadows.
On his side, Marius remained frozen in the shadow of an alcove, silently observing the scene. His pale face, with perfect and regular features, was almost inhuman. His eyes, deep green and penetrating, captured every movement, every murmur. He didn't need to join the conversations to understand; everything came to him naturally.
In his mind, the complex plot of his plan was weaving with relentless precision. The war would not be won with brute force, but through manipulation, corruption. True power lay in the ability to transform the souls of weak beings into loyal weapons. And he had already chosen his first secret target.
The secret experiment.
For a few days, in the forgotten depths of Hogwarts' dungeons, Marius had begun a forbidden experiment, on the fringes of dark magic. Alone, in a secret chamber accessible through a hidden passage, he had summoned a house-elf, a helpful and silent being that no one really noticed.
The elf, named Wilfrid, was of unwavering devotion but also of touching naivety. Marius had understood that he was a perfect canvas for his design.
By the flickering light of the candles, Marius began to murmur ancient incantations, drawn from forgotten knowledge, mixing dark magic and shadow rituals. The air around them seemed to vibrate with a sinister energy, an invisible force that enveloped the elf, gradually piercing his consciousness.
Wilfrid trembled, shadows coiled around him like ebony serpents. A dull pain rose within him, but also a strange feeling of power and liberation. Marius observed every reaction, every breath, noting the progress in a black leather-bound notebook.
He knew that this first step marked the birth of a new creature, a being combining the submission of house-elves and the cruelty of corrupted orcs.
Return to the common room.
The next morning, the tension had not subsided. James wandered the corridors, his thoughts in turmoil. The approach of the Christmas holidays amplified his anxiety. He felt that something important was about to happen, but he still didn't know the extent of the danger.
He crossed paths with Marius in a deserted corridor, who gave him a cold, almost predatory smile. James looked away, more determined than ever.
A shadow war is coming.
In secret, Marius continued his work, patient and methodical. Each day, his power grew, fueled by dark magic and the emotions he knew how to evoke in his classmates.
James Potter, for his part, gathered his strength, not yet understanding that he would soon find himself at the center of a struggle that would surpass everything he had imagined.