Growing up "Pure"

~°YN's POV°~

"I mean, honestly, can you believe the absolute nerve of him?!" She paced back and forth in the court yard, not caring if she sounds more irritated than preferred or if she's making significantly more animated hand movements.

Both Lestrange and Abraxas watch as she continues to ramble about the vain of her existence that is Tom Riddle. They were less surprised to hear her complain about it as they were the fact that she's doing in it such a public space...and being as expressive as she is.

These rants usually come out as small quips or in a journal Lestrange's father enchanted so they could communicate after curfew. Never have they seen her this irritated with someone, and they've listened to argument involving the Blacks.

"Alright, let me see if I understand this." Abraxas looked at the frantic Ravenclaw, who still seemed ready to continue yelling after half an hour. "Riddle walked up to you, tried to stop you from destroying library property, and then seemingly got upset when you blatantly ignored him?"

She nodded her head, leading to Lestrange adding on. "That doesn't exactly seem worthy of this type of reaction from you. Hell, even someone like Walburga hasn't recieved a rant this..." He pauses for a second, looking at the fountain he's sitting on as if it can tell him the word he looking for, "...strongly worded."

"As much as they irritate me, the Black's still know boundaries. Walburga wouldn't dare to put a hand on me, nor she be foolish enough to steal from me either." She finally managed to stop pacing and took a few deep breaths in and out to hope it'll calm her. It didn't.

"Wait..." Lestrange stood up and took a few cautious steps towards her. "What did he steal exactly?"

She glared at the brunette but still decided to answer by simply rolling up her sleeves, revealing the lack of metal on her left arm.

"How is Merlin's name did you let him take this?!" Before she knew it, Abraxas was standing right in front of her, "Of all the things you let him take from you, it's the one thing you have that can ensure no one gets hurt by your animagus?!"

"Get off my case, I wasn't planning on leaving it there!" She waved him off and rolled her eyes, taking a step back to create distance. "He caught my off guard when he grabbed my arm to stop me from walking away. All I cared about in that moment was putting that stupid book away and getting out. It wasn't until after I left that I realized the bracelet was still on that table."

The two stared at her in disbelief, she could quite tell which thing she said that caused the reaction though.

Abraxas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyebrows furrowing. "Alright, do you at least have any venom lying around incase you were to attack anyone?" When he watched her shake her head, he lets out an annoyed grumble. "I'd say talk to Slughorn, see how long it'll take for him to make a few antivenoms. When do you plan of asking for the bracelet back?"

"Pardon?" She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at the blonde. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"You need that bracelet, sunshine, so when are you planning on getting it back?" Lestrange chimed in, watching to ensure she wouldn't snap at them as well.

She blinked at them a few times, 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. After a few moments of silence, she spoke with absolute certainly, "I'm not."

The two froze for a second, unclear as to if they heard her correctly. "Pardon?"

"I said I'm not waltzing up to that arrogant prick and asking for him to return the bracelet." She looks back and forth between them, trying to make sure her frustration doesn't become redirected towards her friends.

Abraxas straighten his stature more than it already was, towering over her. "Now isn't the time to be prideful-"

"This isn't just about pride, Malfoy." She cut him off before he had the chance to irritate her further. "I'm not letting him think that bracelet is something more that a fancy piece of metal."

"It is more than a piece of metal." Lestrange looks at her blankly, "it answers to parseltongue, it can move around like a real snake, and lets not forget it holds snake venom so you always have some on hand when needing to make a counter potion."

Y/N takes a deep breath, completely composing herself. She pulls down her sleeves, adjusts her clothing, and stands up straight, holding her head of high as she looks at the two Slytherins. "He doesn't know that. Nobody else in the school but you two brain dead imbeciles knows that my bracelet is more than just a fancy piece of metal." She takes a step towards them as she continues speaking in a lower tone "I'm not letting him think for a second he has power over me."

"Oh, please, he wouldn't have power over you." Abraxas rolls his eyes, "he's nothing more than a kid with talent and promise."

"It's been a few weeks and he's already convinced an upperclassmen to teach him advanced spells, he's charmed his way into the hearts of several professors, and let's not forget how quickly all of you integrated him into your little group. That doesn't sound like something a 'nothing kid' is capable of doing."

She glares at the blonde, standing a few inches away from him, "Besides, when has a Slytherin ever returned an item because they were asked nicely?" She waiting for a few seconds, only to recieve no response. "Exactly, there always has to be something in it for them. And there's no way I'm letting that wannabe think he has even the tiniest sliver of control or power over me."

The two Slytherins are silent, not quite sure how to argue with their friend. Lestrange sighs and places a hand on her shoulder, gently nudging her away from Abraxas. "Fine, we'll do this your way. What's the game plan, Princess? Wait until he gives up and simply hands over the bracelet?"

"That's the plan. I have a month until I'll desperate need an antivenom and can ask Slughorn to make me one." She shrugs and pushes the hand off her shoulder, "Riddle isn't a fool, he won't hold onto the bracelet forever if I show no interest in it."

"And you're certain he'd actually give it back?" Abraxas raised an eyebrow, "even if he were, what's to say he still won't ask for something in return?"

"Simple." She smiled and turned around, speaking as she walked away from them, "I'll give him an offer he can't refuse."

***

The door to the commonroom opened and Y/N was instantly greeted by the sight of Violet and Hudson being lectured by their prefect for Merlin knows what. She sighs and takes a step towards them, "what did they do this time?"

The 6th year prefect turned to look at her, "caused a scene in the library over a random book."

"It wasn't random." Violet interjected, "I had it first and that Gryffindor stole it from me." She huffed in slight annoyance, though it was hard to take her serious with the pout.

"I understand that, but you didn't need to cause such a ruckus and nearly get you both kicked out of the library!" The prefect pinched the bridge of his nose ans furrowed his brows.

"What did Hudson do to almost get kicked out? Seems like this was just between Vi and the Gryffindor..."

"He made it seem like he was going to start a duel!" The prefect raised his voice slightly, clearly done with this entire situation.

"I didn't look ready to fight," Hudson spoke, sounding significantly calmer that the other two, "he yelled, saying I was trying to start a fight, and that's when the librarian got involved. I was simply trying to diffuse the situation before a random Gryffindor decided to harm Violet."

She looked back and forth between all three of them, trying to make sense of everything. She carefully turned towards the prefect, "I'm sorry these two cause such a stress for your on your monitor day. I'll personally promise to look after them to ensure something like this doesn't happen again."

The prefect sighs and looks at her disapprovingly, but nods nonetheless. "I guess I'll have to hold you to that." He smiles at her before looking back at Violet and Hudson, "I was to hear nothing about either of you getting in trouble for the remainder of this year, understood?" When the two nod far too quickly, he waves them off, "Good, now run along. Dinner has already started."

Y/N thanks the prefect again before walking back towards the commonroom exit. She was hoping to take a few seconds to herself in the dorms before going to eat, but clearly her fellow Ravenclaws had different ideas.

"ˢᵒʳʳʸ•••" Violet spoke, barely even a whisper as they walked down the tower stairs.

She sighs and shakes her head, "it's fine, Vi. You clearly didn't know this would happen." She kept her head forward, not wanting to risk tripping and falling down the rest of the way. "Just, please be a little more aware of your actions next time. There might not he a big feud between our house and the Gryffindors, but the Lions are exactly the biggest fans of us either."

There's no response from Violet behind her, but she assumes the girl at least nodded in acknowledgement.

Hudson was the first to speak again after they an eternity of stairs. "You were quick to get out of class today, was there a reason, Pen?"

"I needed a book from the library. Ran into a rather peculiar snake while I was reading." Peculiar isn't exactly the word she'd like to use, but she's now in mixed company that requires her to at least appear put together and unfazed by today's interactions.

"Which one?" Hudson brought his pointer to his chin, in deep thought, "I assume they were in our year, yes?"

"He is. Riddle was kind enough to ask about my choice of reading." She forced a smile, but bit the inside of her cheek in hopes to mask her irritation.

"Riddle was the one that spoke with you?" Violent seemed genuinely surprised by this concept, "I've never seen him speak with anyone outside his house. I don't think he's even looked in the direction of someone that wasn't wearing green."

"Yes...I was surprised to see him too. He's far less friendly than he is with a student than a professor, that's for certain." She lets out a dry laugh and shakes her head. "Can't quite grasp why students seem to gravitate towards him so much."

"Anyone can admit his charming," Hudson shrugs off his own comment before continuing, "but maybe he seems too put of reach that people can't help but wish to seek his approval. Like a beggar would a king. Shame he seems to act the same way with those in his house."

They open the doors to the Great Hall, all three of them laughing at that comment. Y/N felt a pair of eyes on her and knew it was him. She didn't bother giving him any kind of reaction. She would ensure he became the beggar hoping to get the attention of a king or, better yet, a god. And maybe, just maybe, if she was pleased his his display, she'd care enough to actually respond.

~°Tom's POV°~

Tom walked through the Great Hall and sat down across from Avery and Rosier, "Where's Lestrange?"

Rosier chewed his food and swallowed before responding, "don't know, haven't seen him since classes ended two hours ago."

Tom sighed, "Fine. Can you explain something to me?" He reached into his robe pocket, taking out the metal bracelet and placing it down in front of him. "Why would a student have a bracelet like this?"

Avery picked up the bracelet and analyzed it, "where'd you find this, and who'd you get it from?" He set the bracelet down and looked at Tom.

"A student ran out of the library in a hurry and left it behind." Tom shrugged and heard a bit of laughter behind him.

"Huh, heard a completely different story from L/N." Lestrange, joined by Abraxas, look down at Tom and takes a seat beside him. "We just overheard her screaming at some friends saying you're the bane of her existence."

"Believe me, she's just as irritating for me to deal with." Tom scoffed and look back to the bracelet.

"You're telling me you took this from L/N?" Avery stated wide-eyed at Tom and quickly looked around the Great Hall to make sure she wasn't there.

"Is it that big of an issue?" Tom raised an eyebrow at Avery and tilted his head, "she doesn't seem that special to me."

"You're kidding, right?" Rosier looked to Tom before looking around as well, "sure, she's not a Slytherin, but she's still from a highly respected wizarding family; one with an extensive history in the dark arts."

"Let's not forget she's the same student that gave our charms classroom a second door." Avery looked to Abraxas and Lestrange, both staring at him blankly. "Are you two seriously not gonna say anything, you know her better than we do!"

"I hardly say I know her. I've said nothing more to her than a passing greeting." Abraxas states, sounding completely disinterested in the conversation.

"My father knows about her more than I do, and even that's hardly anything." Lestrange adds on, going back to his plate. "Most I've spoken with her was on the train, and that's because my father asked I look after her. The wizardinf world wasn't exactly thrilled to hear she'd be attending Hogwarts this year."

Tom looks at the four purebloods, taking a second to process this. "None of you have actually spoken with her before? Aside from Lestrange the deal he made with her?"

"Not really...she was sorta forced into hiding when her parents were arrested." Rosier takes a small bite of his food and clears his throat after swallowing. "I've heard of her presence at gatherings, but she never stays long after greeting the hosts. She's there long enough to irritate Walburga and then vanishes."

"I didn't even know what she looked like until the sorting ceremony." Avery shrugged, acting as though this was simply a normal thing. "I will say though, none of the rumors ever did her justice."

Somehow, that was the most surprising thing he had figured out all day. He sorta just assumed every pureblood knew eachother, even if they weren't friends.

Tom looked to to entrance to the Great Hall and watched at Y/N walked in. She was talking with two Ravenclaws without a care in the world, not once bothering to look in his direction, which irritated him far more than it should've. It seemed disrespectful to him that she didn't even looked to see if the person in possession of her bracelet was even in the same room as her. "Do you at least know why she'd own a bracelet in the shape of a snake?"

"Oh. That's easier to explain." Abraxas picked up the bracelet and admired the details on it, "a good portion of her family that attended this school ended up in Slytherin." He shrugged and set the bracelet back down. "It was probably a simple gift from those looking after her, nothing special."

"So...when exactly are you going to give it back to her?" Avery looks over to Tom and watches as he shrugs his shoulders.

"I'll return it when she asks about it." He picks up the bracelet and places it back in his pocket. "If it's really that special to her, she'll have no choice but to talk to me about it."

Avery blinks a few times and sets down his silverware, "You're joking...right?"

"What? She knows I'm the one that has it, I was right next to the bracelet when she ran out of the library."

"That's not the issue, Riddle." Avery looks back as Malfoy, desperate for the prefect to give a better explanation.

Abraxas sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, "Avery is concerned because the L/N family is known to me very prideful and not the kind of people to negotiate. If they want something, they just take it."

Tom simply shrugged, appearing unbothered by their warnings, "I'll take my chances." Despite this, he looks back to the Ravenclaw table to see Y/N looking at him for a few seconds before rolling her eyes and turning back to her friends.