Growing up "Pure"

Y/N hid behind one of the armor statues, waiting patiently for someone to walk past. She knew her target, but couldn't risk getting caught under any circumstances. She watched the small group of students walk past, Astronomy had just ended for them.

Once she heard the group of students she was looking for, she slithered to one of the doors leading outside and began to let out sounds of distress.

"Riddle, you okay?" Avery looked at Tom as he stopped talking completely and began looking around.

Tom nodded his head and walked towards the noises he was hearing. "Yeah, do any of you hear something?" He looked back at the others.

Lestrange looked down in the direction Tom was walking and spotted a small silhouette resting by the door, "Riddle, snake."

Tom turned back around and saw the small silhouette of a snake. He couldn't tell what type it might've been or if it was dangerous, but he could hear one thing; distress.

Tom took another small step towards the snake but was stopped by one, the sound of irritation from the snake before him, two, Avery putting his arm out infront of him. "What are you doing, the damn thing could hurt you?!"

"What does it look like? I'm trying to get it outside." Tom was stopped from taking another step again when he saw Avery point his wand at the snake.

Lestrange cursed under his breath and ran over to the two just as he watched a small flame spit out of Avery's wand.

Y/N moved out the way of the incendio and coiled up slightly, deciding to change her target. Human instincts and thought vanished as she lunged forward towards Avery and dug her fangs into his shin, coiling tightly around his leg.

Tom took the wand away from Avery and knelt down, "quit screaming, Avery, you're the one that scared it." He placed a hand towards the snake's head and was careful to not cause it harm, "ℑ𝔱’𝔰 𝔬𝔨𝔞𝔶, 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭."

She wasn't sure if it was shock to hear him speaking or the sudden carefulness in his voice, but Y/N found herself slowly releasing her fangs from Avery's leg and loosing her grip around his leg.

Tom took that opportunity to unravel the snake around Avery's leg, the snake slowly wrapping around his hand instead. It still hissed at him, which he expected, but he was confident it wouldn't bite him. "Rosier, Nott, alert a prefect of Avery's stupidity."

Rosier and Nott both nodded their heads, walking off in the direction they last saw a prefect of any house.

Lestrange forced Avery to sit down and waved his wand in a small circle, "lumos," before bringing his wand close to Avery's leg to inspect the bite mark. "Good news, you have a fun story to tell people in the future." Lestrange then shines the light towards Tom and immediately recognizes the snake. You've got to be kidding me..."Bad news, it's venomous."

Tom looked down at the snake resting around his hand and took the time to analyze its patter now that he was closer to it. "It's an adder, not as deadly to people...but it's best to not leave this untreated."

Lestrange stood up as he heard people running up to them, "What the hell did happened?" Abraxas and one of the Ravenclaw prefects looked at the situation.

"Avery threatened a venomous snake, the snake retaliated." Tom gesture to the adder in his hand and watched as Abraxas looked to the snake, then to Avery, then to Lestrange.

"Seriously, you let him attack a snake?" Abraxas looked to the Ravenclaw prefect, "can you inform Professor Slughorn that we need an anti-venom? If he doesn't have one, I can find someone who does." The prefect nodded and ran off. Once the Ravenclaw was out of sight, Abraxas looked at Avery and furrowed his brows, "are you out of your damn mind?!"

"What?! How am I one one getting yelled at here?!" Avery looked at Abraxes before gesturing towards Tom, "He's the one that just waltzed up to a venomous snake!"

The snake hissed at Avery and Tom looked down at it again, could the snake understand English? "I was going to let it outside. It seemed distressed."

"Most snakes are predators that lie and wait for you to get close before attacking! You could've very easily been the one it was going to attack!"

"Avery, you tried to light it on fire!" Lestrange sighed and walked over to Tom, staring down at the snake he was holding, "Besides, seems perfectly content in Riddle's presence."

Y/N felt herself internally scream at her friend, knowing she couldn't do anything to argue at the moment. Merlin did she wish to wipe that smug look off his face.

Abraxas also walked over to Tom and looked at the snake before walking over to the door and opening it, "I assure you we will talk about this later."

Tom couldn't tell if Abraxas was talking to all of them, or the snake. Either way, he set the snake down and watched as it immediately slithered outside.

***

Slughorn showed up a few moment later with an anti-venom, scolding Avery for being so careless and cruel towards the snake. Abraxas ordered everyone to return with Slughorn to their dorms and watched at they all slowly left.

Tom and Lestrange were the last to leave, Tom was looking outside and Lestrange was staring at Abraxas. Soon Lestrange walked up to Tom and nudged him, "Riddle, we need to head back. It's late and I need sleep."

Tom hummed and begrudgingly stepped away from the door, following behind Lestrange as he walked back down towards the dungeon.

Once the two first years were gone, Abraxas opened the door and watched as the snake slithered back inside. "Get to your dorm before anyone sees you, we'll talk about this in the morning."

Y/N turned back to normal and took a cloth out of her pocket and biting down on it. She took it out of her mouth once she knew it was safe for her and cleared her throat. "Doesn't seem like there's anything to talk about." She smiled to Abraxas before turning back to a snake and quickly slithering away.

Abraxas let out a frustrated sigh as he watched the small snake move away and returned to where he was previously standing before being rudely dragged away to help his idiotic first years.

***

Y/N watched the small demonstration Dumbledore was showing the class. She leaned back in her chair and tilted her head back to Look at Lestramge who was looking directly at her. She smiled innocently at him before sitting up and focusing again on the demonstration. They weren't actually practicing anything until next week, but he was going over important elements to remember.

"Ms. L/N." Y/N perked up slightly and straighted herself so she was sitting up right. "Explain the two types of spellcasting and the differences between them."

Y/N cleared her throat, "static and dynamic spells. Static spells have immediate effects that cease once casting ends. Dynamic spells can continue to effect a target after casting."

"Well done, L/N. Lestrange, which one does transfigurations fall under?"

"Uhhhhh" Lestrange looks at the back of Y/N's chair as she spells out part of the word 'static', "static, sir."

Dumbledore smiles and nods his head before continuing with his lesson.

"And you call me a suck up?" Tom kept his attention forward as he spoke, but he could still tell Y/N was rolling her eyes.

"He asked, I answered, how is that an issue?"

"Telling someone else the correct answer is more than just asking and answering." Tom shifted his gaze beside him for a second before moving his eyes to face forward again. He heard a small hiss and he couldn't tell if it was from the bracelet for not. He placed a hand in his robe pocket and held onto the bracelet.

Y/N listened intently, she could hear the bracelet right next to her. She tightened her fists slightly forcing herself to focus on what Dumbledore was teaching rather than the annoying person forced to sit beside her.

***

Y/N got out the Transfigurations classroom and immediately stopped as to not run into the person standing before her, "Malfoy, do you need something?"

Abraxas had his arms crossed and glared down at her, he looked back up to other people leaving the class.

"Malfoy, how's Avery doing?" Lestrange stood beside Y/N and smiled up at the prefect.

"He's fine, nurse said he'd be okay, still complaining about his leg hurting." Abraxas looked back down to Y/N, "If you don't mind, Lestrange, I need to have a word with Y/N for a moment."

Lestrange shook his head, "not an issue at all, I'll see you at lunch." Lestrange waved to the blonde and walked away.

Y/N rocked back and forth in her feet, and clicked her tongue, "so...what did you need to talk about?"

Abraxas let out a deep breath and gestured for Y/N to follow him, "You've been a student at Hogwarts for a little over a month and yet you've already launched a teacher through a wall, destroyed school property, and poisoned another student."

"Hey, the first thing was an accident!" Y/N frowned a little, "Besides, it wasn't my intention to attack Avery."

"But you were planning on attacking someone, correct? Say a certain first year who you can't seem to get along with even if your life depended on it?"

Y/N stopped walking and looked over to Abraxas, "I'm sorry, are you implying that I was trying to attack someome?"

"Why else would you be out of your dorm and just so happened to be by the courtyard door just as Slytherin was heading back to their dorms from Astronomy?" Abraxas crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, "you don't have Astronomy of Fridays and there are easier ways to get to the courtyard from the Ravenclaw Tower."

Y/N blinked a few times and tried to think of a proper argument, but all thoughts in her head came to a screeching halt. "Why do you choose to use your brain when it least benefits me?"

"Why do you choose to be so unbelievably stubborn?" Abraxas watches as Y/N struggles to actually give a response and sighs, "You're lucky Slughorn actually had an antivenom on him. I'm letting you off with a warning but if this ever happens again I'll have to let the Headmaster know."

Y/N's eyes widen slightly and she nods, "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again..."

Abraxas nudges her slightly and smiles, "You're lucky I'm your friend, I wouldn't be this forgiving with anyone else. Not to mention, you have an image to uphold."

Y/N gives the tiniest smile and looks around for any indication of time. "Apologies, Abraxas, but I promised some people I'd help them with charms." Abraxas nodded his head and Y/N quickly walked off.

***

A week had past and people had seemingly forgotten about Avery being attacked. He didn't wish to talk about it out of pride, and no one tried to tease him about it, simple as that, Y/N technically got away with atempted murder, even though it wasn't her plan to attack him.

Lestrange walked up to Y/N as she sat at her usual spot in the library, sliding into the seat beside her, and glancing over her shoulder at the potions book she was reading, "why are you reading for class? Don't tell me you're struggling?"

Y/N closes the book and looks to her left, glaring slightly at the Slytherin beside her, "potions is my weakest subject, suffice to say I'd prefer to keep ahead of the class learning wise so people don't see those minor imperfections."

"People will overlook that regardless. Halfbloods and purebloods know and fear your family, mudbloods have already learned to not mess with someone that can blast a hole in a wall, and the professors have already shown interest in your future." Lestrange leaned over, resting his arm on the table, "seems to me like you have Hogwarts under the impression that you're beyond perfect."

"And that's an image I'd wish to keep." She smiled a little at the compliment before reopening her potions book, "Now, what do you need? Didn't think I'd see you in the library on a weekend...or ever."

Lestrange flashed a brief grin before placing something over the open potions book, having it disappear right infront of them. "Guess what my dear father finally sent me?"

Y/N instantly picked up the invisibility cloak and watched as her hands vanished. She folded it up neatly and compactly, carefully placing it in her inner robe pocket. "Thank you for your cooperation, couldn't do this without you." She leans over and rests her head on his shoulder, continuing to read.

"Do you really need it though? Let's me honest, you and Riddle have already proven to be a force to be reconed with. You just need to, I don't know, try being nice for one?"

"Not happening, not while he has my bracelet. If he had given it back, or simply left it there, nothing bad would've happened to him."

"Nothing bad did happen to him because you attacked Avery rather than him. We both know you weren't there by chance."

Y/N looked up and shrugged, returning to her reading, "I'll give him this, his parseltongue is...strangely calming to listen to while in animagus form. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt calmer after he started speaking in an attempt to get me off of Avery." She huff and stands up, slamming the book shut, "still doesn't mean I'll be nice or treat him with any kind of respect. Thankfully, I can now trade to get my bracelet back."

"You think he'd take it?" Lestrange followed behind her as she traveled through the library to return the book to where she found it.

"I know he will." Y/N stopped to look at Lestrange, "I'll assume Abraxas or an older student has taught him the disillusionment charm, which is what he uses to sneak into the restricted section once a week."

Lestrange raises an eyebrow at her and smirks, "you know when he's in here after hours? I thought you didn't care to pay attention to those things."

She scowls and turns around to keep walking, "I don't, but he always gets there just when I'm about to leave. His skill with the spell is mediocre at best, truly surprised he hasn't been caught yet." She places the book back where she grabbed it, looking at the surrounding potions book to see if anything stuck out to her as useful. "If I can get him a more efficient way to sneak in undetected, while still rivaling his own intelligence, he'll have know choice but to keep speaking with me."

"Which is useful because?"

"He'll try to learn my secrets, dig into my past, figure out what makes me this perfect student, as one might say. It also allows me to do the same thing. So, while he thinks he's playing me and learning all these different ways to harm me in the future, I'll be doing it as well, only better and more efficiently."

"How would you be more efficient at this? As far as I know, Riddle has no family, no attachment to take advantage of."

She had something he didn't, two close friends that would openly brag about Riddle to her. Lestrange and Abraxas trusted her enough to talk about him and know that she wouldn't judge, which has allowed her to learn more about him. Its how she learned his classes, which ones he did best and worst in. It's how she learned of certain students who already seemed entranced by him simply existing. However, she wasn't going to say that, if she did, both of them would stop talking about him, which would put a damper in her plan.

"Riddle can't expect me to open up without him doing it himself. And, as you said, he has no family, but he's far too skilled to be muggleborn. If I can guarantee him a way of learning more about his family, he really has no choice but to trust me."

Lestrange was impressed by the thought she put into this plan, but he also didn't trust it. He knew Y/N, he knew she'd view Tom as a new project and get too invested, both physically and emotionally. "You're playing with fire, Y/N, you know that, right?"

Y/N was taken back by the seriousness in her friend's voice and furrowed her eyebrows. "Of course I know that, and he'd be doing the exact same. Why? Is that an issue?"

Lestrang sighed and shook his head, extending his arm and holding his pinky out towards her, "just- promise me you won't get too close. Riddle isn't afraid to use people then toss them aside, he'd admitted to that himself."

Y/N smiled, slightly touched at her friend's concern and interlocked her pinky with his, "I promise, you dork. I won't get too close."