Chapter 2
The office of her new headmaster was filled with magical portraits and about a million old books and scrolls. She could hear her father talking to Headmaster Dippet, Aurora could tell that her father was beginning to lose his patience with the older wizard.
“Armando, she has nowhere else to go. After her expulsion from Ilvermorny other schools have black-listed her.”
“Her actions harmed students Elias, what if that happens here too? I can’t risk it. What if she just stayed home and learned from you and Dyani.”
“That’s not possible, we have been reassigned and will be traveling too much for us to teach her. When you came to America and I saved you, you promised to repay me.”
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the two men facing each other in a standoff and after a few moments of silence she heard the headmaster sigh.
“Elias, fine, but she will be on probation and will be watched like a hawk.”
She could hear her father chuckle and pull the headmaster into a hug, “Thank you, Armando. She will be a great asset to your school. Hopefully. Aurora, come here please.”
As Aurora turned and walked towards her father and the headmaster, she felt a wave of unease hit her, she wasn’t normally uncomfortable but the reality of moving across the sea and being left in a place she didn’t know finally hit her.
“Aurora, you’ll be staying here at Hogwarts, this is headmaster Dippet.”
Aurora smiled at them, “A pleasure to meet you headmaster.”
“Miss Buck, I look forward to seeing how you adjust to being here at Hogwarts. I would like to warn you though, what happened at Ilvermorny will not happen here. Is that understood?”
“Yes, headmaster, what happened at Ilvermorny won’t happen here. I will steer clear of extracurricular potion making.”
“That’s good to hear, now we have a feast to attend to. The sorting ceremony will happen then, normally we would do a private one due to your older age, but I think it’s good for you to see how we do things here at Hogwarts. I’ll give you and your father a moment before he departs.”
Aurora could hear the headmaster walking away and finally she looked at her father, “Well, I guess this is it.”
“Don’t start Aurora. You did this to yourself.”
“I’m going to miss our pleasant talks daddy.” Aurora made sure the sentence dripped with malice.
“Well, what did you expect me to say? You are the scion of this family, yet you act like a court jester. I don’t understand it.”
Aurora thought about snapping back but instead calmed herself, “I know. I’m sorry father, I’ll do better here. I promise.”
Elias pulled his daughter into a hug and tapped her back, signalling for her to meet the headmaster outside. When she got to the door she looked back just as her father was leaving by floo powder.
She opened the door and walked out to see headmaster Dippet standing there waiting for her, “Sorry for the wait headmaster.”
“Oh no worries, my dear, come this way.”
Aurora followed him and looked around as much as she could, just like Ilvermorny, Hogwarts had a certain charm to it. They both shared the system of four separate houses, while Aurora was at Ilvermorny she was in the Horned Serpent which valued the mind and intelligence so she assumed she would be placed in Ravenclaw.
When she walked into the Great Hall behind the headmaster all the students stared at her, she felt a bit nervous but continued to hold her head high. The headmaster turned to her, and she looked up at him, “Wait here, the sorting ceremony will begin soon.”
Aurora nodded and placed her hands behind her back, she could feel the students gawking at her but kept facing the teacher’s table.
Just as she was about to look around, she heard the doors open and the sound of many people walking up behind her, she assumed it was the first years and when she glanced around her, she saw that she was right.
Headmaster Dippet started his speech, he mentioned that there was a new sixth year starting and then proceeded to begin the sorting ceremony.
Aurora watched as all the first-year students walked up and were placed into their houses, every time a student was sorted the table of that house would erupt with excitement. As the last first-year student was called up, Aurora prepared herself and cleared her mind. She wanted to make sure that the sorting hat sent her to Ravenclaw, so she summoned the thoughts of all her achievements.
When the headmaster finally called her name, she walked up and sat on the stool, this was the first time that she looked at the entire student body of Hogwarts. She felt a bit nervous as everyone stared at her, but she kept her composure. Her father had always told her that keeping an unreadable exterior was important.
As the headmaster sat the sorting hat on her head she held her breath for a moment, she had expected the hat to immediately declare her for Ravenclaw, but it took its time.
“Hmm, a transfer student. Very smart, but you are filled with ambition. You come from a long line of wizards and witches, much longer than all the people here.”
Aurora wasn’t sure how the sorting hat knew about her family and ancestors, but she just wanted this to be over. As soon as she thought it, the hat finally spoke.
“Slytherin!!”
The table erupted with cheers and Aurora stood and headed toward the green covered table, she nodded at the people her age and proceeded to sit down as headmaster Dippet finished his welcome speech. Aurora could feel people staring at her, but she decided it would be best to keep her head down and eat dinner.
Aurora wanted the next two years to go by quickly so she could return to America, she missed her home and felt out of place.
Abraxas Malfoy was talking to Nicholas Nott about the new sixth year and they were speculating as to why a student would transfer so late. As he sat there listening to them bicker and joke around, he felt his eyes gravitate toward her, the girl’s name was Aurora Buck. Her long dark hair was tied back into a braid and her darker complexion made her stick out amongst most of the Hogwarts students.
“What do you think?” Abraxas nudged him, “earth to Tom.”
The boys around him started laughing until he moved his gaze from her back to them. He could feel the scowl on his face, and he knew that they wouldn’t speak until he answered them.
“Who cares, she’s just some girl.”
“A very pretty girl.” Falco Lestrange murmured. All the boys chuckled except for Tom.
“You like what you see Lestrange?” Felix Rosier said with a wide grin.
Dinner was starting to wrap up and he knew that he would have to help the first years find their way to the common room. He knew that being a prefect would pave the way for him to be head boy next year, but he could feel himself start to get annoyed with his duties, he had more important things to do then to babysit the younger students. He was planning the new world and the fact that he had to spend his time with trivial pursuits such as this annoyed him but deep down, he knew it was important to play the part of a dutiful scholar and leader.
While he was lost in thought the boys started to get up and stretch, it was the end of the day, and it was time to head to the dorms.
The female prefect had already corralled most of the first years and began walking with them, when he looked back to his group, he noticed that Rosier had wandered over to the new girl. Out of all of his followers Rosier was the designated flirt, it helped that he was quite attractive. He noticed that the girl hadn’t been immediately smitten by Rosier like everyone else was, just as he was about walk over to them, he noticed a group of first years waiting for him. He turned towards them and motioned for them to follow him, he quickly went over the rules and sternly told them about the points system and what would happen if they cost Slytherin the house cup.
Once they reached the common room, he showed them to the boy’s dormitory and headed back toward the common room where he knew his group would be waiting for him.
He could hear them before he saw them, they were all laughing about something, and he honestly didn’t want to know what juvenile stunts they were pulling.
“Shall we get going?” Tom asked the group.
Immediately the group got up from their positions and followed behind him, they walked to the room of requirement which had become their own personal meeting place. Tom had stumbled across it last year while looking for the chamber of secrets.
Once they were safely inside, they all took their seats, Tom sat at the head of the table with Abraxas to his right. Tom thought about how Abraxas was the most well educated in wizard politics and thought that it was a good idea to have him as his right hand.
“I have a few things to say, this year will be different from the past. We are being watched, Dumbledore has removed some of the books from the restricted section and I think he suspects us of that muggle girl’s death. So, this year we need to be even more careful.”
The group started nodded, “My Lord, when will we start recruiting. We’re almost done with this awful place, and if we wait any longer it will be hard to grow our ranks from outside the castle walls.”
Tom thought for a moment before answering Nicholas’s question, “We should start with family members and your soon to be wives. These are the types of people that will remain loyal.”
The boys nodded again but this time Lestrange raised his hand, “Should we garner favour with families that have aligned themselves with Grindelwald?”
“Not at the moment, I want to see how exactly his plans play out. So, I guess Rosier’s family is out.”
“My Lord, I believe the only Grindelwald acolyte from my family is Vinda.”
Tom looked at him and thought about it some more, “The rest of your cousins are much younger, so you should use your charm on the pure-blood ladies of the sacred twenty-eight.”
Rosier nodded, “Yes, My Lord.”
“Are we any closer to finding the Hufflepuff cup or Ravenclaw’s Diadem?”
Tom watched as the whole group shifted uncomfortably. “We need to find them, so let’s make that a priority, I want to have them by the end of the year.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“That’s enough for tonight, you may all go except for Rosier and Malfoy.”
Tom watched as Nott and Lestrange exchanged a look before leaving but once they were gone, he began speaking to the remaining two, “How was your little chat with the new witch?”
Rosier shifted in his seat before speaking, “She is… unique. Seems like an outcast, didn’t smile much when I was talking to her, and she barely answered my questions.”
Tom nodded and turned to Malfoy, “Have you heard anything about her?”
“Not a thing, but I could send an owl to my father, see if he knows anything.”
“She’s a pure blood, at least that’s what the sorting hat said.” Rosier said.
“Well, it technically said she comes from a long line of wizards and witches, it didn’t speak to pureness.” Malfoy interjected.
Tom nodded while listening to the two wizards discuss the new witch, he got up from the table and started pacing around. He needed to find the rest of the items so he could continue the forging of the horcruxes.
“My Lord, are we done for this evening?”
Tom turned to look at Malfoy, “Have somewhere to be Malfoy?”
“No, My Lord, I’m just tired and want to get a good night’s sleep before classes start tomorrow.”
Tom nodded, “You two should go then, I’ll return later this evening.”
The two young men got up and walked out of the room and Tom was left alone. He would never admit this to them, but he was thankful for the Knights of Walpurgis, they gave him a sense of belonging he never had growing up. He stayed there for some time writing down his thoughts before heading back to the common room.
Aurora had been showed the common room and given a quick tour of the castle; she was pleasant to the girl that showed her around, but she knew that she would avoid her at all costs. When she finally got to her dorm room, she noticed that there were no other girls there so she turned to guide and before she could ask the girl spoke, “We have an uneven number of female students this year, so you’ll have a room to yourself. Until you make some friends and then they’ll probably move in.”
The girl smiled and waved before leaving. Aurora’s trunks were placed on the end of one of the beds, she placed her wand on the bedside before she started putting her things away. She was used to using wandless magic but as she was traveling here her father had mentioned that it’s not as common here. She always thought that her wand was an extension of her body, but she preferred wandless magic.
She knew that the castle had a curfew, but she wanted to go out and explore, she took off her Slytherin uniform off and slipped into an all-black outfit, she grabbed the scarf her grandmother used to wear before she passed away and wrapped it around her neck. She grabbed her cloak and stuck her wand in the pocket, she crept down the stairs and moved her way through the common room. She was praying that no one would stop and get into her way.
Just as she walked into the hall she bumped into two young men, one of which was the boy that came up to her after dinner.
“Aurora, pleasure seeing you here, where are you off to?”
“Felix, hi, I was just going to go for a brief walk.”
“Be careful, there’s a beast loose that eats non pure bloods.” The blonde said with a smirk.
“I think I’ll be fine.” Aurora went to walk by them, but the blonde one stepped in her way.
“I’m Malfoy, Abraxas Malfoy, by the way.” He stuck out his hand. Aurora took a deep breath and placed her hand in his, the grip was firm, and it felt like he was trying to make her squirm.
She refused to give in and maintained eye contact the whole time and eventually he let go.
“Aurora Buck.” She said with a smile, “I should get going if I want to be back before curfew.” She rolled her eyes as she said it which made Felix laugh.
“Enjoy your walk.” Abraxas said.
She walked for what felt like forever, she ended up walking outside and made her way to the quidditch field. She walked to the middle of the field and laid down on the grass, it was a bit damp, but she didn’t mind. She looked up at the stars and finally let her feelings overwhelm her, as she lay there silently crying, she knew that she had no one else to blame. The incident that led to her to being at Hogwarts would never leave her mind, she didn’t plan on the potion exploding the way it did and she certainly hadn’t planned on walking away before it went off, but fate had intervened. Her younger cousin Celeste had walked in and wanted to speak to her, so she walked into the hall with her and just as she began speaking, they heard the loud bang and the screams of the other students.
When her cousin opened the door and the smoke started flowing into the hallway, Aurora stood there in shock while Celeste helped students out of the classroom. Her cousin got most of the people out of the class as the smoke and flames were extinguished by a nearby professor.
Aurora was lucky that everyone had survived and that it wasn’t a full class, it had been just a small group of students that were passionate about potions. Which was a small blessing due to them understanding her passion about creating new potions, that is why she was only expelled and not put on trial before the ministry. Her parents had to pay some hefty fines and rebuild the potions classroom which is why her father was displeased with her.
She lay there thinking about how the rest of the year would go and just as she got up and started walking towards the castle grounds she saw a shooting star fly throughout the sky, she closed her eyes and hoped for a peaceful year.
She walked through the castle making sure to avoid students and the ghosts, she didn’t need to be seen out after curfew.
Just as she reached the common room she walked through the gate and began heading to the girl’s dormitory, until she heard someone clear their throat.
She looked at the person sitting near the fireplace, he got up as soon as he noticed her looking at him.
“You were out past curfew, that’s 20 house points if you’re caught by someone else.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She was about to turn around and walk to her room when he started speaking again.
“Why did you transfer so late? We don’t normally get sixth year transfer students.”
Aurora noticed the way he stood straight, and as she took him in she noticed that he was handsome, but she could see the darkness of his aura.
“I was expelled from Ilvermorny, potions mishap.”
She watched as the young man standing in front of her nodded his head, just as she was about to walk away, she could feel the pushing of someone trying to get into her head. Her mother was a legilimens, so she knew the feeling, so she immediately put her shield up. Her father taught her occlumency to combat her mother’s prying behaviour.
The two students stood there for a moment before Aurora could see a hint of annoyance in his face, he clearly didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t enter her mind.
“Anything else?” She said with a smile.
“No, you may go.”
Aurora settled into her room and proceeded to get ready for bed, she took the braid out of her hair and began brushing through it. Her thoughts were all over the place and she knew that it would be hard to fall asleep. When she finally laid down and blew out the candles, she felt her muscles slowly start to loosen and her eyelids got heavy.
When she woke up in the morning she prepared for the long day ahead, she didn’t want to be gawked at and asked why she transferred so late. She didn’t want to deal with all that, she just wanted to get her work done and graduate. She missed her home and her friends; she felt some sadness settle in as she walked to her first class.
As she walked to the transfiguration classroom students were whispering about something, she had assumed it was her until she got to the classroom and sat down. She overhead two girls whispering about how another student died, she looked around to see if any of the other students were talking about it, but she couldn’t tell. Just as she was about to lean forward and ask the Gryffindor girls for more information, she felt someone sit down beside her.
She looked to her left and saw Abraxas pulling out his quill and some parchment, before she could ask why he was sitting beside her she felt someone sit to her right, it was none other than Felix.
“How was your long walk last night, Miss Buck?” Abraxas asked with a sneer.
“Uneventful. I am to assume that you and Felix are Slytherin’s welcoming committee?”
That got a laugh out of Felix and a scoff from Abraxas, “Oh, no, I’m just intrigued by you.”
Aurora was the one to scoff now, she had known many boys like Felix, handsome, came from a wealthy powerful family. She avoided these types because she knew exactly what they were capable of, her father and uncle had shown her exactly how wealth and power can corrupt people.
“And why exactly are you intrigued by me Mister Rosier?”
Before he could answer he looked behind him and nodded towards the people that came in and sat behind them, Aurora turned to see who it was, and she was met with the eyes of the young man that had tried to get into her mind last night.
Before she could turn around Abraxas introduced the three young men sitting behind them, “The one on the left is Nicholas Nott, the one on the right is Falco Lestrange and this is Tom Riddle. Everyone, meet Miss Aurora Buck.”
They all exchanged pleasantries just as the professor walked in, Aurora thought that he looked slightly disheveled but handsome. As he stood at the front of the classroom everyone went mute, he looked around finally caught Aurora’s eye.
“Welcome back students, many of you by now must have heard about the death of a student last night. It was a second year Hufflepuff, all the professors have been told to mention the curfew that is in place. Any students that are caught breaking curfew will be questioned and possible consequences may alter their future.” Professor Dumbledore seemed to give off pretentious vibes.
Class went by fast enough but halfway through Aurora had regretted skipping breakfast and she still had a class to go before lunch. As class ended and she was about to walk into the hallway she could sense Felix’s presence come up behind her, so she turned to look at him.
“How did you know I was coming to talk to you.”
“I could sense you.”
He looked deeply into her eyes; it was as if he was searching for something.
“Sense me?”
“Yes, now what exactly do you want?”
“I was wondering what class you had next?” He looked down at his feet while asking which Aurora thought was weird.
“I have defence against the dark arts.”
He smiled at that, “Me too, can I walk with you?”
Aurora sighed, “Sure.”
As they walked out into the hall, she noticed that the rest of Rosier’s friend group were waiting for him and once they saw her, they all nodded to acknowledge her except for Tom. She could see their auras, most of their auras were a dark purple except for Tom and Nicholas, Tom’s was much darker just like it had been last night, but Nicholas’ was a mix of blue and purple which fascinated Aurora. She wondered why someone like him would align himself with the likes of the others. As they walked to their next class Aurora could feel everyone watching as they walked past, she assumed that it was because of her but that was only half true.
Halfway through her first defence against the dark arts class she was partnered with a girl from Slytherin and when they were told to introduce themselves the girl could hardly look at Aurora.
Aurora introduced herself and the girl looked her up and down and didn’t reply, this annoyed Aurora, but she decided to let it go. Professor Merrythought asked the students to then participate in this year’s first sanctioned classroom duel.
Half of the class had gone before Aurora and her partner were called upon, the two witches walked to the middle of the class and proceeded to bow and walk back ten paces each. This wasn’t Aurora’s first-time dueling but as the new student she wanted to make sure she left a good impression.
Once Professor Merrythought motioned for the duel to begin Aurora’s opponent was quick to cast expelliarmus which led to her wand flying across the classroom, Aurora knew she didn’t have enough time to retrieve her wand because her opponent was already sending bombarda her way.
Aurora quickly used protego to block the attack and within a moment she sent petrificus totalus directed at her opponent and just like that the duel was over, the girl fell onto her back and remained paralyzed until the professor helped her.
While everyone started talking and looking at the student on the ground Aurora used nonverbal magic to summon her wand. She could feel many eyes upon her, and she retreated to where she was standing before the duel. Once her opponent was off the floor and heading to the hospital wing Professor Merrythought turned to her and smiled, “You must be our new student, Aurora Buck, your professors at Ilvermorny were correct when describing you as a stellar student. Your wandless magic is very impressive, I hear your ancestors preferred casting wandless.”
“Thank you, professor, and yes, my people, my bloodline believe that wandless magic is the preferable way to cast. It is believed to help us connect better to the magic; it makes us stronger.”
“How wonderful! And you have also mastered nonverbal magic as well, how magnificent.”
“Oh, I um, I’m still working on my nonverbal skills.” Aurora’s face felt like it was on fire, she hated being the centre of attention and now the whole class was staring at her.
“Well, you’ll get there, okay. Now onto the next pair.”
Aurora was thankful that the professor was done speaking to her now and she could fade back into the background while the rest of the duels went under way.
As class was ending, she quickly grabbed her things and made her way to the door, she didn’t look back when she could feel the stares from the five Slytherin boys that have been surrounding her.
She made it back to the common room before they could catch up with her and when she was finally safe in the comfort of her own room she could finally relax. She needed to go down to eat but she just didn’t feel like she had the energy.
She laid down on the bed and just as she closed her eyes there was a knock on her door, she sighed and eventually got up to open the door.
She didn’t know who to expect but she didn’t expect it to be Headmaster Dippet.
“Hello Sir, is everything alright.”
“Oh, yes, I heard about your duel earlier today. I just wanted to check in and remind you of the promise you made to me yesterday. And I wanted to ask you about something.”
“Yes, headmaster, I remember the promise, I could have used a different hex, but I didn’t.”
“I’m well aware that your family has an affection for the dark arts, and I hope that while you’re here you stick to the code of conduct.”
“Yes, I will Headmaster.”
“Another thing, were you out after curfew last night?”
Aurora wanted to lie but knew that it was no use, “I was, I um, was looking up at the stars. I was at the quidditch field.”
“Thank you for telling me the truth, but you need to know that it’s dangerous out in the halls at night. There’s a beast loose in the school and I’d hate to have to tell your father that something has happened to you. So please make sure you’re staying safe during the night.”
“Of course, Headmaster, may I ask what kind of beast?”
“At the moment, we are unsure. You probably won’t be attacked because it seems to be going after muggle-borns. I want you to still be aware of your surroundings and follow curfew alright.”
He smiled at her and tried to get to her eye level, “Yes, Headmaster. I will follow the curfew rule.”
“You remind me much of your father when he was your age. Very strong willed but brilliant. It can be a great combination when used correctly, I think you would benefit from a mentor, maybe connect with one of your professors.”
“That sounds like a good plan, thank you for the advice, Headmaster.”
“Of course, we should also start having tea once a month, I’d like to keep up with you. I normally don’t do this type of thing but my relationship with your father is an important one, so I want to look out for you.”
“Thank you, I would like that.”
The headmaster wished her a good afternoon and told her that he would send her an owl when he was ready to have tea. Once he was gone, Aurora laid back down on the bed and she must have fallen asleep because when she woke up the candles had burnt down. She looked at the clock and it was dinner time; she swore under her breath because she slept through potions and divination. She made her way to the Great Hall to have dinner, and when she finally got there and walked in the Slytherin table shifted their gazes to her and some even gave her a dirty look. She walked to the end of the table and took a seat, she started eating almost immediately after a few moments someone sat beside her, she already knew who it would be because he made a habit of sitting next to her.
“Where have you been all afternoon?”
“I went back to my room, and I must have fallen asleep after Headmaster Dippett’s visit.”
“Ah, yes, I was going to ask about that. But falling asleep? On the first day? You’re lucky you didn’t lose us any house points.”
Before she could continue speaking with Felix the other boys surrounded her, she noticed that they all seemed comfortable around her despite just meeting her. She thought that it was odd due to their overall vibe but didn’t feel like discussing it with them. Tom sat across from her and she could feel his gaze watch her every move, when she finally forced herself to make eye contact with him, he finally spoke to her.
“Very impressive today, how long have you been able to duel like that?”
She cleared her throat before speaking, “Since the first time I dueled, it was important to my father to learn the old ways.”
“What kind of old ways? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Aurora felt like she was being put on trial, the other boys sat there silently eating and waiting for her response. She debated on telling him the truth and ultimately decided on a half-truth.
“My family's magic comes from the land, we never really used wands until we started going to Ilvermorny.”
“That’s an interesting way to think about magic.”
“I guess.” She kept eye contact with Tom as they spoke but as soon as Abraxas asked a question Tom dropped her gaze.
“So, how did you end up here exactly?”
“My father asked Headmaster Dippet to accept me because I was expelled from Ilvermorny, and I only speak passible French so there’s no way I’d ever get into Beauxbatons.”
“Expelled? For what?”
“A potion I was working on caused damage to the school and to some students.”
This got a laugh and a comment from Falco Lestrange, “So, you’re not a potion maker?”
Aurora smiled and rolled her eyes, “I’m actually quite good at potions, Ilvermorny holds the belief of expanding our understanding and experimental magic. I was doing an experiment… and it just didn’t work out.”
“Well, I guess you and I will be partners in potions class.” Falco smiled at her.
“Do you have a fondness of potion making?”
“Does that surprise you?”
“Slightly.”
This made Falco smile, he had the type of smile that made Aurora’s heartbeat quicken. He was taller than the rest of the boys and his dark hair and eyes contrasted his pale skin. She couldn’t continue eye contact with him without blushing, so she went back to eating her dinner.
“What other classes are you taking?” Nicholas asked.
“I’m taking a bunch of courses; I like to stay busy. I’m enrolled in DADA, transfiguration, potions, divination, charms, herbology, astronomy, ancient runes, and alchemy.”
“That is a good combination of classes. And it will certainly keep you busy. You have an interest in alchemy and astronomy?”
“Oh, yes, I love astronomy.”
“Me too. So, I’m assuming we have class together tomorrow night?”
“You would be correct.” Aurora smiled at Nicholas; she could see herself becoming friends with him.
“Are there any classes at Ilvermorny that we don’t have here?”
“Yeah, we have way more electives than Hogwarts does. More on the history side and we study Native and foreign magic, and there’s options to take field studies.”
“Those sound so interesting, I’d love to learn about Native American magic.”
“I could teach you some things, there’s some things I can’t though. There’s closed practices that only my people know, the Haudenosaunee people passed down information through every generation, sometimes even through specific clans.”
“Kind of like family secrets?” It was Tom that finally spoke.
Aurora looked up at him and made eye contact, “Yeah, exactly like that.”
“There’s beauty in that kind of loyalty.”
Aurora could tell that Tom truly meant what he said and there was something unsettling about that.
“Trust and loyalty are important in forming long-lasting relationships.” He nodded at her response.
Just as she was about to start talking to Nicholas again there was a commotion from the entrance of the great hall, there was a Hufflepuff student screaming about there being no justice. He ran up to the Slytherin table and started screaming about how it was one of them, it had to be one of them.
A Hufflepuff prefect walked up to the young student and attempted to drag him away, he fought him for a moment before he finally gave up. The young student started crying and hyperventilating against the prefect.
Aurora felt the pain in the student’s voice, it made her want to get up and comfort him, but she could tell that it wasn’t her place.
Tom got up from the table and the rest of the boys followed suit, just as they started walking away, they turned back and looked at Aurora. It was Falco that spoke to her, “Aren’t you coming Aurora?”
She looked up at them and they stood there looking at her, she was struck by their transcendence, they all looked like princes from the muggle books her mother used to read to her.
“Yeah, one second.” She took a sip of her tea before getting up.
As the started walking a formation formed as they walked, two by two; Tom and Abraxas walked together, Nicholas and Felix walked together, and Aurora walked beside Falco. As they were leaving, she noticed that most people were watching them, she had a feeling that the young men she was walking with were on the precipice of something bigger than themselves. It almost made her nervous to be seen with them, she wanted nothing more than to turn around and sit back down at the table, but it was too late for that, and Aurora had a feeling that this friend group was not easy to leave.
As they walked towards the common room the group’s formation started to realign, Tom had switched spots with Falco and was now walking beside Aurora, she felt a push on her mind and proceeded to throw up her walls. They walked side by side playing a mental game of tug of war, Aurora smirked because she knew that Tom wouldn’t be able to get into her mind.
Once they reached the stairs to the dungeon Tom cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him, “Aurora and I will be back later, I wanted to show her a section in the library that might be of some interest to her.”
The other boys nodded and proceeded to walk down the staircase and then it was just Tom and Aurora left standing there. She could feel her chest start to tighten; Tom made her feel slightly uncomfortable, but she didn’t want him to know that.
“Shall we go?” She asked him.
“We’re not actually going to the library; I have something else to show you.”
Aurora was intrigued and followed behind Tom as he walked towards the astronomy wing. As they made it to a hallway Tom looked around before standing in front of a bare wall, within seconds a gate formed, and it opened.
She watched as he walked through the gate, and he turned to motion for her to follow him. She took a step into the room and noticed the round table and the chairs present, there were dark arts books scattered everywhere and there were notes.
She started looking at the books, even reaching out and touching some of them. She turned to Tom, “Ask the questions you want the answers to.”
For a brief moment there was confusion on his face and then he found his composure quickly, he chuckled lightly, “How did you learn occlumency?”
“My father taught me; my mother is a legilimens.”
Tom nodded, “Can you perform legilimency as well?”
“I’ve tried but I’m not as skilled in that area, I would like to learn it better.”
“You really value knowledge?”
“Of course I do.” Aurora looked at him and saw his aura shift colour briefly, it was normally dark but, in that moment, she saw some purple.
They stood there for a moment just looking at each other, there was tension between the two of them and she was unsure what was going to happen next.
“Why did you bring me here? Show me this place?”
Tom didn’t break eye contact when she asked her questions, he just shrugged lightly, “You impressed me today in class and everyone seems to be charmed by you. We are – I don’t exactly know how much to tell you.”
“Because you don’t trust me?”
“I don’t even know you.”
Aurora smiled, “I can see you; you know that right? For what you really want, for what you desire.”
Tom’s face went white as a sheet and Aurora could feel the anger radiating off him, “You’ll get what you want, you’re smart and determined.” They stared at each other for a moment longer before Aurora spoke again, “I should get going, I was actually invested in going to the library.”
She went to move towards the door but before she could make it to the door Tom stepped in the way, “I’m not done talking.”
Aurora looked up at him and looked into his eyes, only for a moment did he keep eye contact before he stepped back. The two of them stood there in silence and annoyance started to creep into Aurora’s mind.
“Well, are you going to say anything?”
Tom stood there unable to say anything, he could feel Aurora’s gaze on him, and it made him uncomfortable. He told her that she had impressed him today, he regretted saying that to her because it was apparent that he was watching her.
He finally looked back up at her and spoke, “I’d like for you to join our friend group.”
Tom watched as she sat down at the table, “Are there assigned seats?”
Tom cracked a smile and decided to sit down across from her, “There isn’t assigned seats really, Abraxas mostly sits to my right and everyone else sits around us.”
“You sit up there, at the head of the table?”
She glanced up at the wooded throne like chair and when she looked back at him, he nodded, “Abraxas is your right-hand man?”
She smiled while she said it and Tom felt nervous at exactly how much information he was giving her. But there was something about her that made him want to tell her everything, his plans for the upcoming years and beyond. He knew it was foolish, so he didn’t reply to her question.
“They’re not exactly your friends though? Are they?”
Tom felt a sting of anger hit his heart when she finished the question, but he mustered up his most charming of smiles, “Of course they’re my friends.”
That made Aurora giggle, “Why do you want me to join your friend group? There are no girls, what makes me the exception?”
Tom waited a moment before answering, he knew that she wouldn’t be as easily manipulated like the boys were, “I told you, you impressed me.”
He wasn’t technically lying to her; she had impressed him and deep down he knew that she was a strong witch capable of becoming a useful tool.
She nodded and leaned back in her chair, “Is this like a one-time offer?”
“Yes, it is actually.”
That made Aurora giggle again and she took a deep breath, “Thank you for the offer but I don’t think I would fit well into your group.”
Tom watched as Aurora got up from the table and walked out of the room, he was filled with rage. No one had ever turned him down before, except for the Avery boy and he wanted nothing more than to go after her and hex her for refusing him. He sat there a moment before deciding to get up, he started pacing not fully understanding why she refused him. He played back every conversation they ever had and there was a moment from earlier that stuck out to him.
She had said that she could see him, see his desires. Is that why she refused him?