Chapter 3
When Aurora finally made it back to the common room, she felt like she needed to sleep for a week, her interaction with Tom had drained her mentally. She wanted to know why he would even offer her a place at the table, it seemed like he didn’t trust her… well it seemed like he didn’t trust anyone.
When she made her way to the girl’s dormitory, she could feel someone coming up behind her, so she slowed down and turned to see an awkward looking boy. They stared at each other before he finally spoke, “Hi, I’m Alexander Avery.”
“Hi, Alexander.”
“Could I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.”
Aurora was intrigued by Alexander; he was a head taller than she was and his uniform was perfectly tailored, and his hair was perfectly placed. The aura he was giving off was bright blue, signifying calm, trust, and stability. He walked toward a table and motioned for her to join him, she sat down and that’s when he placed a silencing charm around them.
“Don’t want someone to overhear us?”
He smiled, “It’s bad enough we are going to be seen together.”
Aurora chuckled at this, “And why is that?”
“I watch people and I know a lot about everyone and everything.”
“Oh. That sounds ominous.”
He smiled, “I know why you were expelled from Ilvermorny, and I know that you’ve been summoned by Slytherin’s royal court.”
“Slytherin’s royal court?”
“Yeah, Tom Riddle and his goons.”
She chuckled, “Oh, yeah, I um, was invited to join their friend group.”
When she said that, she saw a smile emerge on his face, “But you declined?”
“Yeah, organized friendships really aren’t my thing.”
“Mine either. They’re watching us right now you know that right?”
Aurora smiled and nodded, “I kind of had a feeling they might be.”
“My father works for the ministry, and he’s heard all about you, the reason you got expelled from Ilvermorny.”
Aurora could feel her cheeks start to warm and she sat there in silence for a moment before speaking, “I hope that you won’t hold that against me.”
He smirked at her, “Oh, I certainly won’t. I actually want to know if you’ll be my potions partner.”
“Oh, I am not sure if I can, Falco already asked me to be partners.”
“He won’t be able to be your partner now that you denied becoming part of their group. So, it looks like you’ll be free to be my partner.”
Aurora smiled and shrugged, “Sounds like a plan I guess.”
“I’m glad you turned them down, most of the Slytherins worship the ground they walk on and it’s hard to have friends after they ostracize you.”
“I am intrigued by them, and I kind of regret saying no but maybe it's for the best. They ostracized you?”
Alexander nodded, “Pretty much, once they start bullying someone everyone avoids the person like a plague. Even the professors know that they influence everything around here. They come from the wealthiest families and their fathers all work for the ministry.”
“Sounds exactly like Ilvermorny, places like these breed this type of culture.”
Alexander laughed and quickly changed his demeanour and his body stiffened slightly, “They’re walking over here.”
Aurora took a deep breath, and she could finally hear their footsteps as the silencing charm disappeared.
“Avery, I hope you’re not bothering our new friend Miss Buck.” It was Abraxas’ voice and that made Aurora turn and look at them.
“We’re just talking about potions class, Alexander was catching me up on what I missed today.”
“I’m offended that you didn’t ask me.” Falco said in a teasing way.
“We’re sitting by the fireplace, Aurora you should come sit with us.” Aurora could tell that it wasn’t a question, and it was more of a demand.
“I don’t think she wants to sit with you guys.”
Alexander smirked and Aurora could sense that something bad was going to happen, “You know Alexander, just because you belong to one of the sacred twenty-eight families doesn’t mean anything. You have an older brother so you’re literally the spare. I also heard what your father thinks about you, so I don’t think your parents would really miss you.” Abraxas shrugged as he finished talking.
Alexander stood up and squared his stance and that’s when Aurora stood up as well, “Okay, enough. I was actually going to go up to my room. So, there’s no need for all this bravado.”
Falco grabbed Abraxas’ elbow and tried to move him but Alexander and him were staring each other down and neither would move. That was until Tom called out for Abraxas. That’s when he pulled his elbow from out of Falco’s grip and started to walk away. Falco shot a look to Aurora, and she could tell that he was genuinely sorry about what had just happened.
“Just like a dog being called by his master.” Alexander scoffed while he said it.
That’s when a hex flew towards Alexander and Aurora could see his wand on the table, she acted quickly and shoved him out of the way.
The hex hit her shoulder and the pain that radiated throughout her upper body made her want to scream but she clamped her mouth shut. She could feel her skin start to swell and the pain was excruciating, the pain was so overwhelming that her other senses started fading, the voices around her seemed muffled and she could barely open her eyes. She felt someone try to lift her off the ground and she tried rolling away from them, but she rolled onto the shoulder that was hit with the hex and she yelled out in pain. She finally opened her eyes and saw the boys looking down at her.
The pain started to subside, but the burning sensation was still there, that’s when Abraxas knelt down beside her and opened a potion bottle.
“Aurora open your mouth, I have a potion that will help with the pain.”
She opened her mouth eagerly and swallowed the potion, she went to sit up and could feel the hands of someone helping her up.
“I’m so sorry Aurora.” The person that said it stroked her cheek.
She opened her eyes and Abraxas was looking at her, she was hit with his feeling of regret, he went to pull his hand away from her face, but she grabbed it.
“I’m going to be okay. Don’t worry.” She smiled softly. She looked around and everyone was looking down at her, “Well are you going to help me up?”
Abraxas and Falco each grabbed one of her hands and gently helped her up, Alexander was standing beside Tom.
“You’re lucky she doesn’t need to go to the infirmary Malfoy. Aurora let me help you get to your room.”
“I can help her, it’s my fault.” Abraxas put his arm around her waist to stabilize her.
“It’s okay, Alexander, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Aurora gave him a weak smile.
He nodded and watched as Abraxas and Falco helped Aurora, “Lestrange, I got it from here.”
Flaco let go of her arm and placed a small kiss on her forehead, “We didn’t mean for you to get hurt. Get lots of rest.”
She smiled up at him before her and Abraxas started walking again, when they finally reached her room, she could feel the tense feeling of her body, it was sore and swollen from the hex.
“Abraxas, I’ll be fine, you can go now.”
Aurora felt a wave of anxiety hit her, she used her most calming voice, “I’m serious Abraxas, I’ll be fine.” She gave him a smile.
“I’m just so sorry, Aurora. I didn’t think it through.”
He helped her to her bed; she slowly eased her body onto the bed and sat there a moment before trying to remove her cloak.
“Here let me help.” Abraxas undid the clasp of her cloak and they worked together to take it off.
Aurora looked up at him and she could feel his despair, she had never noticed him like this before. He was a completely different person when he wasn’t surrounded by his friends. His hair was slightly misplaced and when he had bent down to untie her boots she caught his cologne, it was a cedar scent and it made Aurora think of her home.
“Abraxas, you don’t need to do that.”
He got up after taking her boots off and turned to look around her room, “You’re lucky you don’t have to share a room with anyone.”
He walked towards the closest wardrobe and opened it, there was a nightgown hanging up that was silk. He brought it out for Aurora, and she started to feel anxious herself.
“Do you need help getting dressed?” He brought the nightgown to her and set it on the bed. She looked up at him and noticed that he wouldn’t meet her eye. She wanted this awkwardness to disappear, but she didn’t know how to make it go back to normal.
“I think I should be fine, the potion you gave me seems to be working, the pain is going away. You’re good at potions.”
Abraxas smiled, “I didn’t brew this one, Falco did. I’m good at potions but not as good as him.”
“How long have you all known each other?”
“Since childhood, well most of us.” Abraxas sat on the edge of Aurora’s bed.
“Most of you?”
“Yeah, Tom is the only one I didn’t grow up with. Everyone else has spent summers and holidays together. Most of our families marry within each other so we’re all distantly related.”
“Mhm, it sounds like back home.”
There was silence between the two of them, she went to stand up, but she felt weak in the knees, so Abraxas helped her stand on her feet.
She looked up at him and a tiny hope blossomed within her, his steel blue eyes were looking directly into her soul and his aura started to change colour, she took a deep breath and just as she went to move closer to him there was a knock at her door. They both moved away from each other quickly, Aurora sat down on her bed and Abraxas went to open the door.
“You should head back to the dorm. I’ll take over from here.”
Aurora could hear a faint voice on the other side of the door, but she couldn’t see who it was, Abraxas looked back and gave her a small smile before speaking, “I’ll come by tomorrow and walk you to class.”
Aurora nodded, and as Abraxas walked out of the room Tom walked in.
He closed the door behind him, and he took off his bag and set in on the chair next to her bed, neither of them said anything.
“You don’t need to be here; I told Abraxas the same thing.”
“I wanted to make sure that you weren’t going to tell anyone about what happened this evening.”
“I won’t, I know Abraxas feels bad about it.”
“And how exactly do you know that?” Tom said it in a way that made Aurora feel like a trapped animal.
“He told me, while he walked me up here.”
Tom scoffed, “And you believed him?”
Aurora’s patience was wearing thin, but she remained composed, “Well you now know I won’t tell anyone, shouldn’t you be off? Planning your world domination?”
Aurora got up and pain shot through her shoulder and arm, but she gritted her teeth and moved towards the bathroom to change into her nightgown.
Tom grabbed her arm that had been hit with the hex and applied pressure to it, she wanted to wince in pain, but she refused to give him that satisfaction.
“Why was Alexander talking to you?”
He let go of her arm in that moment and she sighed loudly, “He wanted to know if I had been incorporated into your group.”
Tom nodded, “What did you tell him?”
Aurora sat back down on the bed and looked up at Tom, “I told him the truth.”
The way she was staring at him made him want to smite her, she was defiant, and he wanted to break her. She was a strong witch and he wanted to forge her into a weapon, one that would do anything he commanded.
He had an unsettling feeling about her, and he wanted to get inside her head, but she was too gifted in occlumency. She was already suspicious of him; she had just met him, and she could see that he wasn’t what he presented to the world. He had almost everyone fooled except for her and Professor Dumbledore. It bothered him that this girl had taken over his thoughts, she was nothing to him, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
He sat down in the chair that was closest to her bed and looked at her, “There’s only been two people to deny my friendship and I think it’s interesting that you sought each other out.”
Aurora scoffed, “Deny your friendship? Is that what you think I did? Tom, I don’t think you offer genuine friendship, I think you expect obedience.”
His heart started beating fast, he looked away from her and glanced around the room.
He waited a moment before speaking, he debated telling her the truth, she had a better understanding of him than most of his so-called friends.
“I do.” He said it quietly and looked at her.
He noticed her breath hitch, “I won’t be obedient. It’s not in my nature.”
Tom smiled at that, “Oh, I can already see that.”
He got up and walked toward her bed before stopping in front of her, he touched the nightgown and looked down at her, “He offered to help you change?”
“Yes.” Aurora grabbed the bottom of the nightgown and pulled it back onto the bed.
“What a gentleman.” Tom scoffed. Aurora looked up at him suddenly and she smiled.
“What are you smiling about?”
Tom moved back to the chair and sat down while waiting for a response.
When she finally spoke, her voice was like cold winter air hitting his bare face, “You’re a unique person Tom Riddle.”
“Thank you.”
“If you don’t mind leaving now, I’d like to go to bed.”
Tom scoffed, “I’d like to stay a bit longer, get to know you a little better.”
He leaned back and watched confusion wash over her face, “Why?”
“Well, I think the rest of the boys already see you as a part of the group, and even if I tell them to stay away from you, I doubt they will. Malfoy’s eyes dilate at the mention of your name.”
“You sound almost jealous.” Aurora smirked as if she knew her comment would bother him.
Tom smirked back, “You wish.”
Aurora rolled her eyes, “So what do you want to know?”
“Everything, I want to know about your family, about you and your magic. Why you came to Hogwarts.”
Tom watched as she got up, her movements were slow and jarring, she lifted her shirt over her head with some struggle, “What are you doing?” Tom closed his eyes and refused to watch as she changed into her nightgown.
“You can look now Tom, I’m done.”
He opened his eyes and watched as she winced in pain as she braided her hair and sat back down on her bed, “So, are you going to tell me what I want to know?”
Aurora sighed, “I was expelled from my last school and Headmaster Dippet owed my father a favour, which is why I’m here. My family, well, my mother and father specialize in procurement of magical artifacts for clients. And before you ask, no, everything they do is legal.”
Tom could feel himself start to smile; she knew what his question would be just as he thought it. “Go on.”
“My family’s magic is ancient; it comes from the Earth. There’s no real secret, we place importance on maintaining the balance between all the elements and we give a piece of ourselves to the Earth and The Creator blesses us with our abilities. This is the teaching we are taught once we start to manifest our gifts.”
Tom nodded as she talked, he was almost lost in her voice. “That’s it?”
“That’s pretty much it. There are no deep dark secrets, I’m just a witch from a different country.”
“I doubt that you’re just a normal witch.” Tom raised his eyebrow at her, “You once told me that you could see my desires, what did you mean by that?”
Aurora smiled, “You try to be so mysterious and detached but the ambition radiates off of you.”
Tom leaned forward waiting for her to continue, “Of course I’m ambitious, I am a Slytherin.”
Aurora giggled then, “I can also see auras, I can feel people’s energies. I know that most wizards and witches don’t believe in all of that, but I do. That’s why I know your desires and that’s why I can see you as you are, not the illusion you work so hard to give off.”
Tom felt his chest tighten at her words; she had hardly been in his presence but could see him for what he really was. A pretender.
“I also have a strong feeling that you are behind the deaths of those muggleborn students.”
She stared at him with a level of intensity that penetrated his soul, and it made him slightly uncomfortable. He stood and made his way to sit on her bed, he thought that she might protest or move away but to his surprise she didn’t.
He looked at her and told her the truth.
“You’re right, it is me. Well, it’s us. I’m going to tell you a bit about Hogwarts history, you clearly know about the four founders but one in particular created a chamber located within the castle with a beast in it. The beast is said to attack muggles that walk the halls of Hogwarts. There are only a handful of people throughout history that possess the ability to open the chambers, they are called the Heirs of Slytherin.”
He stopped talking for a moment, letting Aurora piece it together, “You’re an heir of Salazar Slytherin.”
Tom smiled, “You’re smart and talented, I told you before that’s why I wanted you to join us.”
Aurora looked at him again with the same intensity as before, he wanted to call her beautiful but that simple word couldn’t possibly define her.
“I want you to tell me everything.” She scooted closer to him, practically sitting in his lap.
“I don’t trust you.”
“If I tell anyone anything, you’ll just kill me. I would rather live and keep your secrets than die.”
Tom was taken aback from her response, but it made him want to tell her even more, before he could properly think through what he was going to say words fell out of his mouth, “Well, the first step is to create Horcruxes.”
“That’s dangerous but it makes sense, splitting your soul into many pieces ensures that it will be harder to kill you.”
Tom continued talking, “I plan on becoming the greatest wizard in history, I want power and I need to influence the pure-blood elite to get it.”
“That’s why you surround yourself with them, to use their influence to bolster your own reputation. If enough of the right people have your back, it will be harder to resist your cause.”
“As an outsider it’s hard to break through the wall they put up but I’m proof that it can done.”
“After the Horcruxes, what’s next?” Aurora tilted her head practically begging Tom to continue.
“After we graduate from this place, most of the Knights will get jobs within the ministry. We will start pushing their pure-blood politics hard. Extinguish the muggleborn witches and wizards… then we take over the muggle world. We have powers beyond their comprehension, why shouldn’t we rule over them?”
Aurora nodded, “Grindelwald stands in your way, his numbers grow with each passing day. Even my parents have been petitioned to join his cause.”
“The ministry or Dumbledore will take care of him; his acolytes will run and hide when he falls. I’ll have to wait some time before announcing my own intentions, but everything will happen when it needs to and not a moment before.”
“I assume you have already started recruiting, besides the knights of course.”
“I’ve assigned Felix to be our recruiter.”
Aurora nodded, “Brilliant idea, he’s magnetic.”
Tom watched as Aurora laid back down, she positioned her legs so they wouldn’t touch his back, “Are you tired?”
“Just a bit, but I want you to keep talking.” Tom could feel her gaze on him but he couldn’t look at her so he just looked down at his hands as he continued talking.
“I’ve been studying many forms of darks arts since coming to Hogwarts, there’s a whole restricted section dedicated to dark magic. Abraxas has many books as well and over the summer he lent me some of them. They’re very informative, I could write you a list if you wanted some recommendations.”
“I’d like that.” Aurora smiled. Tom continued talking until Aurora fell asleep, which wasn’t very long after she had laid down. Once he knew that she wouldn’t wake up he got up and grabbed some potions from his bag and placed them on her nightstand. He looked down at her and blew out the candles before leaving her room, as he walked to his own dorm room, he noticed Alexander sitting on the couch by the fireplace.
“Avery, shouldn’t you be asleep.” Tom used a mocking tone.
“How is she?” Alexander didn’t bother to take his eyes off the fire.
“She’ll be fine, she’s a lot tougher than she looks.” Tom sat in a chair that was close to the sofa.
The two of them sat there in silence before Tom spoke again, “I’m in a forgiving mood Avery, I think you have potential and so does Aurora.” He waited a moment before finishing his sentence, “join us.”
“So, you got to her huh?” Alexander scoffed.
“I think she’s brilliant and she will do great things, and if she thinks that about you then you must be worth something.”
There was silence between the two of them again and Tom leaned back in his chair, waiting for Alexander to give in. He knew that he would, he saw the way that he looked at Aurora and Tom had nearly destroyed Alexander’s reputation. Tom knew that to a pure-blood wizard reputation and social standing were everything.
“And what exactly does it entail?” Alexander finally met his gaze and Tom smiled because he knew he had won.
“A little bit of this, a little bit if that. You’re smart and you know the castle inside and out, I’m looking for objects that may be hidden within the castle.”
“Which objects?” Tom could hear the curiosity peak in Alexander’s voice.
“The Hufflepuff cup and Ravenclaw’s Diadem, that’s what I’m looking for.”
“The Grey Lady might know where the diadem is, rumour has it that she stole it from her mother and hid it somewhere.”
Tom nodded his head, “I can’t exactly walk into the Ravenclaw common room though.”
“You won’t need to, there’s a corridor overlooking the middle courtyard. She can usually be found there.”
“You, Avery, might be more valuable than the rest of them.”
Tom got up from his chair and walked towards the stairs that led to the dorms, he was lucky that he only had to share a room with Abraxas. As he entered the room, he casted lumos so he could make his way to the bathroom without disturbing Abraxas. Once he was in the bathroom he changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth, after he was done that, he made his way to his bed.
“How is she?” Abraxas asked sleepily.
“She’ll be fine, I left her some of Falco’s wiggenweld potions. I convinced Avery to join our cause so starting tomorrow he no longer walks the corridors alone.”
“Understood.”
“I think he might actually be useful to us; he has a lead on the diadem already.”
Abraxas sat up then, “You didn’t tell him why you wanted it did you?”
Tom scoffed, “Of course not.”
Tom was going to tell Abraxas that he did tell someone about the horcruxes but decided against it, he needed Abraxas to remain focused on other things and Aurora was not one of them.
“So, two new knights?” Abraxas laid down as he asked the question.
“Yes, I have some ideas about specific people to recruit.”
“Mhm, who?”
“The Blacks. There’s at least four of them around our age, the girls and their younger brothers.”
Abraxas was silent so Tom questioned him, “You don’t think they will join our cause?”
“My father says The Blacks only look out for themselves, which is why they practice inbreeding. They think of themselves as gods, they would act like the whole cause is beneath them.”
Tom laid down thinking about the power and influence the Black family had and it made him jealous, his mother came from a once powerful family, that was until they all went crazy and became reckless. As Tom laid there, he vowed to himself that he would never lose control like they had, and he would restore glory to the Gaunt family.
The pain in her shoulder had mostly gone away and when she opened her eyes and scanned her room, she noticed the wiggenweld potions and a note from Tom, directing her when to take them throughout the day. She had almost forgotten that he was in her room last night, the memories from what they discussed replayed in her mind.
Aurora could only assume that he hadn’t told her everything and that was okay, she was content with the answers she got from him, but she wanted to make him work for her allegiance. She knew there was more to his plans and that in his eyes to earn those secrets she would have to prove herself worthy. Aurora laid in bed for a few minutes thinking about how she could further insert herself into his life, it wasn’t unusual for her to obsess over things and people. She was lost in thought as a knock on her door startled her, when she got up to open it Abraxas was there.
“Hey, I wanted to check on you.” He gave her a shy smile and tried to keep his eyes on her face.
Aurora completely forgot that she was wearing nothing but her silk nightgown, “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I just need to get dressed and I’ll meet you down in the common room.”
Abraxas nodded, “Okay, be quick. We need to get breakfast before class.”
“Okay.” Aurora watched as Abraxas looked her over once more before turning to leave and that’s when she knew Tom was correct. Aurora watched as Abraxas’ eyes dilated and his energy shift, she blushed slightly and quickly closed the door.
She got dressed and got her bag ready for her first two classes of the day, which happened to be potions and alchemy.
Once she was ready, she started down the stairs and into the common room, she almost regretted asking Abraxas to wait for her, but he wasn’t alone, Nicholas was standing there as well.
“How was your sleep?” Abraxas asked.
“Great considering the sore shoulder but nothing to worry about.” Aurora gave him her most reassuring smile.
Nicholas looked around before speaking, “so, I heard you’re officially a knight.”
“I suppose I am. What exactly does that mean besides helping Tom achieve his goals.”
“Well… there’s great parties, mostly held by yours truly.” Felix said as he came up behind Abraxas, Nicholas, and Aurora.
“I’m not surprised that you’re the designated party planner Felix.” Aurora said with a smile.
The four of them continued talking and joking around until they saw Tom and Alexander walk into the common room together.
It was Felix that broke the silence, “What the bloody hell is that about?”
“He’s no longer excommunicated, a knight. He has a lead on the diadem.” Abraxas said as the four of them started walking up the stairs to the entrance.
“You might need to watch your back Malfoy, seems like Avery is gunning for your position as right-hand man.”
Abraxas stopped walking to smack Felix which resulted in the two of them shoving each other.
“Alright enough, nobody is being replaced. Now let’s get breakfast before class.”
Aurora pushed past the two young men and proceeded to walk into the hallway. Within seconds the four of them were on their way to the Great Hall. They walked along the Slytherin table to the end where they normally sit, Aurora couldn’t help noticing the gawking looks from the other tables.
The four of them sat and started talking about the first potions assignment, Aurora could tell that Felix was distracted, she turned to follow his gaze and it landed on a pretty blonde girl.
“You’re a fan of blondes?” Aurora asked, shaking him from his daydream.
“I’m a fan of people that worship me.” He winked as he said it and both Aurora and Abraxas rolled their eyes.
It didn’t take long for the rest of the group to join them; Tom and Alexander were still talking to each other intently and she wondered why Tom decided to change his mind. Falco sat beside Aurora, and stole a piece of toast off her plate, “yeah, sure, just help yourself.”
Falco wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close as he placed a kissed on her cheek, “thanks darling.”
Aurora rolled her eyes, “and everyone thinks Felix is the flirt.”
Falco blushed slightly before speaking, “Are you ready for potions? You and I are going to dominate the class.”
“I really hope the potions class here isn’t behind my former school. During transfiguration yesterday I felt like I was eons ahead of you all.”
“They’ve had to dumb down the curriculum now that the school has a lot of muggleborn students.” It was Nicholas that spoke.
“Most people that are considered top students have been taught magic from an early age, that’s why it’s a bit easier for us.” Abraxas mentioned. Aurora nodded and thought back to her time at Ilvermorny and how it was similar to Hogwarts.
While she was lost in her thoughts just barely listening to the conversation around her, she started to feel someone pushing into her mind. She looked across the table at Tom and he raised an eyebrow clearly confused by her stare.
She looked around trying to figure out who it was, but she couldn’t pinpoint who it was, a voice brought her back to the conversation that was happening between the boys.
“Earth to Aurora, what are you thinking about?” Flaco whispered to her.
“Someone’s trying to get into my head. I can’t figure it out who it is.” She said in a hushed voice.
Falco went to look around to see if he could spot someone but before he could Aurora grabbed his arm to stop him.
“C’mon, walk me to potions now?” Aurora said.
Within seconds her and Falco were telling everyone they were heading to class early and they were walking out of the Great Hall.
“Woah, slow down Aurora.”
“Sorry, I just – it freaks me out when people try to get in my head.”
“It wasn’t Tom?” Falco arched a brow.
“No, he looked confused when I looked at him. And I have already told him what he wanted to know, so there’s no need for him to be trying to get into my mind.”
There was a moment of silence as the two walked down the stairs, Aurora could feel Falco walk closer to her as more students appeared in the halls. She smiled to herself slightly because she knew that he was doing it because he felt protective over her.
“What exactly did you tell him?”
“My life before coming here, that’s about it.”
They walked into the classroom, and no one was there, which was nice because then they could talk without whispering.
Once they sat down at a corner table, Aurora could feel Falco’s gaze on her, “Has he ever been in your mind?”
“Yes, when I first started hanging out with him, I didn’t notice but then he would say things that I was thinking about and then I kind of put it together. That summer I went home and practiced occlumency, when we came back to school in the fall he tried again and when he couldn’t get into my mind, he called me a clever boy.”
“He can be quite condescending.” Aurora smiled while Falco chuckled.
Just as the two of them finished laughing Professor Slughorn walked into the classroom, the two of them stood and greeted the professor.
“Oh, hello, Mr. Lestrange, you must be the new student. From America? Yes?”
“Yes, I’m Aurora Buck. Nice to meet you professor.”
“I’m sure the pleasure will be all mine; I’ve heard good things about your potion skills.”
“Thank you, professor, potions has always been one of my favourite classes.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Just as they finished talking the rest of the knights wandered into the classroom, Aurora made direct eye contact with Alexander which prompted him to sit on the other side of her. She could feel Tom’s gaze on her but didn’t look away from Alexander, “I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me down to the lake?”
Alexander glanced at Tom and Abraxas, “I told them that I’d help them look for something.”
“Maybe another time then.” Aurora smiled but she began to worry. Just as she was about to get lost in her thoughts Professor Slughorn clapped and walked towards the door, “Miss Black, I was hoping to see you before today’s class. I’m glad you stopped by.”
Aurora watched as the girl walked further into the classroom, she sported long black hair and her Slytherin uniform was perfectly fitted. She smiled brightly at the professor before speaking, “I was hoping to speak to you about spending some extra time in the potions room when there isn’t a class in here?”
“Working on a secret project?” Slughorn smiled at the girl.
“I just want to practice my skills, some extra time in your classroom will help with that. My father always talked about how considerate you are, so I thought I’d ask.”
“Oh, that’s so kind of Pollux, I think I could set aside some time for you, maybe after the last period of the day on Thursdays. Does that work for you?”
“Yes, thank you professor. Your generosity won’t be forgotten.”
Aurora watched as Slughorn bid the girl a good day and as she went to walk away, she briefly made eye contact with Aurora. That’s when Aurora felt it again, that invading feeling of someone trying to pry into her brain.
That’s when it dawned on her, this was who was trying to get into her mind. Aurora watched as the girl left the classroom, she got up from the table and walked towards the door. She was so focused on catching up with the girl that the voices of the boys seemed distant and muffled.
She walked out of the door and looked down the hallway, the girl had disappeared, so Aurora walked down the hallway past the common room entrance and to the end.
“Looking for me?”
Aurora jumped when she heard the smooth condescending voice, “Uh, hi.”
Aurora felt nervous in this situation, the girl’s grey coloured eyes pierced into her soul and Aurora felt like she was being put on trial. Her aura was the deepest shade of purple that she had ever seen, and it was mesmerizing.
“My name is Walburga Black; I know that you’re new but I’m sure that you must have heard about us by now.”
“I've heard about your family.”
Walburga smiled, “I started reading my grandfather’s journal and he talked about his visit with your family. He always wanted our families to be closer. Which is insane because, well, my family doesn’t normally mingle with others.”
Aurora smiled slightly, “Our families sound similar… recluses.”
Walburga laughed, “Mhm, you’re funny. Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.” Aurora felt a pit form in her stomach.
“Why are you hanging out with those boys?”
“They were the first people to talk to me.”
“Is that how you pick friends?”
“I don’t know, they seem nice enough.”
“None of the girls from your year speak to you?”
Aurora shook her head.
“It’s because they fear you. I heard what you did in defence against the dark arts, very impressive.”
Aurora blushed slightly, “Thank you. Can I ask you a question now?”
Walburga smiled, “That sounds fair.”
“Why are you trying to get into my mind?”
“I wanted to see how talented you actually were, before I decided if I wanted to befriend you or not.”
“Have you decided?”
Walburga smiled at her, “Sit with me at lunch, it’ll be with some of my family, I’ll meet you in the common room.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“You should head back to class. I’ll see you later.”
“See you then.”
Aurora watched as Walburga walked away before she began the walk back to the potions classroom. She was intrigued by the potential friendship between the two of them. When she walked back into the class there were Gryffindor students everywhere and the classroom had gotten significantly louder, she walked back to her seat and all the boys looked at her.
“Where did you go?” Falco asked.
“Just needed some quiet, that’s all.”
The rest of the group watched as she pulled out a notebook, quill, and her ink pot. It made her uncomfortable when they all watched her like that but it’s not like she could just tell them to stop.
Potions class seemed to fly by and before Aurora knew it, she was being ushered out the door and dragged back to the common room with the rest of her new friend group.
“Come sit with us Aurora.” Abraxas motioned to the couches in front of the fireplace. Aurora looked at her watch and sighed, “I can’t I have alchemy, Headmaster Dippet said that the class is very small, so I don’t want to be late.”
“I forgot that you were taking alchemy.” Felix said.
Aurora rolled her eyes as she went to turn around, but a voice stopped her.
“Let me walk you there.” Tom stood and walked closer to her. She refused to allow him to see her shock.
“Thanks, I’ll see the rest of you later.” She nodded to the rest of the group before beginning what she would assume would probably be an awkwardly long walk.
Once the two of them were in the hallway Aurora stopped walking and turned to Tom, “Why did you offer to walk me to my next class?”
“I wanted to ask you something but not in front of the rest of the knights.”
“Okay, go on and ask.”
Aurora watched as Tom clenched his jaw before speaking, “I read something recently about legilimens and occlumens that I found interesting. We’re both gifted in one but weaker in the other, we need to practice on each other so eventually we can telepathically speak to each other. Once we’re good at it you will teach the others.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
Tom raised an eyebrow, “Handle what?”
The slight confusion in his voice made Aurora smirk slightly, it was kind of charming when he missed something. It was proof that he didn’t know everything.
She got closer to him, so that her whisper could be heard, “Me, being in your mind. Seeing your memories, feeling your emotions. I doubt that someone like you would let me break down the bricks in your mind.”
They were both silent for a moment, Tom’s eyes were fixated on Aurora’s face and that’s when she noticed exactly how close they were. She pulled away slightly before speaking again, “Also, you couldn’t handle my emotions.”
Aurora looked down at the textbook in her hand before looking back at him, “I feel everything so deeply and some of my memories are so strong that just thinking about them makes me feel sick.”
Tom sighed, “Greatness isn’t achieved without pain.”
He leaned in closer to Aurora so he could get on her eye level, “What we see in each other’s minds stays between the two of us, we never tell another soul.”
She nodded, “Okay.”
Tom nodded as well, “Meet me before your astronomy class tonight. You know where.”
“I’ll see you then.”
Aurora walked away and before she started up the stairs she looked back, Tom was staring at her intently and it made her feel uneasy. She walked up the stairs and made her way through the castle to the alchemy classroom, it was being taught by Professor Dumbledore. As she walked into the class Aurora looked around and saw a lot of Ravenclaw students, once they noticed that she had walked in they all stopped talking and watched as she sat down beside the only other Slytherin student.
“Don’t mind them, they just think they’re smarter than us. I’m Argus Carrow.”
The boy smiled and held out his hand, “Nice to meet you, I’m Aurora Buck.”
He chuckled, “Yeah, I know who you are, everyone does.”
Aurora blushed slightly, “Everyone?”
“Well, mostly everyone. You transferred late and you’re already hanging out with Tom’s friend group, so you are kind of big news.”
Aurora scoffed, “What’s so special about being in Tom’s friend group?”
Argus smiled, “You’re the only girl in a boys club, it’s just not that common here.”
Aurora went to ask another question, but the door opened and in walked Professor Dumbledore, he was dressed almost identically to how he was dressed yesterday. He cleared his throat and began distributing a list of books that the students would need to get. Dumbledore gave a brief overview of what was expected of students, he highlighted the areas of study that they would be learning, and he began with how other classes would be essential to the understanding of this class. Once he was done, he excused everyone from class early so they could go and retrieve their textbooks from the library. The eight students walked in silence to the library, once they got what they needed the Ravenclaw students left without saying anything to Aurora and Argus. The two of them headed towards their own common room but just as they were about to enter a young girl came out. “I have been looking for you, come with me.”
The young girl was striding down the hall before Aurora or Argus could say anything, “She’s my little sister, a bit dramatic. I should go see what she wants. Nice meeting you.”
“Nice to meet you too Argus.”
Aurora made it back to her room without being bother by anyone and she set her new textbooks on one of the spare beds, she knew that she should probably start reading through some of the material, but she took off her robe and laid on her bed.
She didn’t have a class before lunch which was nice so she decided a nap might be a good option.
She woke up to banging on her door, Aurora could feel the annoyance vibrating off the person on the other side of the door, so she got up quickly.
It was Walburga, “Hey sleepy head. Let’s go.”
Aurora quickly grabbed a black robe and was following behind Walburga, “I’m sorry, I have a bad habit of sleeping at the wrong times.”
Walburga giggled, “My youngest brother is like that. It’s okay, just don’t let it happen again.”
The two girls walked quickly through the common room and made their way up the stairs, as the two of them made it to the top and out the common room door they walked into Tom and Abraxas.
Walburga kept walking and Aurora made eye contact with Abraxas first, then Tom. “We’re meeting the others for lunch.”
“I-uh, I have lunch plans already. I should- “
Aurora watched as Walburga turned around, “Rora, are you coming or not?”
“I’ll see you two later.”
As Aurora walked away, she could hear Abraxas whisper to Tom about something, she didn’t have time to worry about that now. She caught up to Walburga and the two girls linked arms, Aurora swore that out of the corner of her eye she saw Walburga look back at the boys and smile.
As they walked toward the Great Hall Walburga pulled Aurora down a different corridor, “We don’t have lunch in there.”
As they walked down the corridor there was a single door and once they reached it and walked inside Aurora noticed a few other students sitting there, they all glanced at the two new arrivals and waved.
“Everyone, this is my new friend, Aurora Buck.”
“Nice to meet you.” There were two boys and two girls sitting at the table, lunch platters with various foods sat on the table.
“These are my cousins, Lucretia Black, and her younger brother Orion. That other annoying looking boy is one of my younger brothers Alphard. And last but certainly not least, this is Eileen Prince.”
“Take a seat.” Walburga motioned for Aurora to sit.
The lunch was pleasant, and Aurora got to know the group, she understood the group’s dynamics quickly. Walburga as the oldest was and she was the de facto leader which is why no one questioned her for bringing Aurora. As Aurora watched them interact their auras were in sync with each other, she could feel their strong bond and was impressed by the topics they were discussing. It was mostly related to ancient magic and politics; the political conversation was interesting to Aurora because it was similar to North America’s, but she didn’t know any of the names they mentioned. So, every time a new name was brought up, they would describe the person they were talking about in detail.
The lunch period went by fast and as they all got ready to leave, Aurora thanked Walburga for inviting and she thanked the rest of the group for being so nice to her.
As they walked into the Aurora noticed Walburga give Alphard a nod and that’s when he spoke to Aurora, “You can join us again tomorrow if you want.”
“I’d like that.” Aurora smiled at the two siblings before turning to leave.
Once she was back in her room, she quickly got her supplies for her ancient rune class, she knew that she would be seeing Tom in her next class, so she mentally prepared for the questioning she was about to receive.
Before leaving her room, she looked around quickly and noticed a small box sitting on her nightstand table, she placed her bag on her bed and picked up the box.
There was a note attached to the box, a simple, ‘I’m sorry’ written in beautiful handwriting. She opened the box and there was a striking necklace in it, it was a silver pendant that was enchanted to showcase the Aurora Borealis. She turned over the note to see if it was signed and she noticed the faint initials of A.M.
She took the necklace out of the box and put it on, she grabbed her bag and headed to her next class. Once she walked into the classroom, she could see Nicholas and Alexander sitting together, and sitting at the desk in front of them was Tom. There was an empty seat next to him and when he noticed her making her way to their side of the classroom his eyes shifted to the seat next to him, demanding that she sit beside him.
Nobody said anything as she sat down and she could feel Alexander’s anxiety, it was so overwhelming that it made her exhausted. Tom refused to look or speak to her, and she had a feeling that beneath his composed façade there was nothing but rage.