Regrets

1.5

" Forest, heard you went to China this break. How was it?"

Xing lifted her head to look at the person, " Not bad, definitely different from Britain. Heard you went to France this year, Auclair."

Dion Auclair nodded as he take another bite out of his pudding. He took his time to swallow before continuing, " My father wanted to connect us back to our French roots so we went on a tour there. Got to visit my cousins there too."

Dion Auclair was a Slytherin third year who Xing have befriended during their time in Potion together which they were table mates. Due to his roots being in France, his family was not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight but his family hold enough power to rival some families there. When they befriended each other, the trio naturally ate with each other but each has their own network of friends.

" Supposed your French had improved then," Aella Atherton piped in. Aella Atherton was another Slytherin third year that Xing befriended due their mutual interest in herbology. Like herself and Dion, she was a heiress of her family, a powerful one nonetheless.

Dion shrugged, " Not sure if it really improved but by the end, my father hired a French tutor for me."

Xing chuckled, " You should talk with me occasionally, it would benefit the both of us."

Dion rolled his eyes, " Sorry, Forest. I don't enjoy making a joke out of myself." With this comment, it made the two girls laugh.

" What did you do this break, Aella?"

" Knowing her, she probably slept most the time."

Aella glared at him, kicking him in the shin resulting in Dion groaning out. " Even if I sleep, I still get better marks than you in herbology!"

Rubbing his sore shin, Dion yielded, " Sorry, sorry."

" Applying for Quidditch this year, Auclair?"

" Probably. I practiced during the break but we'll see how much competition I have."

" You're trying out for the chaser position?"

" Yeah, put in a good for me, Forest," Auclair joked.

Xing shrugged, "I'll try but it's not me who's deciding, it's the captain. Heard Pucey's also trying out this year."

The trio continue to talk as desserts appear and before they know it, the banquet have come to an end. Before they left, the entire school stood up for the school's song which was exaggerated by the Weasley twins. Xing smirked, finding their harmony despite being out of tune, amusing.

As they made their way back to the Slytherin Dungeon, Xing made eye contact with Draco before leaving. Like last year, the first years were guided by the prefects so Xing wasn't worry about the lot getting lost.

As she made her way inside the dungeon, she took her spot against the wall along with Aella and Dion as they wait for all Slytherins to be gathered. Once the first years have entered and settled themselves, the eldest prefect spoke up. " Welcome back to Hogwarts, second to seventh year students and welcome, first years, to the house of the snakes."

Pausing in silence, the prefect took his time before continuing. " As part of this house, there are rules that you all have to follow. Not following them will lead to proportional consequences."

The seventh year prefect then took over as she walk towards the wall, displaying a list of rules. " First, your house is your family and family stand together. Arguments with another Slytherin are only permitted within the Slytherin house. You will face great consequence if you break this rule." This was heavily emphasize by the tone of her voice.