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The Great Hall, 1942 Monday, 7:32 am
Venus's usual seat at the end of the Slytherin table was occupied by a bunch of ignorant second years, so avoiding confrontation today wasn't an option. Begrudgingly, she made her way to the centre and plopped herself right beside Abraxas.
Naturally, the boy looked up from his plate and blinked astonishingly at her. The two regarded each other as acquaintances, yet Venus never conversed with Abraxas unless she had no other choice. His pale eyes flicked from her expressionless face to Tom, who was seated across him. Both seemed to be unbothered by his bewilderment, so he just went back to his eggs.
"I'm heading off to the library. I expect to see you at Charms, Abraxas." Tom's monotone voice suddenly rang through the silence, the prefect picking up his book from the table top and walking away. Abraxas nodded as he watched him go, his mouth still full of food.
"He's not too bad on the eyes." Venus was the next to talk, eyes trailing behind Riddle. Her face remained emotionless as she nibbled on her bacon.
"You both are awfully similar. Come to think of it, I can almost see something happening between you two." The blonde spoke his mind, knowing that Venus wouldn't judge. She was an odd girl, always seemingly in her own head.
She just scoffed, rolling her eyes as she dropped her piece of toast and turned around, standing and swinging her messenger bag onto her shoulder. "Like most people, I enjoy the simple things in life. Sandwiches, the smell of old books, and the simple fact that I haven't yet lost my sanity due to courting an absolute prick. Please, if anything, the farthest I'd go with him is a simple hook up."
"Oh." And with that, Abraxas was left alone with his thoughts, the brunette walking away with a sway of her hips.
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Astronomy Tower, 1942 Monday, 10:48 pm
The gentle breeze blew strands of Venus's brown hair into her face, the hair lightly tickling her cheeks and nose. The Astronomy Tower was used multi-purposely; as a place to study the stars, a hiding place for snogging couples, and a sanctuary for Venus on the nights where she wasn't able to sleep.
Alas, good things always come to an end, for the echo of approaching footsteps snapped her out of her dissociative state and alerted her of an oncoming (unwanted) person. Slowly, she twisted her body around, legs retreating from their dangling position of the edge of the tower, as she blinked nonchalantly at the figure emerged in the shadows.
"And what might you be doing here?"
"Sacrificing my pet slug to the crop gods for a wealthy harvest this year, you?" Her voice wasn't at all sarcastic, it remained as monotone as it usually was.
"Prefect rounds."
"That's a bit of a boring answer. Come on Riddle, you can do better than that." Her hazel eyes glinted as the boy cast 'lumos', his face coming into view. His ivory skin and cold features hasn't changed since she last saw him, neither his perfectly styled hair nor immaculate robes.
"I could have points deducted from Slytherin, or better yet put you in detention." He threatened? Well, not so much a threat as he intended, for Venus shrugged and muttered 'Do whatever you please,' in retaliation, her body twisting back to face the landscapes of Hogwarts.
"Do you think the giant squid ever gets lonely, or does he have other tiny little squid to keep him company." Venus mused, not particularly asking Riddle rather than herself.
"I beg your pardon." He let his strict facade slip for a moment, blinking in confusion at the girl's peculiar question.
"I know that the merpeople certainly aren't fond of him. They think his tentacles get in the way of their day to day life. Pricks, the lot of them. The squid deserves so much more..." Her soft voice trailed off, her mind travelling elsewhere once again.
"You ask the most trivial of questions." Tom sighed, checking behind him for any other prefects before making his way to sit beside Venus. He didn't know what came over him; what compelled him to let go of his composure and approach the idle girl - yet he went along with it, testing the waters to see what he can gain from her companionship.
"The answers might come in handy, one day." Venus hugged her cardigan closer, peering at Tom. She blinked.
"Yes?" His tone was sharp, slightly annoyed. He then realized, she expected a legitimate answer. He sighed. "Well, in retrospect, this particular breed of giant squid are accustomed to a life where it's just them. Their mothers leave at birth, and they don't travel in packs, so no. He doesn't feel lonely, he's used to it."
Venus's eyes flicked down, a small smile adorning her face. Tom believed this is the first time he saw her smile; the first time anyone saw her smile.
"Who knew." She muttered.
"Pardon?"
"The squid and I have more in common then I originally thought." Tom stared at her moonlit features, his expressionless face not giving much of his thoughts away.
"Yeah, who knew." He replied, his head full of images of the orphanage in which he grew up in and a woman who's facial features weren't clear.
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a/n - I hope I scrape up the motivation to actually finish this book this time.
