[book 1 of the "badlands" series]
•i think there's a flaw in my code•
It was ironic that a member of the least favorite House at Hogwarts was the Champion of the Triwizard Tournament.
Cassius Warrington had never expected to be seen as anything oth...
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Rain was violently pouring down by the time the Hogwarts Express slowed to a halt. Cassius, who had fallen asleep some hours ago, jolted awake.
"Someone had a good nap," Persephone drawled from her seat, smirking at Cassius.
"Oh, shut up, Avery," he muttered in response. She merely laughed in response.
Cassius glanced out the window, and found it to be storming. Gathering his things, Cassius shuddered as he and Persephone climbed off the train along with the rest of the Hogwarts students. Persephone smirked at her friend.
"Scared of a little rain, Warrington?" she teased, poking him in the ribs.
Cassius stuck his tongue out at Persephone, but had no response for her; it was no secret that he had never been a fan of storms. But nevertheless, he followed Persephone out into the storm, attempting to dodge the larger puddles, and climbed into the first available carriage.
Unfortunately, that carriage was already occupied by Ginny Weasley and one of her Gryffindor friends from third year. Too wet to find another carriage, Cassius and Persephone hesitantly sat down, careful to sit on the opposite side of the carriage. Ginny offered Persephone and Cassius a cautious smile. Ginny's friend, on the other hand, sniffed as if she had smelled something unpleasant.
"Of course we get stuck with two Slytherins," the girl said rudely.
Cassius rolled his eyes, but Persephone's burned with a fire crafted from vengeance. "Of course we get stuck with a bitch."
The Gryffindor bitch, as Persephone so eloquently called her, glared at the pair of Slytherins. Persephone smirked back, her face coolly emotionless. If Cassius had his sketchpad available, he would've drawn the icy mask of impassiveness that his friend so easily wore. Out of the two of them, Persephone could slip into the role of the typical Slytherin at the flick of a switch, easily donning an icy mask of bitchiness. Sometimes, it scared Cassius how quickly the change came over her, but he would never admit that to Persephone.
"There's no need to be rude," said Ginny lightly, but it was unclear who she was speaking to.
Ginny's friend rolled her eyes and scowled, but Ginny merely offered Persephone and Cassius a small smile. Persephone smiled back, but it was a dangerous one. It was like fire and poison were staring each other down, and it was terrifying to watch.
Thankfully, the carriage ride was short and no one exchanged any more words. All too soon, Cassius found himself running through the rain once more, trailing behind Persephone. He was panting by the time he staggered onto the steps of Hogwarts, only to be greeted by Peeves, who was finding joy in dropping water-filled balloons onto the soaking students below him.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked aloud angrily, managing to duck a balloon that instead hit Ron Weasley. Splotches of water splattered onto Cassius' robes, and he cursed loudly. His shoes and socks were already soaked, causing him to be freezing, and now his robes were more wet than the rest of him. There was a reason why Cassius hated storms, and this was one of them.
