CHAPTER THREE
THE KNIGHTS
HE'D MADE FRIENDS WITH THE REST OF JUNO'S LOT. Unsurprisingly, August knew how to speak to people, even if he never really wanted to. He knew he must become anew if he wanted a better time here. So speaking to Juno's friends was a start.
The first was Sai Khatri, a rich Indian pureblood with a smile so bright it could've blinded August. He was in Gryffindor, though August would have never thought this. He was vain and slightly aloof, who would rather keep out of the way of Quidditch, saying he didn't want to ruin his pretty face.
The other, was Ivan Drozdov, dark hair, hollow eyes, he reminded August of a Lestrange, but apparently he was Russian born, and Juno had told August that he was related to a vampire, which he wouldn't stop going on about once asked. He was also in Gryffindor, a chaser as well, a ruthless boy on and off the court apparently.
They talked to August, trying their best to include him in their conversations, but his mind couldn't quite stay on task. Always thinking of the prefect with dark curls and his supposed friends.
Maybe he should go and talk to them, see what the big deal was with them, but in the end, he'd chickened out, being too scared to speak to them. So he made due with the people around him.
....
He was sorted in Slytherin, just like Tom Riddle had said, he always knew in some way Tom was going to be right. There was something about the way he spoke, as if everything would fall into his lap, just how he expected it to.
He was directed to his dormitory by Tom, who spoke little to him, having the same bedroom as him and his friends was an odd experience. Having not seen any of Toms friends yet made August slightly nervous, they were just ideas to him. Like characters out of a story, and now they were going to come to life.
He didn't meet them until late at night, whilst he hid under his covers listening to them speak, not really meeting them, hearing them to be more precise.
One thing they weren't were subtle.
They spoke in hushed whispers about August, he could tell they were speaking about him because they kept saying his name, pretty loudly.
"I can hear you, you know," he said in the darkness, the chatter had all but came to a halt, quiet.
"Piss off then!" One voice said loudly, and August scowled before placing his pillow over his head to drown out their speaking.
....
He finally saw them in the morning.
There were a total of five. They walked in an arrow shape with Tom at its point, leading them towards their first class. His black robe floated behind him like a shadow, with his high cheekbones and sharp jaw, he looked almost saint-like with the sun behind him, shining down — the patron saint of spineless boys, he thinks, because that's all they really are, the boys that follow him, spineless, weak and foolish.
The first spineless boy besides him was tall and blonde, a bright white head of hair sitting on top of his pale head. Pointed features made him look like an elf, but his blue eyes startled and unnerved August. This was Abraxas Malfoy, and when asked about him, people just told August to steer clear, his jealous rage had gotten many people hurt throughout the years.
On the opposite side of Abraxas was another tall boy, though this time, he was brunette, with haunting eyes. He was the least cut off from the rest of school, having a girlfriend from Juno's house as well as being one of the nicer of the lot. His name was Theodore Nott, and August would normally find him drinking in the kitchens in the earlier hours of the morning, mainly telling his life story to the house elves that would listen.
Behind Theo was a shorter boy, though August knew not to underestimate him. A stocky boy with short cropped hair. He was also the most manic of the group, a great bounding boy who enjoyed hurting others out of spite. This was Edmund Goyle and he knew him best from pelting bludgers on the Quidditch pitch with extreme accuracy and singing at the top of his lungs.
Lastly, besides Edmund was the shortest of the lot. With dark curly hair and hollowed out face, August didn't know a lot about him. All he knew was that he was a scowling boy with more interest in school gossip than anything else. This was Reinhardt Lestrange, a boy who looked smarter than he really was.
They would walk past August without a second glance, talking loudly about their classes or jokes that made the rest of them roll their eyes. They all huddled close together like they were shielding themselves from the rest of the world. If the rest of the world got in, it would infect them all.
The rest of September included August watching them, to try and see through the cracks of their well put together look of rich boys. Juno had told him lots about them, their parties, their tightly knit activities, their distaste for other students, how Tom was the golden boy of the school. He wouldn't tell her what he was like on their first meeting, how his eyes glittered hungrily at his so called gifts.
No, that felt like a secret he could keep selfishly for himself. He didn't know why he wanted to keep it a secret, maybe to have leverage over the boy meant something in his mind, maybe it ruined the golden boy façade that Tom had, or maybe he just wanted something to himself of the boy.
He couldn't lie to himself that Tom was intriguing. His casual aloofness as he sat in classes, a hand under his chin, resting ever so gently, the light that poured through the windows, a halo of sunlight surrounding his features. The boy intrigued him highly. He was smart, easily the smartest of the rest of the students, though he didn't bother with raising his hand to ask or answer questions, as if he was bored of the whole thing.
He'd sit besides Abraxas, and they'd speak ever so quietly, and August, from where he sat on the opposite side of the room, would lean, as if he could listen in, but it'd be no use.
But often, he imagined himself to be the topic of conversation, and sometimes he believed it when they'd send him quick looks, thinking he wouldn't catch them.
But he did, and he revelled in it.
an/ first new chapter omg !!! hope u enjoy !!