That night Aurora slept a minimal amount, yet again. She had grown accustomed to the schedule but still continued to find herself lost in thought, picturing the relief she would feel if she allowed herself to doze off for longer than a maximum of three hours.
The girl had done well in charms that morning. She had already taught herself what they had learnt in that class the previous night, that was, of course, before she was rudely interrupted by the likes of Peeves and then Theodore Nott.
Even though she had completely understood the class she didn't allow herself to slack off. She was pushing herself, she had felt guilty because of her outburst, so she planned to make up for it with perfection. She refused to make a mistake, somehow she managed to force herself away from any. So with a rehearsed smile, she acted like she was okay, Like she had been receiving the perfect amount of sleep, like her brothers were still with her, like her mother was.
Professor Flitwick was exceptionally pleased with her that morning. Aurora even offered to assist the students who had been struggling. The class flew by and before she knew it, she was making her way towards the entrance of the castle, where she would await her next class. Care for magical creatures.
This class was going to hurt.
Her mother had encouraged Rory relentlessly to take it. She insisted that if they were related Rory had to select that subject. She chose it for her mother, she was either going to regret her decision or be incredibly thankful for it.
Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell took the subject with her. They decided to stick together for the class. The Gryffindors who took this subject would be partnered with the Slytherin students attending the class.
Rory had hoped Daphne would be one of the Slytherins, but she was taking the class divination instead. What Rory wasn't glad to see was Theodore Nott. He had yet to notice her, too eloped in conversation with Blaise Zabini and Adrian Pucey. She planned to pay him little, if any, mind.
Rory and the two girls spotted more Gryffindors peers who they had been friends with and made their way over to them. The three witches, especially Rory, had received warm welcomes, extremely warm.
The four other girls present had squealed at the site of Rory, Angelina and Katie. They hadn't spoken since the past year, so it was a small reunion of sorts.
The four immediately engulfed her in a massive group hug. And they all laughed amongst themselves, after exchanging polite small talk.
Theo's attention had been stolen from his friends at the unmistakable sound of teenage girls squealing. Eyes wide, he shot his attention to a group of seven Gryffindor girls in a group hug. He felt slight pity for the girls on the edge who had no one to hug them back. The excluded girls.
What surprised him least was when he spotted little miss perfect in the center of the embrace. He sneered at this. Of course they all fought to hug her. This annoyed him. Anger ensued from within him at the sight of her smile.
It was clearly practiced. Clearly fake. How could no one else see that? He thought. How could he, of all people, a mere stranger to her, see that? Oh, how he wanted to yell from the rooftops what a fake she was.
He observed the interaction of the girls. Flores had said some comment that went unheard by him, but all girls who did hear it erupted into a fit of small laughs and giggles.
That damned laugh. It infuriated him. It was so realistic, but he could tell it wasn't genuine. She had snatched back the mask that he thought he had stolen last night, and threw it over herself to shield her ugly and real personality from the rest of the world. All in the span of a few hours, she had become perfectly relaxed, as though their last conversation had never occurred.
He continued to stare at the girl. He understood why she was fit for popularity. She, at the height of "5'9 stood taller than the girls automatically drawing attention to herself. Her smile, although fake, radiated positive energy. He couldn't blame anyone who felt butterflies at her sweet smile. Her sweet sickening smile.
She had won the battle, but he was going to win the war, he was going to provoke her. Until she snapped.
He now wished he had chosen Divination as a subject instead. When given the choice between Divination and Care of magical creatures he had automatically selected the latter. Divination was an interesting class, he believed it could be so much more, but with a teacher like Professor Trelawney that wasn't the case.
After five minutes of waiting for their teacher. Professor Grubbly-Plank led them to the edge of the forbidden forest in search of Bowtruckle. A small mystical, stick insect, like creature . Surprise surprise, Aurora was the first to spot one. Her house received twenty points and she personally received congratulations from every other Gryffindor present.
He used this as determination to unveil her. He swore on his own grave to enact his revenge sooner or later. Perhaps he should play the long game. He insisted on discovering the secret side of her, whether it be within the next few days, or even months.
Nostrils flared, he willed for her attention. Like clockwork, her eyes met with his. His face clear of emotions for a good second, before presenting her with a light smirk, this proved his obvious act of passive aggression. Slowly he lightly clapped, a copy of his actions from the night before, to low key signify, it wasn't over.
It enraged him when she shot him a small smile before diverting her attention back to her friends. Why couldn't she be herself? What was so bad about it anyway, he was a dick and he didn't mind. What was different about her?
The rest of the day passed by as per usual. Their last period of the day had arrived and they made their way towards potions. Separately.
The dungeons had always intrigued Rory, not that she'd admit that aloud. But sometimes darkness was alluring. Her family would disagree, her mother would disagree, so she never voiced her thoughts.
The lighting was a deep green down there. Fit for a villain. No wonder Slytherin was considered the evil house. She jested in her mind.
Salazar Slytherin was one dark man, he chose to give his house the dungeons for a home, doesn't sound very comfortable. Not only did he choose the darkest place for the common room, Rory was also aware of his basilisk, now a mere corpse, hidden in the chamber of secrets.
It appalled Rory how one man could be so prejudiced. Aurora knew of the debates taking place amongst the muggles. How they fought for equality amongst black muggles and white muggles. It was certainly painful how little was accomplished. The situations were similar, a history of certain people believing they were superior due to the characteristics of their body. Skin and blood. It was uncontrollable. Plain unfair.
She began to wonder if Theodore Nott believed in blood supremacy. Aurora got the feeling he wasn't particularly fond of her. Maybe it was because she was a blood traitor. Of course it could be for any reason, but Aurora wasn't used to people disliking her. The only ones who did despise her was because of her association with muggleborns and half bloods.
She didn't need his opinion, she didn't want it. If he disliked her, his loss, if he didn't, good for him. Though, in all honesty she didn't hate him like she should. He had angered her the night prior but as she couldn't find herself enraged now.
Don't get her wrong, she didn't particularly like him, she held the same feelings Snape did for her. No particular feelings whatsoever. Unknown to Aurora her feelings were not shared, Theo did have an opinion on her. He despised her.
The boy had originally found a minor annoyance to her presence before he had ever associated with her. As he began to observe her, his dislike grew to hate when he discovered she was nothing but a fake. A liar. A manipulator.
She didn't possess the natural kindness he had initially believed. She was just as bad as him. The only difference was that she was privileged. A girl like her, although a liar, clearly, had a happy household and friends who would die for her.
He didn't need friends, he was above that. He liked his current ones, Blaise, Pansy and Daphne. He would rather die than grovel for more. He didn't want friends. What he wanted was a family. He didn't have that.
His father had always been cold. Never did he show any signs of affection. Nor did he allow Theo the relief for happiness. It was as though Theodore Nott Snr flourished in his sons pain. Perhaps that was why the boy enjoyed the idea of Aurora's downfall. That only made him angrier. He was like his father. He hated it. Was he going to stop? No. Was he going to get to know Aurora only to expose her? Yes.
His mother on the other hand was a saint. Or what he remembered. Theo adored his mum. But his time with her was limited. She had passed away. The loss of his mother and the constant physical and verbal abuse of his father may have shaped the young man he was today. Theo struggled in giving affection. He simply didn't remember how his mother did. His father was no mentor either.
Theo walked down the stairs, towards potions, after a slow day. He had previously come from transfiguration. An entertaining subject, usually.
But the lesson he had just exited was anything but fun.
Professor McGonagall had decided a theory lesson was fit for them. They spent the entire period note taking about the stance a wizard must take while performing a spell. If he could've repeatedly slammed his head against his desk, he would've done so.
Potions was still a boring theory subject, but he preferred it to endless, pointless note taking on the position of the individual casting the spell. Potions was a more interesting lesson. Yet he still decided to take his dear sweet time arriving to the class.
Professor Snape was also his favorite teacher. The man favored Slytherins. He was the only teacher who did. Besides Severus and the serpents themselves, the entirety of the school despised students in green. It's not like it was their fault they happened to be ambitious and cunning. Wasn't his fault he was witty.
This reminded him of a certain muggle issue that had been occurring throughout history. Females were particularly undermined in the muggle civilisation. He understood that sexism was a more important matter than mere Slytherin hate, but it bothered him all the same.
Theodore believed in equality. Even amongst the muggleborns. He would never say it aloud, his father would be appalled, and definitely name him a blood traitor. The boy couldn't risk that, he had nothing left besides his pure blood title, not including his home, but he still had friends, trust ones among the pure bloods. If he was marked a traitor he'd lose everything, he couldn't risk that.
The topic of sexism was swarming through his mind. He wouldn't admit aloud to his feminism either, again amongst the remaining sacred 28, they believed fighting for muggle causes would be enough to deem him a traitor. He felt like a coward at times, but it wasn't like the rest of the world would await him with open arms if he defected, he had to work with what he was given.
As a young boy, he was rather sweet, but as he grew so did the cold attitude he had adapted. He was fake. The younger him would be so disappointed, the current version couldn't find it within himself to even attempt to change back. The guilt would destroy him. So he thought wicked thoughts and felt wicked emotions, much like the ones that had so easily grown for the Gryffindor princess.
She at that current time had just arrived at the classroom, where she waited outside of it, for her intimidating and impossible to please, professor. She was the first student there. Her foot tapped to a peculiar rhythm, one she had made herself. She wishes Hogwarts had a subject dedicated to music, besides the choir, she couldn't sing.
The last time she tried it sounded more like a cable car accident. Aurora went through that stage as a child, where she believed she could sing. Her 'evil' parents would hype her up, therefore the child was convinced she had actual talent. Auroras brothers would visibly cringe at her but felt too guilty to say so. It took Aurora a long while before she realized she had no skill with her vocal chords.Though she was thankful she never tried to express her singing in front of others, Rory physically cringed at the idea.
So there she waited, tapping her foot to her made up song, with nothing in particular on her mind. Class wasn't going to begin for another three minutes and twenty four, three, two seconds. Rory had found a muggle object called a watch. The most helpful muggle innovation. It tracked time for you, like a normal clock, but it sat snug on one's wrist so you could check the time with just a simple look. Muggles were almost as lazy as witches and wizards were.
Students were beginning to fall in line behind her as they awaited their professor. Classes that involved both Slytherin and Gryffindor never ended well. In her first year, she could recall the light bickering which, throughout the years, eventually became relentless bullying to one another.
Aurora simply didn't socialize herself with the dark house, she didn't want to risk an argument starting. Really, she didn't want to risk her reputation and current relationships she had built over the years. She was happy with her social life, and long ago vowed to never put that in jeopardy.
As a swarm of students, dressed in green and blue, stood behind her she noticed a certain Slytherin asshole wasn't among them. Not that she cared. She was curious about him. Why did he loathe her, or act the way he did? She had no clue, and for a long time, she never would.
She viewed her wrist again, her professor was bound to arrive in less than nineteen seconds. She swore that Snape would rather chew off his own foot than be tardy. Just as the class was about to start in ten seconds, a man dressed in black robes to match his hair and sickly pale skin, became visible by the corridor.
AN
This chapter is un edited, sorry for that. Hopefully there weren't too many mistakes
Please feel free to point out my errors