It had been a rather eventless lunch for the Slytherin First Years — well, nearly all of them.
Harry couldn't help the gnawing feeling in his gut when he could feel eyes piercing through him whenever he went but no matter where he turned, he couldn't seem to pinpoint where the source was.
Harry tried to shrug off the paranoia bubbling in his chest and tried to focus on his next class. He knew he had Defence next, and had let his friends (?) go ahead without him since he wanted to have a chance to gather his mental bearings under the guise of finishing off his sandwich.
He liked his year mates well enough and he loved the idea that he could possibly have friends without the very real factor of Dudley spreading misinformation and taking them away from him . The problem was , they could be a bit too noisy and overwhelming for Harry and hopefully they wouldn't catch onto to these thoughts because they could very well get tired of him then... what if they would think him a freak as well if they found something wrong with him-?
He couldn't afford to let it reach that point. No, he had to-
"Mm , you're going to be late if you don't keep an eye on the clock , Potter!" a familiar voice drawled from behind him.
He turned around to meet a pair of unnerving mint coloured eyes. Right — it was that strange little bloke , Augury. Strangely enough though, he was accompanied by Wyllt (?).
But what were they doing together if they were in two different years ..? Well- having friends in different years is a possibility —
Delphinus' already wide grin that seemed to be plastered onto his face seemed to widen impossibly further...as if he'd read his mind..
Harry almost did a double take at the wave of nausea that hit him the longer he kept eye contact with the older boy.
Without any warning , Emrys stepped on the sliver-haired boy's left foot . Hard .
Delphinus inhaled sharply and shot the redhead a blank look. The lack of emotion sent a shiver up Harry's spine that could have been far worse than any enraged expression the boy could have pulled.
It felt ... off, triggering that same — feeling (? nearly as if another entity were present in his body) he felt when he had been on the train . This time , fear and adrenaline accompanied the 'entity' .
Something was wrong with Delphinus- but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know exactly what.
"Oh dear, sorry about Del!"Emrys sang, interrupting the chain of thoughts his mind cooked up the longer Harry remained in their presence.
At the redhead's voice, the foreign presence retreated along with the wooziness.
"You alright there, Harry?"Delphinus' lilting voice asked , but the sweet tone didn't match his expression.
Those unnerving minty eyes observed him with an indiscernible emotion that darkened them, but Harry knew better than to question it and opted to play stupid.
He gave the pair a weak grin. "No- Er, I'm alright ! Maybe I overate and made myself ill... Yeah, that must be it.." He muttered quickly, standing up in a bid to rush out of the Hall.
Emrys pursed his lips, the worry evident on his face. "Hm- if you say so..."he replied, unconvinced.
Delphinus' familiar jovial attitude seemed to return as if nothing happened after the terrifying shift in demeanour. "If it gets worse, I'd suggest going to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. Rather ask an older student or even myself if I happen to be around to accompany you if need be. We can't have our Golden Boy keeling over on us now!"he said , slapping Harry's shoulder playfully.
"Ye— Yeah! Will do... I need to get to class, I'm really sorry!"
"Of course, of course! Have fun!"
*
As soon as the tips of Harry's robes disappeared out of the Great Hall, Delphinus spared Emrys a glance.
"Walk with me." It wasn't a question. Even if Both his face and tone appeared serene , the younger redheaded boy had learnt quickly to hear the venom that laced his senior's whenever someone had upset him. And when Delphinus was upset — chances were that you'd wish that you could turn back time to avoid aggravating him.
The silver haired boy didn't even wait for answer and started making his way out. Emrys could only scramble after him anxiously, throat dry as he could only imagine what Delphinus could do to him.
*
In the privacy of an alcove far away from the general student population — Delphinus grabbed Emrys by the collar of his shirt, slamming him into the stone wall with surprising strength for someone so small in stature.
Emrys felt a lump form in his throat as the silvery haired boy's eyes bore holes into his own. If looks could kill, the redhead would be dead a thousand times over.
The hand that gripped his collar travelled to his throat, applying a small amount of pressure. Not enough to cut off any airflow but just enough to cause discomfort for the redhead.
Delphinus smiled at him with a sickening sweetness before leaning in to whisper in his ear :
"Listen and listen well. I will not tolerate you doing something like that again. You've already ruined my plans before and I was gracious enough to forgive you for your grievances against me."
"I- I'm sorry—! Please don't—!"Emrys choked out.
"However," the older boy carried on like he heard nothing whilst squeezing harder on the redhead's throat. "You're lucky that I am a benevolent ruler, so I will forgive you once more. If you fuck things up with Harry for me... I swear I'll drown you or do something worse, Emrys."
And with that, the pressure on his throat was relieved. Delphinus spun on his heel and stalked off, leaving Emrys shaken, coughing as he tried to compose himself once more.
*
A/N: Omg- is it he? The deranged author posting again??? hopefully you've liked the chapter, it's more of a filler in all honesty