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The first night at Hogwarts was the worst, it was one of the most difficult nights she'd ever experienced, and this time she didn't have anyone to run to, to hold her and tell her it would be okay. She hadn't had that person for a while, but she felt more isolated than ever. She thrashed from side to side, tossing and turning inside of her single bed, sweat forming on her skin, cascading down her sickly white skin and staining the bedsheets. Her dark tresses desperately slung to her forehead, soaked in sweat.
'Come forward and join us or die.'
A man shouted in her mind, he looked sickly and snake like, his face seemed as if it constantly plagued her. Haunting her. Everyone cowered in fear from this man whose sick smile amidst the grave and war-torn faces tore Elizabeth apart from the inside. It felt like she was falling when her body jolted upwards, rapidly panting in an attempt to catch her breath, her teeth sunk into the inside of her cheek, fighting back the screams and tears, bringing herself back to reality.
Glancing around her bedroom, the soft rise and fall of each girl that occupied the room, they were sound asleep, the harsh snoring of Katherine being the only noise that registered in Elizabeth's mind. Tilting her head to the side she saw Valeria's lips twitch into a frown, slowly peeking open and over at her, staring at her in a heavy-eyed haze. "What are you doing up? It's too early." Valeria grumbled, shifting and rolling to the other side, her limbs splayed over the bed as she fell asleep again.
Slipping from her bed, she grasped her wand and reached for her notebook of all the household spells she'd learnt from Mrs Malfoy. Holding out her hand and wand over her bed, she silently uttered the incantation, returning the bed and the sheets to its former state. She then turned around, placing her wand down and reaching for her clothes and she stopped in front of the mirror, numbly studying herself.
The dark circles under her blood shot eyes, the sweat drenched hair clinging to her sickly pale skin. She looked like a mess; Fitzwilliam had always said Blakely's never looked like a mess in public. To give too much to someone, to show weakness to the public, it was giving them part of herself that they did not deserve. Not according to Fitzwilliam. Holding her clothes close to her, she began to clean herself, washing the sweat off of her body, scrubbing and cleaning until she was satisfied. She was dressed in her robes and in front of the mirror again. With a few choice words and a magical touch, the dark circles were gone, her hair soft and light, tugged back into a ponytail, not a hair out of black, her skin glowing.
Everything wrong was only in her mind, it was a dream – a nightmare actually – but that was irrelevant. The things she heard and saw, the things she dreamed of, they followed her everywhere, weighing her down, feeling her heart being clenched by some impossible force greater than her. When she was face with these feelings, she took a deep breath, then another, reminding herself about the advice Fitzwilliam had given her. She couldn't be weak, she couldn't cry.
Turning around she collected her things and made her way down and into the Common Room, as she stepped into it, the emerald green fire lit up the room, illuminating Tom's sullen features. He sat in front of the fire, on the floor, staring deep into the fire, Elizabeth forced a smile, making her way towards him, sitting down. "Good morning, Tom." She politely greeted him, sweetness and superiority surrounding her as Tom glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.
"Good morning, Elizabeth," he greeted Elizabeth with a strained smile, blue clashing with green. Despite having only known him for a short period of time, Elizabeth felt something off, something that fed the growing curiosity inside of her. Why a boy, with no apparent magical heritage become a Slytherin, the place where he was least safe? Why did she feel like she knew him? All of the questions that swirled around in her mind and she felt as if he was the only one able to answer them.
"Couldn't sleep?" Elizabeth softly asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Tom shook his head, looking away from Elizabeth and back to the fire. "It's too warm." He answered, his lips tugged into a deep frown as Elizabeth gazed at him quizzically. The dreary dungeons that the Slytherin quarters were located were enchanted to be practically glacial to anyone who wasn't a Slytherin. The pure-blooded parents wouldn't have anything less than perfection, vivacious health and warmth for their children.
"Is where you grew up cold?" Elizabeth curiously asked in an attempt to know him. From what her intuition told her, Tom didn't reveal much about himself, this only really made him more interesting. Someone less than pure among Slytherin was an oddity.
"Do you really care?" Tom questioned her, examining her, carefully circling her. Dumbledore would be a problem; he knew by the way Dumbledore carefully watched him during the sorting ceremony. From what he'd seen, the pure-bloods circles Elizabeth Blakely like vultures, ready to eat at the scraps of greatness she left in her wake. If they cared for her or not was left to be determined. What he understood the moment he laid eyes on her with Abraxas, Avery, Knox and Valeria was that they were loyal, and they rarely socially indulged themselves in anything that wasn't 'pure'. They wrote him off as a 'mud-blood' but a few kind words from Elizabeth had caused them to tolerate his presence.
"Care is a strong word, Tom, but I am interested." Elizabeth proclaimed.
"I'll tell you if you help me with something." Tom bluntly stated, wagering knowledge for a favour. The way her lips twitched into a smile told Tom that she knew he was playing a little game.
"I'll hold you to it, Tom." Elizabeth replied, chuckling lightly and turning to look back at the fire.
"You're not going to ask what kind of favour it is?" Tom carefully raised, surprised by her for a brief and fleeting moment.
"I have a clear vision of who I want to be, Tom. From what I've seen, to get there, there is very little I should not be willing to do. Favours are meaningless if they come at no cost, all I ask is that you be honest with me. Lying to me will not serve whatever ulterior motives you have well." Elizabeth assured him, superiority surrounding her. For all the doubt in her mind, for all the tragedy and pain that she had been drowning in for her whole life, there was not a single part of her mind that was anything but proud to be a Blakely.
"Is that a warning?" Tom asked.
"It's a suggestion, you've been kind to me so far." Elizabeth plainly stated. "Why have you been so kind to me? You don't seem the type." She pointed out, shrugging her shoulders as a soft sigh escaped her lips.
"I think you're like me. You're special." Tom's voice was barely above a whisper as he gave her his best answer. He didn't know what it was about this girl that made him want her approval. But as he saw a weak smile form on her lips and shifted closer to him. As much as he hated it, if his father didn't turn out to be a wizard, she was his best chance at making a name for himself. He needed her more than she needed him.
"You truly think I'm special?" Elizabeth asked, a small smile spreading across her lips, bringing unreasonable warmth to Tom's cheeks.
"I do," he nodded. "Do you happen to know if there are records of the previous students of Hogwarts?" Tom asked, bringing up the favour he wanted of her.
"Who are you looking for?" Elizabeth curiously asked.
"My father." Tom answered.
"I'll ask around for you, see if there's anything in the Library that could possibly help." She offered, as a tentacle bushed past the window and Elizabeth glanced over, her lips tugged into a slight smile watching as it swam past, inking the window. She found beauty in the darkness, these creatures lurking under the black lake, many students in the school would always wonder what was under it, but the Slytherin students would always know. The two first year students sat there in silence, unaware of their fates were intertwined and tangled. Neither would be forgotten, but they would both be remembered for very different things.
The patter of feet rumbled against the floorboards of the Slytherin quarters and students began to file out and into the halls in large packs. Soon enough the groggily group of friends walked downstairs, drawing her attention. Elizabeth glanced over, seeing Abraxas, Avery and Kyros walking down the stairs together. As Kyros's eyes landed on her, his dark eyes gleamed with amusement, running up to Elizabeth and Tom, throwing his arm around her as a large grin was spread across his face.
"Elizabeth, that's so nice of you to wait for me, told you she liked me." Kyros drawled out in an attempt to be seductive, Elizabeth rolled her eyes, reaching up and grabbing his face, shoving him away.
"She'd have to be blind, death and stupid to like you like that." Avery quipped, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he sat down on the leather couch, Abraxas sitting down opposite him.
"Unfortunately for you, she's not your great Aunt Cassandra, tough luck there, mate." Abraxas wheezed with laughter.
"Shut up," Kyros hissed at him.
"Where exactly did you learn to flirt, cabron." Valeria announced her presence, walking down the stairs as she ran her hands through her artificial ringlets.
"My father," Kyros answered. "He's got a new mistress." He shared with them.
"That's disgusting." Elizabeth said, squinting over at him, confusion clouding her face.
"I think it's rather cool, she's 19." Kyros proudly stated, standing up and fixing his hair.
"I suppose someone in the family has to make up for the lack of talent." Avery jibed as Valeria sat down beside Avery, snorting in amusement. Kyros seethed grabbing the books Avery had brought down with him and he let them drop to the ground before silently walking away.
"Great," Abraxas sighed, his eyes following Kyro's who slowly disappeared from view.
"In hindsight, you probably should have just left him alone." Elizabeth teasingly commented, standing up, smirking over at Avery who sighed.
"Why would I do that?" Avery asked, scrunching up his face as he got his wand out, waving it and all the books neatly piled on top of each other.
"God, we have charms today, you just know those no-talent mud-bloods and Gryffindors are going to fail at trying to levitate that bloody feather." Abraxas groaned, standing up and waiting for Avery to collect his books.
"Right, and I forgot you were impossibly perfect at levitating when you first tried." Elizabeth snarkily drawled out.
"Damn right, I was." Abraxas boasted, reaching out and dramatically tugging at his blazer, his icy eyes landing on Elizabeth. "I'm perfect." Abraxas stood still looking down at his best friend with a tender look in his eyes. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked her.
"I never can. You shouldn't worry about me, I'll manage." Elizabeth assured him standing up and pulling Abraxas into a hug.
"Come on, Avery." Abraxas called out, stalking towards the exit with Avery in tow. Valeria stepped forward, glancing over at them.
"You want me to stay here with you or are you doing to be okay with the second-hand china doll?" Valeria sassily asked, her blue eyes briefly drifting over to Tom whose lips tugged into a frown.
"He's a friend of mine, Valeria, try and be nicer." Elizabeth half-heartedly demanded, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"I would, but it might kill me." Valeria replied. "So?" she expectantly asked.
"Somehow, I think I'll manage without you." Elizabeth smirked, looking up at Valeria who nodded, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well since you assure me you can manage; I suppose my business is done here." Valeria sarcastically quipped, turning and walking out of the common room, her head held high.
"That right there is best friend marital." Elizabeth sardonically commented.
"Why are you friends with them when they treat you like that?" Tom curiously asked, standing up, peering over at Elizabeth, attempting to understand the dynamics between them.
"Friendship is a complicated thing." Elizabeth laughed lightly. "If you desire a part in this world, you'll do well to adapt." Elizabeth shared, her eyes flicking up and down at Tom, taking in his stiff posture and meek demeanour.
"I'll keep that in mind." He turned away from her, stiffly walking out of the Slytherin common room. Elizabeth sighed, sitting down on the leather couch, crossing one leg over the other, tilting her head back. Slowly, her mind began to wonder, watching people walk in and out of the common room, talking amongst their friends, all excited to see each other, excited to be back at Hogwarts. Elizabeth reached for her wand, whispering the incantations and entering their minds.
It wasn't like she hadn't expected the rush of thoughts running through her mind as she took deep, practices breaths, focusing on each and every mind she easily connected with, but it was very different to practicing with just one person in the room. In theory, if she could enter their minds, eventually she would be able to figure out their weaknesses, the things they hid from the world and sometimes themselves. Maybe one day she'd be able to alter their memories and bend their free-will.
As villainous as it may have seemed, thinking about it, it could have easily been mistaken as dark magic. But what if she could help people with that? What if someone went through something so terrible and this could save them from a lifetime of pain? There were too many variables, too many layers of complex moral questions for any politician or decent person to indulge with such a notion. Pure-blood, half-blood, muggle-born. All of them, they were all the same at the end of the day, they all had magic flowing through the veins. There was a small group of people who would ever really think about it though.
Fitzwilliam had always suggested to think about the possibilities that others were blind to, if she hadn't tried it, there was no way she could form an opinion on it, a complete and rational opinion. She had to make choices with all the facts and with eyes unclouded by irrationality and inexperience. Power was what kept her family safe and on top. They were great, but the fall from greatness could happen too easily and too quickly. It had been how her family fell so quickly.
"Did you actually wait for me?" Katherine snapped her out of her trance, she broke her hold on the students crowding the common room and her eyes were drawn to Katherine standing before her, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Standing up, Elizabeth reached out, smoothing down her robes before stalking towards Katherine, her face void of almost all emotions.
"Yeah," Elizabeth nodded. "I was under the impression that I was all you really got." She playfully drawled out, her lips twitching into a smirk before she turned, making her way towards the exit with Katherine in tow. Elizabeth found those words had ripped its way through her chest, digging into her heart. Too many people had surprised her so far.
"You know...we have potions first followed by History of magic, flying, transfiguration and charms and then astronomy." Katherine groaned, looking down at their Monday schedule as she fell into step with Elizabeth.
"Thrilling." Elizabeth dryly muttered. "I'm glad I didn't do anything fancy with my hair." She sarcastically drawled out earning a snort of amusement from Katherine.
"You and me both," she huffed. "Shit, my twin is going to be in some of these classes, I seriously don't get why they even bother putting us with other houses." Katherine began complaining.
"You two don't get along?" Elizabeth slowly asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She's my best friend, but it's not exactly like she would have been thrilled that I ended up in Slytherin, I know my mum and dad won't be." Katherine muttered under her breath, her eyes falling to the floor. "Since it's where I am though, I might as well make it worth my while." Katherine smirked finally showing Elizabeth her true colours. Elizabeth glanced over at the apparently outspoken red head with an amused look in her eyes. "Is your family like that?" she asked.
"No," Elizabeth shook her head, unsure of if they were or not. There weren't many Blakely left, and those who were around, they most likely wouldn't have much to say on which house they ended up in. "I do have some advice, my word is only going to go so far, so you need to act the part of a pure-blood Slytherin." Elizabeth began, stopping in her tracks and looking deep into Katherine's eyes.
"So my natural charm isn't going to be enough?" Katherine rhetorically asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm going to have to say no." Elizabeth said, laughing lightly as she reached out, her fingers ghosting over Katherine's clothed body, softly correcting her posture. "Back straight, shoulders down but still strong, neck extended slightly, chin up but not too far, eyes straight forward. Be calm and cold to the world. Never lose your temper, never break your cold and indifferent expression for that is a sign of weakness. Only show your weakness to those who have earned it." Elizabeth's hands danced across Katherine's body fixing her body up to a similar way that Elizabeth stood. A bright smile lit up Elizabeth's sullen features as she looked deep into Katherine's eyes, pride filling her being for a brief, fleeting moment.
"That sounds depressing." Katherine brashly commented, her eyebrows pinching together, but the way Elizabeth looked at her caused her featured to soften. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Katherine asked furrowing her brows. "You're all I got, but I'm not all you've got." She stated, there had been too many things that didn't seem right about this. A Blakely and a Weasley, it seemed like a cosmic joke to her.
"Life is too short to worry about blood-status or family names." Elizabeth shared in a brief, clandestine and earnest moment. "We should hurry to breakfast before Kyros somehow manages to suck up all the food into his gaping black hole of a mouth." She teasingly drawled out, flashing a toothy grin, reaching out and grasping Katherine's hand, dragging her towards the great hall.
As they got there Elizabeth strode towards the Slytherin table, her hand slowly slipping from Katherine's as she squeezed into the distance between Tom and Abraxas, her eyes lit up as she began piling food onto her plate. Valeria was sitting down beside Avery, picking at her food while Katherine sat down beside Kryos who was sitting beside Avery. As Elizabeth looked around, she couldn't help but think about how perfect it felt for a brief and fleeting moment. Being with all of these people had always felt so easy to her, easier than anything else had in her life.
A wet finger entered her ear causing Elizabeth to jolt to the side, knocking into Tom as a shrill scream escaped her lips, her head darting up to see Clifford standing there with a large grin and a mischievous glint in his eyes as he was accompanied by Travis Rosier, Fergus Diggory and Addison Mulciber. Abruptly turning around she reached out, her palm roughly colliding with his gut. "That was actually so gross," Elizabeth grumbled, grabbing a napkin and wiping inside of her ear, glaring over at Clifford.
"Love you too dear sister, now come on, give your big brother a smile." Clifford half-heartedly demanded with a small smirk causing a smile to form on her lips. "What do you have up first?" Clifford asked casually as if he's never stuck his silva coated finger inside of her ear.
"Potions with Gryffindor." Abraxas answered for Elizabeth.
"And we're all very excited for it, obviously." Valeria mockingly drawled out, leaning forward and turning away from Avery.
"I wouldn't be if I was you." Maria, Valeria's cousin, commented. She was walking past them, linking her arm with Addison's, the side of her body pressed against his as the boys chuckled in amusement.
"Beware of Slughorn, the man is a peach, but he likes to collect people, I already know you are all prime candidates. I mean fuck we got an Avery, a Nott, a Malfoy, a Blakely, a Rojas, a well an Unknown and a Slytherin fucking Weasley. You're like a whole circus." Clifford crassly exclaimed while Fergus rolled his eyes.
"Come on Cliff, we've hassled your sister long enough. I apologise for my friend." Fergus nodded to everyone walking away with them.
"I could have apologised." Clifford quickly cut in.
"Are you serious?" Travis asked, raising an eyebrow, laughing.
"That'd be a sight." Addison commented.
"The day you apologise for yourself is the day Dumbledore actually admits he hates you." Maria sassed, chuckling and linking hands with Addison, walking off and towards the Ravenclaw table.
"That's quite rude of you, maybe you should try apologising." Clifford shouted after them, turning and running after the two with Travis and Fergus following in tow, exasperated. "He doesn't hate me by the way." Clifford's voice echoed through the great hall.
"Why is your brother friends with a Hufflepuff?" Avery sneered looking at the devastatingly handsome trio that remained, mucking around, their bodies erratically colliding.
"Why wouldn't he be?" Elizabeth harshly asked out narrowing her eyes at Avery momentarily watching in brief satisfaction as he shrunk away from her scathing gaze.
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The eery halls leading down into the lowest parts of Hogwarts, to the dungeons where the potions class was held was filled with the mindless and mind-numbing chatter of first year students rushing to the class. All of them were excited, anticipation and anxieties flooding their minds as they went about their first day of Hogwarts ever. To the few pure bloods who had been privileged enough to have tutors before Hogwarts it was just more of the same, the slight difference being that they were surrounded by people that would soon become their competition, enemies or best friends.
Being off in a world of her own as her friends vibrated with chatter and energy, Elizabeth's mind wondered. As it often did, a lot of the time, Elizabeth was so caught up in her own world, drawing in all the new information that consumed her, analysing it in her mind in an attempt to figure out what she would do with it. She had always been told that almost all information was useful so long as you knew how to use it correctly.
"I don't see why they bother trying to put us in the same class as Gryffindor." Abraxas sneered, his lips curled in disgust at the passing of Gryffindors rushing to class, bouldering into them, roughly shoving into Katherine as they passed. The slam of her books falling to the floor echoed throughout the damp and eery hallway.
"Seriously? Watch where you're bloody going, for Merlin's sake." Katherine hissed, kneeling down and picking up her books, Kyros caught up to them, kneeling down and helping Katherine pick up her books, holding them out to her. Taking them from his grasp, a smile tugged at her lips when Valeria broke them apart, shoving her way through them, her head held high and a smirk donned on her lips.
"I'd say Gryffindors are the least of our problems when we'll have to deal with Olivia Hornby for seven years." Valeria stated with a huff of annoyance, the group continued forward.
"What's wrong with Olivia Hornby?" Avery asked, glancing around the group, confused.
"You're joking right?" Katherine asked, her voice rising slightly.
"You mean, other than the fact that we have to share a room with the dumbest, meanest girl in our grade?" Valeria asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, obviously he's joking, why else would he even bother asking the question?" Elizabeth dryly remarked, her eyebrow quirking upwards and a small smirk spread to her lips causing Valeria to smirk and shake her head. Tom followed closely behind them, clutching his book to his side, watching them closely.
"But seriously, Olivia hasn't been that bad so far." Avery pointed out, scratching his temple as Valeria burst out laughing shaking her head.
"Olivia Hornby is dumber than Camilla Jodie and meaner than your mother," Valeria plainly stated, watching with glee as Avery scrunched his face up slightly.
"Mate, you can't even deny that. Your mother is like a hag." Kyros brashly pointed out, erupting in laughter as Avery rolled his eyes hitting Kyros over the back of the head with his book. "What in merlin's beard did you do that for?" he cried out, looking over to Avery, hurt.
"Do you even have to ask?" Avery stated, shrugging his shoulders, a spiteful smile sneaking onto his lips. "I'd say Valeria in the morning is as close as we're going to get to a hag." He jovially drawled out, his eyes twinkling with amusement as Valeria rolled her eyes.
"Avery, you're lucky I don't rip off the Avery family jewels right now, don't push your luck." Valeria threatened him, the group bursting with laughter.
"I'm pretty confident I could take you." Avery proclaimed, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"My bets of Valeria." Katherine said, her lips twitching into a smirk as she glanced to the side.
"Only an idiot would take that bet." Abraxas huffed.
"Gotta stick with the lads, Avery all the way." Kyros abruptly called out, talking over Abraxas who sighed and shook his head.
"Valerie," Olivia called out from the doorway, demanding her presence be acknowledged. "I'm surprised to see you here, personally." She gushed, placing her hand on her chest, laughing with her friends.
"I have an inkling no one really cares but indulge us as to why." Elizabeth asked, sighing.
"Well, between us girls, I wasn't sure how you managed to get in. I mean at this point it's just go back to your own already, no one wants some filthy pure-blood poser." Olivia bitchly drawled out, placing her hand on her hip as her grey eyes drifted between the group, her eyes landing on Tom. "More than one, apparently." She stated as Valeria's eyes filled with rage, stepping forward, tightly gripping her wand when Kyros quickly rushed towards, wrapping his arms around Valeria, holding her back from Olivia.
"Calm down," Kyros whispered watching as Olivia waved at them, stepping into the classroom.
"I swear one day I am going to slap her so hard she's knocked back into her mother's vagina." Valeria growled; her teeth ground together as her eyes burned with pure fury as a slight giggle escaped Avery and Kyros's lips at the mention of 'vagina'. The group made their way inside and Valeria led the charge, slamming her books down on the table before taking her seat, the slam echoed throughout the musky, dark room.
"I don't get what her problem is." Kyros admitted, shrugging his shoulders and taking a seat beside Abraxas. Avery and Kryos sat down on the table with her. Looking around, she noticed the hushed whispers exchanged between students, muttering how 'creepy' the dungeon classroom really was.
Looking around, Elizabeth couldn't help but revel in the peculiar, spine-chilling sensation engulfing her senses. It had been the same feeling she'd had ever since she arrived at Hogwarts, being here, it felt more right than Fitzwilliam's home, than the Malfoy home. It had always felt like something hadn't been right in her from the moment she was born, but something inside of her settled for the first time in a long time.
"I know the feeling, Valeria, she's a wench alright." Katherine growled, looking around, her eyes narrowed at Oliva who stood in front of her table, minding laughing with her friends. Somehow one of their own, a Slytherin, had so easily become their enemy. Everything about her only seemed to further infuriate the close knit Slytherin friends. Loyalty was something they had in spades, hurting one of them meant hurting all of them. Undying unity and loyalty was the price they would have to pay for survival.
Their parents preached about loyalty to the pure magical blood, even going on to make a list about it. Muggles were the enemies; they had prosecuted them and were destroying the world with their violence and hate. Or at least, that was what they were told. They were told half-blood and muggle-borns inherited the muggles violent and destructive tendencies and if they corrupted their blood, they would tear each other apart like the muggles had done so to each other. What young child, born into their life would dare disagree? Which one of them actually even knew any better?
Elizabeth often fund it difficult to differentiate between who was right and wrong, it seemed like a lost cause, trying to figure out what was and wasn't right in a world where everyone had already decided who she was and who she would become from her family and Hogwarts house alone.
"We could spend all day trying to figure out what's wrong with Olivia, but the list is too long and quite frankly, no one has that much time." Elizabeth dryly drawled out in a teasing and monotone voice as she softly placed her books down on the table to their left, sitting down. Reaching up and scratching her head, her eyes drifted over to Tom examining the quill closely which earned a small smile from her as Katherine sat down beside her.
Vasilios Lestrange entered her view, placing his books down on the table, his eyes which were framed by thick eyelashes landed on her as a boyish grin spread to his lips. There were few people in Slytherin Elizabeth was clueless about, and Vasilios happened to be one of them. He was one of those people that came from nowhere, they just showed up one day and everyone pretended that they'd known him for a long time.
"Somehow, Olivia has enough time to single-handedly tear down everyone she sees, so if you want to teach her a lesson, you know, you're probably going to have to take the time to figure it out. I mean, it's not like you're really doing anything better, right?" Vasilios asked, cocking his head to the side as his lips spread into a wide grin, flashing his pearly white canines. Elizabeth's lips ticked into a slight smile as she watched him closely.
"You know, Lestrange, you're right." Elizabeth quickly said, softly placing her hand on the table, peering over at him.
"I seriously hope you're joking right now." Katherine loudly said, raising a scrutinising eyebrow, glancing between them.
"Yes, I'm joking." Elizabeth confirmed, sighing.
"Who's that?" Vasilios asked, jutting out his hand in front of Tom's face, Elizabeth raised her eyebrows as she watched Tom flinch away from Vasilios's hand.
"Tom," he answered for her, glancing to the side, his green eyes scanning Vasilios docile features, the two boys sitting side by side and immaculate.
"Right, right, you're that muggle-born kid, right?" Vasilios asked, slamming his hand on the ground, his dark eyes gleaming with recognition as he scanned the classroom.
"Be nice," Elizabeth said in a low voice, leaning forward against the table. "Alleged muggle-born." Elizabeth corrected him, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Didn't realise you were suddenly cared." Vasilios muttered, shaking his head. "That's a nice way to put it though." A chuckle escaped his lips.
"A muggle-born is when you don't have any magical parents, isn't it?" Tom quietly spoke up, his airy voice drawing all of their attention. "People keep calling me a mud-blood." He said. Elizabeth had never believed in the use of derogatory words, at the end of the day, she considered someone hating him for possibly being a muggle born no better than those who hated her for her blood, for being a Blakely. Very often, they weren't willing to say it to her face, but behind closed doors she knew nothing good was being said.
"I'm not surprised, these shit heads wouldn't know manners if it hit them in the face." Vasilios commented, shrugging his shoulders and stiffly looking away from Tom. A head of red hair caught Elizabeth's eye and her attention drifted towards it, following the red head to her seat. Slowly, Elizabeth leaned towards Katherine, her lips tugging into a smirk.
"So, Katherine, which one is your sister?" Elizabeth asked, flicking her eyes up to look Katherine in the eye, amusement boiling inside of her at Katherine's slightly exasperated look. "My apologies, truly, I just really couldn't tell." Elizabeth dryly inquired with a sly smile, Katherine huffed and rolled her eyes, looking down at her new found friend, finding herself slowly adapting to the multifaceted layers of her personality.
"Hilarious, didn't realised proper society ladies were allowed to have a sense of humour." Katherine bit back, sneering at Elizabeth's that had been shrouded in amusement.
"I'm full of surprises." Elizabeth laughed lightly, looking away from Katherine as Professor Slughorn walked into the classroom. Most of the students went quiet upon seeing him, waiting with anticipation to see if he would be a professor to be cautious of or not. Clifford had told Elizabeth about Slughorn. This professor was a man who liked collecting new and unique people he believed would succeed, forging new connections each passing year. From one look at him with his brilliant smile and cheerful attitude Elizabeth found it difficult picturing him as a Slytherin, going to school. But she knew appearances were often deceiving.
"Hello and good morning, first year students, I hope you found this classroom easily." Slughorn bashfully began with a flustered smile etched onto his lips. The man was short with tuffs of greying gingery hair springing out from the top of his head, his slightly bulging belly only just noticeable through the waist coat and vest. "I am Professor Slughorn for those of you who don't already know and welcome to Potions, here I will be teaching you how to cure boils, brew forgetfulness potions, something I think I accidentally take a sip of sometimes," he joked, slow and purposely friendly laughter rumbled through his entire body. Elizabeth's lips curved upwards, amused. "Brewing potions is the exceedingly fun part, but first, we must get past the boring things first. For 10 house points who knows the early history of the cauldron?" Slughorn asked, peeking around the room to see who had done their homework.
Five hands shot up immediately. They belonged to Alexander Wood, Elizabeth Blakely, Tom Riddle, Evaline Weasley and Vasilios Lestrange. Glancing around at those that had their hands up, Elizabeth took note of them, committing their faces to memory. Success and a desire to win was an unmistakeable trait, one which Elizabeth saw in some of those who held their hands up. "Ah yes, an unfamiliar face, Mr Riddle?" Slughorn called on him and all hands dropped, and all eyes were on Tom.
"Cauldrons were once used by muggles and wizard alike, being large metal cooking pots that could be suspended over fires. They have been around for hundreds of years and through they time their uses have changed quite drastically." Tom shortly answered, covering all he really needed to, the history of cauldrons was not a particularly interesting one.
"Very good, Tom." Slughorn's eyes lit up with pride for his house and for the interest Tom had shown. Gazing around the room, he felt a tingle running up his spine, feeling as if he was in the presence of greatness. As he finished giving his preparational lesson, he sat back as the student's business themselves, reading through the chapters on cauldrons and preparing to write an essay on the history of cauldrons and vials. His eyes settled on Elizabeth Blakely, a girl he'd heard so much about. From Valentina to Dumbledore to Fitzwilliam, so many had spoken of all this girl would or could achieve.
Slughorn wanted to wait patiently to see if Fitzwilliam was right. She was ahead of the curb when it came to reputation, both hated and respected, Blakely's were held in high esteem and standard, but to see one succeed was a common occurrence. In their world, Blakely's had always risen above expectation and defined themselves as vigilant, strong, confident, loyal, united. They took what they wanted. Everyone who knew a Blakely saw them succeed. But very rarely did anyone see a Blakely rise.
One by one the students filed out of the classroom, ready for their next class. Slughorn had called Elizabeth to see him after class. Glancing around, her lips tugged into a frown as she watched everyone leave, mentally wondering what Slughorn would want. In an attempt to find her place in Hogwarts, she knew there was no way that after one class Slughorn had already decided to handpick her. Something about Slughorn made her feel uneasy, especially as she gathered her things and walked to the front of the class, standing there alone before him. The kindness in his eyes was misleading, she often doubted many people were ever kind just for the sake of being kind. So many people around her were kind because they wanted something from her or because of what her family name could do for them. This had been the first thing Fitzwilliam warned her of. Always treat people with caution until they have proven themselves.
She didn't want to be like Fitzwilliam though, she wanted to establish herself and separate herself from all known notions that people used to define her. She decided not to be so quick to judge, not everyone was a monster like she was convinced of. Not everyone had ulterior motives like the Malfoy family. She had to believe that, otherwise it would be a terrible and lonely life ahead of her. "Hello, Elizabeth, dear, you are looking very well, how are you?" Slughorn asked turning around and plucking a potion from his shelf and he made his way over to Elizabeth.
"I'm doing quite well, sir. You're quite informative, I think I may come to love this class." Elizabeth offered, watching on with a small smile as Slughorn let out a small bout of sharp laughter, flattered by her words.
"You're too kind, Elizabeth." He said.
"If I may ask, what was your reason for asking me to stay back? I hope I haven't done anything to cause concern." Elizabeth politely inquired, watching with a polite façade as he fumbled slightly, holding out a potion in front of her. Elizabeth's eyes trailed down to see the table. It was a sleeping draught.
"You were very well behaved, Elizabeth." Slughorn assured her as she took a hold of the potion, her hand brushing over it slightly. "I remember a conversation I had with Fitzwilliam before he unfortunately passed," he drew in a sharp breath as Elizabeth continued the burning lump in her throat at the mention of her grandfather. "He told me you often had trouble sleeping due to some nightmares, now I made a sleeping draught for you in hopes you find a pleasant sleep, try it tonight and if it works come to be daily and it will be ready for you. Now run along, we wouldn't want you to be late for your next class." Slughorn leaned forward, laughing lightly. Her eyes drifted down to the vile again, drawing in a shallow breath.
"Thank you, sir, I really appreciate it." Elizabeth thanked him, flashing a smile before she slowly turned around, making her way out of the classroom. Glancing to the side she saw Kyros leaning against the wall, boredly inspecting his wand. "I'm surprised that you decided to wait for me." Elizabeth commented, brushing past him, making her way out of the dungeons with Kyros following closely behind her.
"You're joking right?" Kyros asked, his eyebrows pinched together. "I mean, I love you, El-"
"Don't call me that." Elizabeth shook her head.
"We're like best friends," Kyros proclaimed.
"We're really not." Elizabeth deadpanned.
"I'd wait for you forever." Kyros proudly proclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, Elizabeth stopped in front of the staircase, turning towards Kyros. She watched him for a brief moment, unimpressed.
"You would not. It sounds more likely that we have history of magic, and professor Binns is notoriously boring." Elizabeth plainly stated, smirking as Kyros righted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, yeah." Kyros nodded, confirming Elizabeth's suspicions. "You know, I would have seemed like a much nicer friend if you had left it as, out of the kindness of my heart." Kyros pointed out as the two walked up the stairs.
"Not really, though." Elizabeth drawled out, shaking her head. "It honestly sounds more like your problem than mine." She stated, biting back her laughter as Kyros rolled his eyes at her commented.
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History of Magic, in theory it was one of the most boring classes in the curriculum, in practice, it was still one of the more boring classes in the curriculum. Tilting her head to the side, her steady eyes settled on Professor Binns, there were many more productive things Elizabeth knew she could have done with her time, there were more interesting things she could have done while actually attending this class but instead of doing any of those, she just to watch him, squinting her eyes as she counted the amount of wrinkles on his face each time his expression changed even the slightest.
Every so often, Elizabeth would scribble down notes on class, maintaining the appearance that she would literally, rather be anywhere else. She'd rather be having dinner with her mother, as frightening a thought that was, it would have beaten listening to Professor Binns droning on about wildcats and gargoyles. There was no question about it. Maybe Elizabeth could have actually learnt something interesting about history at the dinner as well.
"How are you not bored beyond belief?" Kyros asked in a hushed tone, leaning towards her. Elizabeth leaned her head on her hand, tilting it to the side, glancing over at Kyros.
"I am." Elizabeth breathed out, her eyes flicking over to Professor Binns. "Do you honestly believe I actually care about a wildcat strike of gargoyales that occurred in 1911? Definitely not. Just because it's the furthest from interesting you could get, doesn't mean I'm about to fail this class." Elizabeth pointed out, shrugging her shoulders and turning back to the front, attempting with all her might to try and pay attention to him.
The rest of the day went by quickly:
Flying class with Gryffindors: she had decided there was no scenario she could imagine where she would enjoy flying around on a broomstick.
Transfiguration with Hufflepuff: as mildly interesting as it was, there was no scenario where she could picture herself actually liking Dumbledore. He looked at her as if she's committed a crime.
Charms with Ravenclaw: asides from the overachievers and the cryptic and sometimes unusual wondering minds of some of the Ravenclaws, Elizabeth had enjoyed it.
That night they would have astronomy theory lessons with Ravenclaw as well which Elizabeth hoped she would enjoy. Every time she looked up at the starry sky, she found herself getting lost in the world, her mind wondering around. When she gazed up at the night sky, she often wondered how large the universe really was, she wondered about each and every person alive and under the same sky as her. There were so many things she found herself wanting to know and she found herself falling short on that knowledge.
Before their astronomy class they crowded around their table, talking amongst themselves and indulging in dinner, some students were off, studying, hanging out with their friends, choosing to forgo dinner in the Great Hall. Most people were crowded around their friends, mindlessly talking and laughing at jokes that were being made. Elizabeth was sitting between Avery and Tom, her legs slung on both sides of the stool, her body turned to Avery, engrossed in their conversation.
"I seriously don't understand why they don't teach something interesting; I swear I might need to start drinking coffee like my father if I'm going to make it out of Binn's class without going into coma." Avery huffed in annoyance, shaking his head. "History is being made right now, and they're not even gonna bother telling us anything about it." He ranted, clenching his jaw.
"Honestly shouldn't be surprised, we're just kids to them." Elizabeth stated, shaking her head. "We're not actual people with our own minds and opinions to them." She sighed, right as she felt herself being shoved to the side and she scrunched up her face, moving away from Clifford who pushed his way between Avery and Elizabeth, flashing a condescending smile. "What do you want now?" Elizabeth asked, sighing.
"Can't I just want to see how you're going, dear sister?" Clifford asked, playfully tapping Elizabeth's side earning a scathing glare from her.
"I'm 11, not stupid." Elizabeth stated, rolling her eyes.
"Could have fooled me," Clifford chuckled. "How was your first day?" Clifford asked leaning closer Elizabeth, she backed away from him, backing up and into Tom whose head shot up and he glanced over at them, scowling as Elizabeth fought the urge to shove Clifford away from her.
"Can you just, not get all up in my face? Your breath smells ghastly." Elizabeth called out, reaching up and grabbing his face, shoving him away from her. Tom glanced between them, he didn't know how to study and understand the inner workings of both Blakely children. These supposedly legendary children, pure-blood and expected to achieve great things, and here they were, messing around with each other. "Did Slughorn approach you yet? It only took him two days to approach me, but then again, I'm not really surprised." Clifford stated, proudly smiling down at Elizabeth who rolled her eyes.
"No, he hasn't approached me yet." Elizabeth lied, the lies slipping from between her lips with ease, but she knew from the look in Clifford's eyes, he knew she was lying, and he went along with it anyway nodding. "Hogwarts is rather dull when compared to our grandfathers' eccentricities." She softly spoke, laughing to herself.
"And entirely less painful as well." Clifford quickly pointed out. "I know the feeling, I trust you'll be just as brilliant as you were before. How are you enjoying it Tommy?" Clifford asked reaching over Elizabeth, shoving her further against Tom who clenched his jaw, hiding his hate for it. "No?" Clifford questioned tilting his head to the side. "Tom Tom? Tommo?" Clifford attempted earning a few bouts of laughter from the Slytherin students around him. Tom merely glared at the older Blakely child. "Just joking Tom. You're a bit tense, we'll straighten that out of you, now how did you enjoy your first day?" Clifford asked, the smile fading from his lips.
"I enjoyed it very much." Tom replied with a smile firmly in place.
"Why don't you go and sit with people your own age instead of bothering us brother? It's become apparent you're not very welcomed around here." Elizabeth dryly sassed, smiling up at Clifford who stood up, slipping off of the bench and ruffling Elizabeth's hair.
"Love you too." Clifford called out over his shoulder, walking away with his head held high.
"Sorry, Tom." Elizabeth apologised, moving away from him, giving him the space he most likely desired.
"It's fine, Elizabeth." Tom nodded to her, turning away. Elizabeth felt a heavy weight on her shoulders and her head snapped to the side, peering over at the teachers gazing upon their students. Her eyes met Dumbledore's and for a brief and painful moment. Whenever he looked in her direction, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel as though he looked at her as if she'd committed a crime. As if he didn't trust her.
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