"I want him to show me scars I never knew I had. But I don't want him to make them go away, I want him to hold my hand while I nurse them myself." – Queen
Boarding the train wasn't nearly as hard as trying to get their trunks onto the train with them. Turns out, being an 11 year old and not being able to use magic on heavier objects was pretty hard.
"You look like you two need help. My father taught me all about levitation charms. Did you know the Hogwarts express and Kings Cross station are all magically safe places?" The dread she felt hearing that voice was almost laughable.
It made her want to cry in annoyance and laugh at the familiarity. Turning her head slowly, almost in horror, she saw a boy around their age with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Definitely was a Malfoy, she thought with an internal long-suffering sigh.
"That's my grandfather!"
Even without Draco's surprised hiss, she could clearly tell before she even turned her head around to face him. The Malfoy snobbish tone just seemed to be somewhat genetic. "Yes, we would love some assistance...?" Tom asked trailing off politely.
He could tell by the expensive clothes the boy wore he was a pureblood or at the very least an important and rich half-blood. "Abraxas Malfoy, Heir to the most ancient and noble house of Malfoy and you are? Wingardiam Leviosa." The blonde asked, flicking his wand in a specific motion and the two trunks floated a bit shakily onto the train.
Impressive for a first year but not necessarily for a pureblood. Definitely an influential though. She would be keeping an eye on him.
"Tom Riddle, Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble house of Slytherin, pleasure." The boy said with a little bow that probably didn't look mocking to anybody but Irene. "Irene Black, Heiress to the Most Ancient and Noble houses of Black and Potter." The girl greeted sweetly, dipping her head with false politeness to the boy as they boarded the train after their trunks.
The boy's eyes widened momentarily in shock before a very Slytherin worthy smirk slowly settled onto his thin lips, "We are going to be the best of friends, Tom, Irene."
Irene shared a sly look with Tom as the Malfoy in front of them led the way to what she was hoping was an empty compartment. The pureblooded boy didn't know what he had just gotten himself into. She had half the mind to pity him. But alas, the first plan of many was set into motion that easily.
The platinum blonde boy ended up leading them to a compartment that was not at all empty. However, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The compartment consisted of three children that looked like they were a part of the sacred 28 by their ridged posture alone.
"Everyone, this is Tom Riddle heir to the most Ancient and Noble house of Slytherin and Irene Black heiress to the most Ancient and Noble houses of both Black and Potter." Abraxas introduced the two helpfully. Tom was hoping the boy would prove to be useful in the future. He seemed to be promising already.
"Yavania Burke, Heiress to the most Ancient and Noble house of Burke." The girl who spoke was an different brand of pretty with wavy shoulder length red hair and catty hazel eyes alight with mischief, her face was sharp with high aristocratic cheek bones. "Ursula Greengrass, Heiress of the most Noble house of Greengrass." She was a pretty girl as well with long dirty blonde hair in a braid that fell to her mid back and dark eyeliner coated green eyes that were fixated a little too intently on Tom for her liking.
"Zackery Yaxley." A boy with hazel brown eyes framed by long black eyelashes and short curly black hair. She would be blind to not see that he was pretty easy on the eyes. She noticed he didn't state that he was heir to his family name. Easier to manipulate him, she thought, he'd be infinitely less informed than a heir.
She dipped into a mocking little curtsy, a sweet but deceptive smile plastered on her face, "Merry met." Her action and words were well received and the two orphans were offered seats in the compartment of purebloods.
"What house do you two think you'll be getting in?" Malfoy asked conversationally. It was test, she noted, they wanted to see if they were either Slytherin or acceptably Ravenclaw. Both the Blacks and Potters were a powerful families to form a alliances with in the house of snakes.
Obviously, in Slytherin being the actual heir of Slytherin would garner automatic respect but coupled with a seemingly strong alliance with the Blacks? With Tom clearly seeming to be one of her close allies, the two made quite the politically powerful pair.
Anybody would kill to be part of their court when it formed. The opportunities those that walked with the two would get would surely be fruitful.
"Slytherin, of course. The Black family has been for many generations and will continue to do so." She replied curtly, channeling her inner Draco and adding a delicate pompous sniff at the end of her sentence. "Where else would the heir of Slytherin be going?" Tom asked rhetorically with a raised eyebrow and a smug smirk tugging at his lips.
Their responses boded well their audience, he noticed, they all seemed to visibly relax at once. Though that bloody girl with the green eyes was drilling a hole through him with her stare. She was certainly pretty but held no candle to what Irene was to him. Definitely not enough for him to even bother with remembering her name. Not that he actually forgot it. But he could surely pretend he did as long as possible before it was deemed too obviously rude.
He didn't know what to think of the other children in the train with him. On one hand they all came from very powerful families and would be great to ally themselves with but he just couldn't see himself actively wanting to be friends with them. The girl seemed too interested in him for him to actually like her enough to talk without needing to. Her infatuation would prove useful if anything though. Followers out of love and blind devotion were the best of kinds.
The other girl was pretty as well in a different way than the other. The light tan on her skin told of her apparent favor of spending time outdoors. When he thought back, she certainly held a spark of intelligence coupled with a calculating glint in her eyes when the two of them were introduced to those in compartment. She would be someone to watch out for. Tom didn't like to be caught off guard so he would definitely be keeping a very close eye on her.
The two other boys weren't really at the top of his worries. They were suspicious in the way that new people always were but the Malfoy was an asset they couldn't afford to lose. Buddying up with his friends was key to keeping a stable alliance with him. The Yaxley boy wasn't very special to him in the word usefulness but he never knew what secrets the boy could be hiding. Not that he wouldn't be finding out.
"Ten out of ten. They'll surely accept you as their own now, if not before." Draco's hissing words made a smirk tug up on Irene's lips, shaking her head, as she raised an arm by her head for her familiar to slither on to. A collective gasp echoed throughout the compartment as the other occupants took notice of the three headed snake slithering from her arm to rest comfortably on her lap. "He doesn't bite." She said with a pleasant smile that only widened with amusement at Tom's quiet snort, "Doesn't bite, huh?" He muttered under his breath disbelievingly.
The fact they she told them that! Everybody knew runespoors were a very dangerous species of snake. Especially, these pureblooded brats.
"What are you looking at?!" Draco hissed aggressively snapping his head in their direction, venom visibly collecting at the end of his fangs. She stifled a laugh. "Stop it Irene. Get him under control." Tom said not even looking up from the book he had begun to read. "You're no fun. Draco! No snapping at strangers...unless I tell you too." She scolded lightly while running her fingers on his scales just the way he liked it. A silent apology for having to yell at him in public.
She liked to treat the heads of her snake as she would Tom; as an equal. Discipling him in front of virtual strangers was a sure sign of power imbalance.
"Hey we want to be pet as well. Yeah he just threatened to bite! Come onnnn!" Pollux and Castor's whining was starting to annoy Tom. He was breathing deeper and more deliberate, she could almost hear him counting backwards from 10 in his head.
"There's enough of me to go around." She teased, lightly petting all three of the heads leading to them calming down and turning to putty in her hands. "See? They don't bite." Tom sighed in exasperation at her words and the returning smile she gave him told everyone it was going to be a very long train ride.
Two whistles of the train in quick succession notified the students that the train was arriving at the school and they'd need to change into their robes. Tom had put his on before the signal back when the trolly came through. Irene, of course, got Chocolate frogs (for old times sake) and pumpkin pasties. Irene got up promising to be back before he even missed her and left with the other 2 girls in the compartment.
"How long have you known Tom?" The Greengrass heiress asked as they ventured to a bathroom they could change in. "About 6 years now. Why?" Irene answered looking over her shoulder at the girl. "I was just wondering. You two seem to be very close." At this Irene hummed dismissively.
She didn't really care for the interrogation of the other girl. Ursula wasn't very subtle and with her apparent lack of tact, she was beginning to become more trouble than she was worth. If she couldn't subtly interrogate with her own interest in mind how was she to do it for Irene?
She could clearly tell the girl either wanted Tom or something to do with him. She wouldn't entertain it and she was sure he would only do so for the connections the girl could offer. Ursula was a fool for falling for Tom's looks so early on. If one looked close enough they could vividly see the boy was monstrous and Irene knew he would only tolerate another monster keeping up.
Changing into the blank robes was a quick and fast process once they actually found a suitable and vacant bathroom. On the walk back to the compartment the Greengrass heiress was firing question after question off at the pureblood orphan. Irene was starting to grow agitated and she could tell the red headed Burke girl walking at her side was getting to the end of her patience as well. Yavania Burke hasn't said a single word during the whole excursion but there were times Irene saw in her eyes and the twitch of her hand that she wanted nothing more than to fling a silencing charm to shut the babbling girl up.
"We get it. You have interest in Riddle but clearly we don't care. Black seems to already have a claim on him by how unfazed she is by your senseless rambling. Please, do us all a favor and shut up!" She finally seemed to snap. It was definitely shouted above what it needed to be but it was effective in leaving the girl sputtering and flushing, turning her head to Irene as if looking for conformation. The blue eyed girl gave a shameless jerk of her chin in affirmation. It was almost as effective as an silencing charm and Irene couldn't help the amused twinkle her eyes gained. Nothing like Dumbledore's though thank Morgana!
The blush that donned the girls' face only darkened in color as roaring laughter was heard inside of the compartment they had conveniently stopped outside of. She seemed to be absolutely mortified as she slowly recognized it as their own by the voices inside. It must have been an embarrassing situation for her but try as she might, Irene couldn't find it in her to care. The blonde had lost any usefulness in Irene's eyes the moment she started her senseless rambling.
Waltzing into the room, Irene took in the smirk on Tom's face with a loose smirk of her own, plopping back gracefully into the seat next to him. "A claim huh?" He teased but gained a barely there flush when she gave another nod of her brunette head, smirk growing. "A claim."
Ursula was embarrassed as hell. And the embarrassment soon bled in to rage. Seeing the light dusting of pink, the smirk gracing the usually passive face of the boy she had taken interest in, and just who that smirk was directed at gave her a direct outlet for her embarrassed rage. "You'd better watch your back, Black." She sneered scornfully before quickly walking away in a huff. She didn't take a glance back and if she did it might have saved herself a lot of trouble. She was oblivious.
Oblivious to the smirk dropping off of Tom's face as soon as the threat was said. Oblivious to the glint blue eyes gained and of the enraged charcoal meeting glacial ice. Irene didn't have to watch her back. She'd always have a sociopath with homicidal tendencies to do it for her that was already plotting unspeakable acts of revenge.
The compartment was enveloped in tense silence as Tom's rage was expressed with his magic and it filled the room with a sudden pressure and seemingly irrational sense of foreboding. Irene was unaffected by the magic brushing against her own as it had done so many times before. The others were not so lucky and were eying Tom with caution. Malfoy pitied the poor ignorant Greengrass girl. She had indeed made two of the worst types of enemy. Both were extremely magically powerful.
Getting off of the train was a relief to the 3 other pureblooded children as they finally felt like they could breathe without the threat of getting punished for doing so too loud hanging over their heads.
Outside an unremarkable looking Ravenclaw stood out donned in decent looking robes and a glittering prefect badge proudly displayed on his chest. "No more than four to a boat please." His voice was timid but strong in a weird but not unpleasant way. Irene was going with Tom and that much was obvious. Yavania decided to take one for the team and left to find another group to board a boat with.
Malfoy, Yaxley, Tom, and Irene sat together in a boat. "This is safe, right? Because if not my father will certainly be hearing of it!" Malfoy yelled apprehensively as the boat wobbled ominously when he boarded. "Is that how I sounded? No wonder you and the Weasel used to tease me." Irene wanted to laugh so bad at that but barely refrained. Too many questions would arise too soon and far too public.
The awe at seeing Hogwarts never seemed to fade in either life. The effect was aided by the fact that the last time she saw Hogwarts it was in shambles and war torn. It made her want to cry, jump for joy, and pinch herself just to see if this was a dream. She was ecstatic to know that it wasn't. It really wasn't.
The feeling of such ancient magic enveloping her in a warm hug seeking to heal all of her wounds be it emotional, psychological, or physical just couldn't be replicated by a dream and that she knew all too well. Hogwarts was her first and last home. A place she died for, killed for, and made sacrifices beyond comprehension for. In hindsight, she realizes she hadn't done it for the people inside at all. She'd done it all so she wouldn't lose her first home. It was selfish self-preservation. The monsters in the castle would have killed her faster than the Dursley's would but at least she would have been happy and with friends.
To many people Hogwarts translated to Home. Irene was one of the many. To her, you do anything to protect your home no matter what.
Tom was in awe. He's heard stories of Hogwarts from Irene but they couldn't hold a candle to the magical feeling he got from the castle and the 'welcome home' warm sensation brushing lightly against his own magic. It was almost ethereal, too good to be true surely. But it wasn't. It was real and he could feel he belonged here just as Irene said he did all those years ago. He could feel it deep in his bones seeping into his soul like water to a sponge.
His magic urged him to rejoice as it thrummed just under his skin barely contained. The smile he gave at the sight of the castle could be loosely translated in Tom language for jumping up and down in joy.
The journey to the great hall was a slow one. The first years were the only ones who took the boats so they were taken through the scenic route and shown the halls of the castle while taking the long way to the feast. But eventually they were standing outside of the doors filled with restlessness. Murmurs of 'How do you think they'll sort us' and 'What is a Gryffindor' were echoing the room from muggleborns or muggle-raised half-bloods mostly.
"Silence!" The muttering chatter immediately halted in the face of a severe looking man dressed smartly in exquisite robes. The glare in his eye had students of all blood statuses cowed.
"I am Professor Billick, Divination teacher here at Hogwarts. The sorting is beginning shortly. You lot best be ready. When you hear your name you step up, sit on the stool and let the hat be placed on your head. Any foolishness will be nobody's embarrassment but your own." Without waiting for a response, he flicked his wand into his hand from the sleeve of his robes and in a simple sweeping motion forced the doors open. That's the divination teacher, Irene thought shocked. Divination might actually be interesting this time around.
The students already seated in the great hall were silent but their heads turned to face the doors and were looking at the group of first years with varying expressions. Most of the Ravenclaw had calculating glints in their eyes while the Hufflepuff were looking at them with kind curiosity, Gryffindor seemed to look from face to face with openly judging looks, and Slytherin regarded them with cool indifference.
"Annie-Marie Abbot!" The girl jumped in fright from the booming voice and timidly walked forward, sitting on the stool and having the hat placed on her head for less than 30 seconds before;
"HUFFLEPUFF!" was cried out loudly and claps and cheers came from the house of the badgers.
And with that Irene's second sorting officially had begun.
3267 words
Okay so uhm Merry Christmas ( Or what holiday you celebrate this time of year) for all of y'all that are reading this the day it was published (12/25/2020). I have kinda been slacking on this story bcs i'm not really...well i'm kinda in a writers block with how to proceed with the plot. Suggestions on what you would like to see would be welcome.
Also i'm starting on a Draco Malfoy story as well so look out for that when I publish it if you're interested.