~••Ambrosia••~
The Slytherin children were left in a amazed silence after the dramatics the King and Queen pulled. The queen smirked twirling her wand, "Would any one like to challenge me for my spot as queen?" The boy that bordered on being a man at her side mirrored her smirk and crossed his arms, "Or perhaps, my spot as king?"
A few tense moments of silence passed before someone stepped forward. A boy with blonde hair and eyes she couldn't see the color of. "Me. I am Farland Sanguine heir to the Most Noble house of Sanguine." He spoke with a high pitched voice practically drowned in a thick french accent, dipping into the typical pre-duel bow.
The king raised a brow before bowing as well, though noticeably not as low as the first year had. As they rose from their positions and walked away from each other, pivoting on their heels so they were facing each other in a atypical display of synchronization, their audience watched the scene with baited breath.
"Experllermus!" The first year attacked first with an impressive and sharp flick of a wand. Tom could see if the boy put just a bit more power and will behind his incantation, it would have been almost enough to disarm. However, with how it was now, a quick swish of a wand non verbally redirected the spell of to the side harmlessly.
"Reducto!" A quick protego had the spell splashing against it seemingly effortlessly.
For 3 full minutes the duel was like that. Full of flashing lights and lazy wand flicks. The king was playing with the Sanguine heir, not even moving a single step from his starting spot. Even taking the time to cover a mocking yawn with his wand hand in the middle of the duel. "Okay, enough!" A blue light flicked from his wand. Tom recognized the spell as stupefy. Interesting as it was, he could preform that non verbal spell since he mastered it a year ago at age 10.
The younger boy couldn't move fast enough to dodge and hit the ground hard, knocked out cold. "Anyone else want to have a go?" The silence was deafening and Tom debated of he wanted to step up. A soft elbow to the side grabbed his attention and a brunette head shook from side to side discreetly. Although he felt confusion well up in him he didn't step forward. Deciding to once again trust the girl at his side.
"Very well then. The girls dorms are here," A dainty hand was waved, "And the boys dorms are here." A significantly bigger hand off in an opposite direction. "In Slytherin you each of you have your own rooms. However, loosing rank in the house and or your court could have your room..not being just yours anymore." It seemed to be a warning or a threat with the thoughtful pause in her words.
"Of course our head of house is Professor Slughorn but he only really steps in if you break one of the most basic rules. 'Don't get caught.' If you do you'll have him to deal with and depending on your misdemeanor, it can have the potential to not be pleasant at all." That was definitely a warning, the slight almost unnoticeable shudder the Malfoy king gave was proof of that.
With one last glance back, the two Slytherin royalty walked away to an unknown place. "Irene." was said beside her making her give the boy a hum of acknowledgment. "Why did you stop me from dueling the king? We both know that I could've taken him!" Tom whispered harshly, borderline glaring at her.
"Tom, they're 7th years. They've been studying magic for maybe even more than seven years. Their cores are fully developed ours have barely stabilized. We need to bide our time and learn more before we try to take their spot. Besides next year a new king and queen will be in place." She explained logically. "I understand that but we could have easily taken them, Irene." The boy almost whined. Irene blinked in surprise, "Patience is virtue, Tom."
Black eyes stared at her blankly for a minute. "I hate that word." She smiled brightly before turning to walk away, " I know."
Irene
She walked up the stairs leading to the girls dorms wondering just how her room was supposed to be found. A door to her left caught her eye and a note on the side of the wall said, 'Think of the room you wish to see.' Pretty straightforward, she thought absently.
In her minds eye she pictured a king sized plush bed with silken dark shamrock green sheets and long shimmering gold draping curtains around her bed. A green bedside table and mounted ornate mirror with a gold encrusted frame of wisp like snakes holding the glass in place. Even a mini fridge that gave off a constant hum powered by her ambient magic. French doors that led to a bathroom embedded in the green walls with gold colored bolts. The pristine white bathroom filled with soaps of different fragrances she knew to be complimentary, a deep bathtub with gold faucets to match the ones decorating the sink. All in all the room seemed elaborate and even impossible for Hogwarts to create or for them to create something like it for every first year in Slytherin.
She took a deep breath and opened the door hastily ready to see a room fit for a queen. Doing a double take she blinked in shock. The room was not as extravagant as she was picturing, sure it had a big bed but the colorings we're all wrong, her mini fridge was non-existent, and even her painstakingly detailed mirror was not as she wanted it to be. Walking in deeper in the room she noticed a note on the inside of the room that made her run her hands through her hair in frustration.
'Things are not freely given here. You make your dream room happen before your time in 7th year. Ambition is not the same thing as throwing money at everything. Personalize this room off of things you earn and can call your own through your own means.' It read.
The lesson was there and it was a meaningful one. For a orphan, the challenge was nothing new but Irene was surely up for it. She would make that room she pictured for herself, the room fit for a queen, when she was a queen. Her dream room would become a reality and it would be tangible. It was a promise.
Tom
He walked up into the hall that the boys dorms were in wondering how the hell he would find which door led him to his room. Seemingly unbidden, his head snapped to the side and he found himself staring at a door that he felt impeccably drawn to. So much so he didn't notice that he was stepping forward toward it till he was face to face with it and already reaching his hand out toward the door knob.
He jerked his hand back hastily as if he was burnt and stepped back staring at the door in caution. That was dangerous. He was sure he didn't want to get any closer to that door. The pulling sensation he felt to it was unnatural and screamed outright danger. Which was outrageous, he was in one of the safest places in the world. Hogwarts was an unplottable location which meant that nothing or no one not meant to be found here would find him. Still his gut instinct screamed at him to not go any closer to that door and he wisely listened.
Moving on passed the door that still managed to draw him in even from a distance, his eyes searched out a door that held his name. Coming up short, he turned back to the door that was calling to him, practically begging for his magic to pass through its threshold.
He hesitated to even grab the doorknob, off hand having his wand whipped out and at the ready. He flung the door open hastily, wand already pointed at the threat, curses that bordered on being dark at the tip of his tongue. He did a double take. A perfectly normal, if not extravagant, room stared back at him. Walking forward, the door suddenly slammed hard behind him causing him to jump and whip his head around almost giving himself whiplash. A note of parchment swung innocently on the door from an imaginary breeze, ink long dried.
A smirk slipped onto his face as he read it. 'Snakes are not lions but even we must not cower in the face of danger but treat it with calculated caution.' The boy somehow got the feeling the word 'lions' had a tone of distaste. He didn't know how it conveyed itself over in parchment but he assumed the distaste had to be very strong to be sensed even in letter form.
He couldn't help the curious little thought of wondering just who wrote him such a letter. Whoever wrote it just screamed Slytherin. Though really, who could be more Slytherin then himself?
General Pov
Blue eyes met black as the heir of Slytherin and the heiress of both Black and Potter walked into the common room the next morning. They seemed to gravitate towards the other, Irene thought. Although, the realization didn't bother her as much as it would anyone else. It was just a detached observation. She wondered if the infamous 'Black Madness' was showing itself in her.
Immediately after reaching Tom's side her hand reached out seeking his and he allowed it giving hers a light squeeze. "How did you sleep?" She asked politely as they headed out the confines of the common room to the halls that would lead them into the great hall in time for breakfast.
"I slept fine, the beds here are almost too soft though." The boy replied glancing at her from the corner of his eye, "You?" A thoughtful expression took over her face. "I slept great. The ambient magic here is soothing and I love how soft the beds are."
If it wasn't a public setting Tom would have scrunched up his nose childishly. He didn't understand how Irene could like such a soft bed after spending years on their rock solid bed in the orphanage. He said nothing else but squeezed her hand lightly to let her know he heard her.
Taking a place at the Slytherin table wasn't an overly complicated or thought out. He just sat them both somewhere in the middle, ignoring the slightly affronted looks that he received. Irene seemed to do the same thing and began eating her food like she was used to the staring. Which, considering her titles in her past life, she probably was.
"You're in my seat." A masculine voice said from behind the two making them turn their heads around sharply. Both of them didn't really like it too much when people walked up behind them. Irene raised a brow, "Really? Too bad." She said turning back around and beginning to eat her food once more. The girl wasn't very social unless it was beneficial and Tom couldn't find himself feeling any different. Looking the boy in the eyes, as if searching for something for a long moment, he turned around himself, dismissing the boy as well. He didn't find what he was looking for in him.
"Common rooms tonight, girl." The unnamed boy almost growled out making his way to the seat next to them with a discreet, harsh glare. Tom paused in eating his food. Girl? He was talking to Irene. A frown planted itself firmly on his face and a feeling of rage pooled in his gut. Why would he want to fight her? Who was he to threaten what was His? He should kill the boy where he sat. Because they sat in his seat? Tom would make sure he wouldn't need one again.
Irene was strong. Irene could handle herself just fine, it wouldn't end well for the boy, at all. His rage cooled a bit as he tried to think logically. The boy looked to be about a fifth year but Tom couldn't feel too much magic from him. Not like he could feel it rolling off of Irene in soothing pulses, unintentionally radiating. No, he wouldn't stand a chance. And if he thought he did, Tom would crush him till he couldn't think again. Like that preist, he would shred through any trace of him till he was nothing left but a hollow shell, pliable enough to manipulate and build up from scratch into something that bowed to him and his power willingly. His very own Frankenstein project.
A piece of parchment floated in front of his face and he snapped out of his quickly spiraling thoughts. "Your schedules. If you get lost on your way to a class ask a portrait or an upperclassman." The queen spoke with a teasing smirk on her face, looking in their direction for some odd reason, the smirk dropped off her face and fell into a shocked look. She quickly covered it up with a teasing smile once more but Tom still saw.
Intriguing, he thought, he would surely enjoy Hogwarts if everything and everyone was such a puzzle.
He looked back at his schedule and actually began to read it. He found no issues with it other than the incessant need to put Slytherins and Gryffindors together when it was clear the house rivalry ran deep. Looking at Irene's schedule, he gave a smirk like smile when he noticed his matched hers identically.
Tom Marvolo Riddle
Monday
Herbology (Gryffindor/Slytherin)
Charms (Ravenclaw/Slytherin)
Transfiguration (Hufflepuff/Slytherin)
Tuesday
Transfiguration (Slytherin/Ravenclaw)
Charms (Slytherin/Gryffindor)
Double potions (Slytherin/Gryffindor)
Wednesday
Care of magical creatures (Slytherin/Gryffindor)
Flying lessons (Slytherin/Hufflepuff)
Double Defense against the dark arts (Slytherin/Gryffindor/Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff)
Thursday
Ritual arts (Slytherin)
Wizarding Politics (Slytherin/Ravenclaw)
Arts of healing (Slytherin/Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw)
Friday
Charms (Slytherin/Gryffindor)
Transfiguration (Slytherin/Gryffindor)
Defense against the dark arts (Slytherin/Gryffindor)
~••Ambrosia••~
The first class of the day for them was Herbology in the greenhouses. The room, while predictably humid, was very impressive. Cries of different plant species sounded through the room and it was full of vibrant colors.
The class itself though was nothing short of a bore. A stout woman taught the class. 'You all are to call me Madam Jäger.' She'd said with a thick german accent when the class had settled into their seats. She was stern and strict, the tone of her voice was perpetually in no nonsense mode. The first class they had was spent going over the rules of the greenhouse and potentially fatal mistakes to avoid at all costs. His quill scraped against his parchment diligently, if not slightly clumsy. He had never used a real feather quill before.
"Here," A voice whispered softly to his right and a wand was pointed to his quill. He'd almost panicked, dropped the quill and grabbed his wand, but he didn't. Not when rationally he knew the only person he'd allow to sit at his right side was Irene. So while tense, he was curious as her wand tip glowed a soft yellow and a spell was mumbled from her lips, "Librare manu tutosque."
In surprise he watched as the light hit his hand and not the quill. His hand glowed with a flash of the same color as the spell for a moment before fading. Looking at the girl in question he rose an eyebrow, "What did you do?"
She simply smiled in response, flicking her quill in the direction of the professor, "Write." A frown found a home on his face, oh how he hated when she withheld information from him. And while logically he knew the girl would never unnecessarily hurt him, he still worried about her preforming an unknown spell on him. He figured he should just do what she said and was surprised when he found it was much easier to use the quill he had been struggling with.
"It was a steadying spell. It translates literally to 'Steady hand'." She said noticing the look of wonder in his eyes. "Ah," he hummed, "Teach me the incantation." It wasn't a request. She rose a eyebrow but she was already far too used to Tom and his demanding quirks for her to feel offended so she settled for nodding her head once, "'Course."
2.7k+ words
Chapters shorter than I really wanted it to be so i'll try to get the next update out ASAP.
I've published a Bucky Barnes story so go check that out? This story will still be main focus tho!