"It should have been me walking over to your table last week. Slytherin is my house. I should be in the dungeons with you, and not in that stupid tower." Kylo Ren scowled. "I think my Uncle must have bribed the hat into calling my name..."
"You know nobody can do that." Hux replied impatiently.
"It's not like Headmaster Skywalker can do anything about it now anyway." Phasma added, sharing a sour look with Hux.
The two had been listening to Kylo complain for two years since the friends had been sorted into separate houses.
Most of the students gave the two sneering Slytherins and the unhappy Gryffindor wide birth as they strolled through the halls towards double charms. Although it was only his third year at Hogwarts, Kylo's extensive skill with magic and hot temper already had school-wide notoriety, and it was clear that today he was in a bad mood.
He gave the floor a kick. "I can't believe that girl made it into Slytherin. She isn't even from anywhere! She's an orphan, a nobody. What was the hat thinking?"
"And she's already making friends."
"Yes, Finn and Poe Dameron." Hux sneered. "The Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor."
Phasma sniffed. "Apparently being an orphan means you don't mind hanging out with scum."
A passing paper bird that had been entertaining a group of first years was suddenly incinerated by a frustrated blast from Kylo's wand. Their dismayed cries were quickly squelched by an angry look from the brooding boy.
Hux wiped at a stray ash that floated onto his robes. "She also has quite a talent for magic. Only a week in, and the teachers are already impressed by her natural talents."
Kylo reddened. "Well, she'll never surpass me. Magic is in my blood after all."
He stopped dead at the sight of the girl in question dancing around the garden with an enchanted butterfly in her hand. Her two self-proclaimed guardians, Finn and Poe, were laughing nearby as they watched Poe's orange mutt chase a gnome across the yard. How he hated the sight of them.
Rey from the little town of Jakku. A nobody from nowhere who somehow managed to charm her way into the best house and into the hearts of all the teachers. It was sickening.
He watched her catch sight of him across the courtyard, and the smile slid off her face.
Good. Let her see his displeasure.
In that moment Poe turned and with a smirk sent him a rude gesture.
Prick.
With a sneer, he walked on. Hux and Phasma were waiting for him a short way off, whispering to each other. When they saw him approach they stopped abruptly, but he didn't care. He knew they talked about him behind his back. In his heart, he knew they were only friends with him because he was one of the most influential students in the school. His uncle was the Headmaster, which gave him a certain amount of importance, and his parents were famous Aurors. You'd have to be an idiot not to align yourself with such a person, and Hux and Phasma were certainly not idiots. He was the means to an end for them, and he knew that neither of them would be extremely bothered if he were suddenly jinxed and shipped off to Saint Mungo's for the rest of his life. Still, they were useful to have around. Being from prominent families themselves, they understood his desire to make a mark on the world.
He heaved a frustrated sigh and wiped his long black locks out of his face.
The girl wasn't going to be anything he couldn't handle. After all, he was Leia Organa and Han Solo's son. He was born into privilege and power, and there was nothing that little slip of a girl could do to change that. There was nothing she could do to get in the way of his destiny.
Kylo kept his eye on the orphan Rey as the months went on. She showed surprising amounts of talent and power for one so small, and it was far too pronounced for her to really be a nobody. He started to wonder if perhaps there was some famous blood in her after all, but he was far too busy to think much about it. He needed to keep good grades and remain at the top of his class if he was going to take the same path as his parents. The professors were taking an unusual amount of interest in his career as well. He wasn't sure if it was his uncle's doing or not, but they seemed to keep an extra close eye on him during classes while trying their best to look like they weren't. They probably didn't want to be accused of playing favorites. Not that it mattered. He was nobody's favorite. He rarely spoke to his Uncle, the actual Headmaster of the school, and he rarely got along with the other students. He was too emotional to be likable, and too funny looking to be considered handsome. To top it all off, he rarely got news from his parents unless they were in an article in the Daily Prophet, or it was his birthday, or when his mother occasionally remembered to check in on him. He hardly ever heard from his father.
It wasn't long before Christmas break arrived, and everyone seemed to be going home for the holidays except for himself and a small handful of students. Including Rey. Apparently, she had nowhere to go except back to the orphanage, whereas there was no point in him going home because he got a letter from his mother saying they were too busy to be home for Christmas. He told himself that he didn't care. It was much better this way because he wanted to practice spells over Christmas break anyway, and Wizarding law prevented students from doing magic outside of school.
With most everyone gone from the castle, he hardly ran into anyone during the break except a professor here or there. In fact, he spent most of his time studying in a private room or practicing in one of the unused classrooms. The week dragged by, and finally it was Christmas Eve. He never expected anything much on Christmas except a few candies and maybe a new coat or pair of trousers from his mom because she swore that he always seemed to grow at least three inches during the school sessions. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he always looked forward to these gifts because it meant that his mom had thought about him for at least five minutes while he was away.
Breakfast was a quiet ordeal, and he left it quickly in order to set up his usual practice area in the unused Charms classroom. He was practicing a spell of his own design, a spell that temporarily chokes the intended victim. He'd discovered it one day while attempting to practice a silencing charm, and so far he'd discovered that it didn't need a counter-curse. What he was really trying to figure out now was if there were any negative effects, or how long he could actually choke someone, and how tightly. To that end, he had a notebook and a self-writing quill ready for his dictation. So far he'd only used transfigured mice and ravens for his experiments, and they seemed to be responding fairly well, but his success rate was spotty at best. He realized that his emotions largely dictated the length and intensity of the choke.
He had been working at it for a good half hour, and was about to begin casting his next round of attempts when she stumbled into the room.
Rey. The girl he had never actually met, just seen from across rooms and heard about from his two Slytherin friends. She was extremely small now that he saw her up close, and not at all what he expected.
She didn't seem to realize he was there as she leaned on the door with her ear pressed against the rough wood. She was breathing hard, and it was no wonder because she was holding a bulging schoolbag and a pile of books that looked like they weighed at least two times what she did. Her cheeks were rosy from exertion and she was wearing a very worn looking jumper and jeans with holes in them, although not the fashionable kind. Her hair was tied haphazardly in three buns on the top of her head as if she'd been in a hurry and nobody had taught her how to do her hair before.
"Hello." He finally said. She whirled around looking panicked as he drew himself up to his full height, which was already almost six feet. He knew he cut an intimidating figure in his all-black ensemble and he was used to seeing the panic in people's eyes, but what he was not prepared for was the sudden scowl as she said "shh!", and pressed her ear back up against the door.
After a moment or two of her completely ignoring him, he frowned. "I'm sorry, but this classroom is already taken. You need to leave."
"Would you please keep quiet?" She whispered.
His frown deepened. "I'm not sure if you realized but I'm..."
"I know who you are." She said coldly. She gave him a contemptuous look. "You're Kylo Ren. I've heard about you. I also know you jinxed that first year for accidentally dumping his plate into your lap last week."
His mouth tightened. He remembered the boy. His feet were far too large for his body, which had resulted in his tripping constantly. Kylo had been more inclined to feel sorry for him since he knew what it was like to have an ungainly appearance, but it had been Hux who'd jinxed him, not Kylo. Still, he didn't feel like correcting her assumption. Everyone thought he'd done it, so why not just embrace it? He didn't think it was such a bad thing to have a reputation like that, it kept people from bothering you.
"That was very mean."
He just shrugged.
She frowned and turned her back, apparently writing him off as a bad job. She strained hard to listen through the keyhole.
"Hiding from someone?" He couldn't help but ask.
"No! Well, yes. Sort of."
"Nick food from the kitchens?"
She stiffened. "I'm not a thief!"
He'd hit a nerve apparently. He was curious just how far he could push that nerve before she snapped. He turned away as if to continue practicing. "Surely you didn't have much growing up. It's clear from the rips in your pants and the dirt on your elbows. In a place like Hogwarts, who would even notice some missing puddings? I promise I'd never tell."
"I would never, ever!"
He heard a large thump and turned his head to see that she'd dropped all her book. She was trembling from head to foot, and her wand was out and pointing at his back. Her eyes had gone wild and were glistening. Were those tears? She was angry, that much he could tell from the clenching of her fist.
He raised an eyebrow. Apparently, he'd hit a very raw nerve. She had guts, that much he could admit. He'd never seen anyone look at him with such fire in their eyes before. It was quite flattering really.
"Put away the wand, I don't want to hurt you."
"You don't intimidate me." She hissed. "I've grown up around bullies like you all my life. I know how to handle myself."
He flushed. While he occasionally performed some intimidation tactics with students who thought they could get away with being disrespectful to him, he'd never been the one who initiated it. He always tried to keep his head down and do his best to live up to his mighty Skywalker name.
And just because he had a bit of a temper didn't mean he was a bully.
His hand twitched on his wand. Maybe he should put a minor curse on her, just to show her exactly who she was insulting.
Before he could decide whether that was a wise decision or not, a shuffling outside the door seemed to snap her out of her sudden rage. She put away her wand and went back to listen intently at the door. He considered it a blessing in disguise. He shook his head. He couldn't believe he'd been so ready to curse a little girl for throwing an insult at him. It was idiotic to take anything she said to heart. She was nothing to him.
Unfortunately, his hubris was also his greatest weakness.
"Finally." She breathed, and hastily gathered her things. "I think they've gone."
"Good, now you may leave the way you came."
It didn't matter that she'd clearly been talking to herself. He was quite ready to be rid of her presence as soon as possible.
"Fine." She bit out, and somehow managed to fling the door open even though her hands were full. She paused at the frame to send him one last contemptuous glare before speeding off.
Taking a deep calming breath, he walked to the door and looked out. He saw Rey's tiny form disappear down the hall at the same moment that Mrs. Norris appeared at the opposite end of the hall, followed by a blustering Filch.
So, the little imp was trying to avoid the castle's most despised staff member, second only to Professor Snape. Not even he could fault her for that, although it did make him wonder what she had in her bag that had caused her to panic at the sight of him. Clearly something illegal. Not that it mattered in the least, Filch had made a great number of things illegal in his time, including talking over a whisper in the hallways.
"Yes my sweet, we'll get them next time. We know they've been sneaking in through secret passageways, and we've got all the exits blocked. They can't hide forever!"
Kylo shook his head to clear his head of the girl and firmly shut the door on Filch's unintelligible mutterings. He had better things to do with his time than dwell on some nameless girl. Like perfecting his new spell.
