Disclaimer: I don't own any of this; it all belongs to JKR and my use of the word. Song belongs to Lady Gaga. I'm basic my vampire off The Vampire Diaries.
Chapter 2: Monster
"Look at him, look at me,
That boy is bad, and honestly,
He's a wolf in disguise
But, I can't stop staring in those evil eyes
That boy is a monster."
Tom Riddle's POV:
I sat on the hard wooden bench twirling my wand in my fingers, gazing at the ceiling. It was full of dark storm clouds and the occasional fork of lightening, but the obnoxious chatter of the occupants in the Great Hall drowned out the roaring thunder.
I sighed; people were an annoyance. At the beginning of every year they felt this material need to fill anyone they could in about trivial information on their pointless lives, and in turned asked questions that they didn't really care to hear the answers to.
It surrounded me, suffocating me and yet, this castle was my home. So I put on a charming face and kept a polite disposition when I really wanted to eliminate the lot of them.
"Tom! Tom! Did you have a good summer?" asked Broden Avery.
And the tedious process begins. Yet I thought Avery would know better by now not to bother me. Perhaps my knights have gone soft in the summer? A good bout of crucios and some well placed cutting hexes would serve well to remind them.
"It wasn't particularly interesting," I deadpanned, leaving him no thread to pick up and try to carry a conversation with.
Avery raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to continue, but shrunk back into himself when I fixed him with a withering stare.
I hated discussing my summers, or any time out of school. Why would I want to be reminded of that horrible abomination that I was forced to return to every holiday? The orphanage run by filthy muggles that was so contaminated with their inferiority, that I always felt like taking a long steaming shower when I left to rid the stench of their modernity from my body.
Avery would be first on the torture list. After the introductions tonight, my knights and I would have a meeting and no one would leave until they had all done their fair share of screaming.
I sighed again and shifted my attention to the individuals in my immediate vicinity. People- watching was a hobby of mine that was vastly underrated. One could gain such useful information from simple observations. Mannerisms could not lie and more often then not they revealed a person for who they truly were. And information after all, was power.
I glanced briefly at the fair-haired boy sitting on my right, Abraxas Malfoy. With one simple glance, one could tell that Malfoy was aristocratic. If his sharp, regal features didn't scream it at you, his frigid manners did. He was my most trustworthy servant, being greedy, but not overly ambitious or intelligent.
The boy on my left drew a sharp contrast, Cygnus Black, who had toasted tan skin, light green eyes and shaggy, coal colored hair. Cygnus was a charismatic fellow that was well liked by everyone and was rather clever. Someone to keep an eye on, but most useful to possess.
Ivan Lestrange sat directly across from me and he was the most interesting individual of all my Knights of Walpurgis. A rough and sinister looking scar placed diagonally across his left eye and cheek marred Ivan's face. He had murky brown eyes, flaming red hair, and a ruddy complexion making him an unsettling person to be around, well that, and the fact that he was a tad bit on the insane side. Ivan was not someone who I could completely control, he was too unpredictable to be able to put a leash on, nor did I want to. I knew I had his loyalty and as long as I provided people for him to experiment with in whatever twisted way his mind could think of, he was happy.
That brought me to the last seventh year of my knights… Broden Avery. A thoroughly unremarkable boy, in looks and intelligence. Avery had mousy brown hair; dark, dull eyes and sallow skin. The only reason I saw fit to keep him around was for funding and to make an example of when it came to punishment.
I glanced over at the seventh year females unimpressed. They had all attached themselves to one of my knights when they discovered that I found their attention completely annoying.
Females were not useful creatures; they were good for gossip and sex, which is the only reason I tolerate their insufferable presence. Each one of them would inform me of the intricate happenings of the school and would receive a pity fuck as their reward; it was a successful system.
The last person I allowed my gaze to linger on, was the most infuriating, Professor Albus Dumbledore. Even his ridiculous name made my lips curl in disgust. The man was wearing magenta robes with embroidered hippogriffs on it; really did he have no shame?
Albus Dumbledore never had trusted me. He knew as well as I did, that I was something dark. Even at the ripe age of ten when he came to the hellhole orphanage, he knew I was not right and he had never stopped observing me, as I so often do to others. He was constantly one step away from thwarting my plans, but not this year.
Gold cutlery tinkling against a glass goblet drew my attention away from the crackpot transfiguration teacher and to the headmaster.
The chatter did not instantly die down, so the high-pitched clinking continued. I furrowed my brows in annoyance and shot a harsh glare down the table, effectively quieting all the Slytherins. The tinkling grew clearer now and I tried hard not to openly scowl when all I wanted to do was stand up and blast that goblet into a million shards.
Finally the other three tables hushed, with the obnoxious Gryffindors being the last to shut up.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts students," croaked the feeble old headmaster. "I trust everyone had satisfactory summer vacations and are ready to start learning?"
A collective groan was mounted through Headmaster Dippet's audience.
"Good, good, now lets get ready to sort and welcome the new students!"
I smiled politely, but inwardly cringed, sorting took forever and I didn't really give two sickles about where the little brats went.
Large ornate doors opened to reveal around fifty astonished and frightened faces. One by one, they lined up in front of the head table. Dumbledore set a wobbly old stool down in the center and the sorting hat on top.
I wanted to tune the whole thing out, in fact I turned my head, so I could begin my observations of the ancient curving architecture when I saw her.
My vision of her begun with a pair of toned, creamy legs that were wrapped up in a standard black pleated skirt, with matching black heels and opaque tights. My observations drew my eye up to her perfectly rounded hips and curves contained in a plain white blouse. She had astonishingly pale skin, perfectly symmetrical features and long, wavy auburn hair. She was standing too far away so I couldn't define any of her exact features, but I instinctually knew that she was beautiful. This female looked ethereal, fragile and otherworldly; it was perplexing.
Cygnus let out a low whistle, "She definitely isn't a first year…"
He was right, she looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, but I grit my teeth in annoyance. Black would be second on the torture list I decided.
I glanced back up to her; she was standing rigidly still, with immaculate posture. I then swept my eyes over the hall, it seemed as if many other boys shared my opinion and observation of her, she was truly striking.
"When I call your name, please sit down and the sorting hat will find you a home!" Dumbledore jovially cried.
The first years shifted nervously and seemed to all huddle together. Eleven year olds banding together in their mutual fear before house prejudices could tear them apart. I smirked, what a good interpretation of life.
"Abbot, Dorian," Dumbledore pronounced and a chubby blonde haired boy shuffled forward. Dumbledore placed the hat on the boy's head and waited, " Gryffindor!" the sorting hat cried.
I glanced towards the girl once more to judge her reaction at witnessing the talking hat. She didn't look perturbed, or surprised… or anything really. I felt a tinge of curiosity as to which house she would end up in.
The list of little ones went on and on and I felt impatience creep upon me. I was getting hungry, it was getting late, we still had to do introductions to the new students, and then there was the meeting with my knights. Dumbledore had better hurry the fuck up.
Twenty minutes later all the first years had been sorted, with Slytherin gaining a good crop of thirteen new ones.
Finally the mystery girl stood alone. Everyone focused their sole attention on her, but I got the impression that she didn't mind, almost as if she was used to it. She did not look at anyone in particular, her face was free of emotion, but her eyes seemed to be scanning her surroundings. Her head snapped over to stare at Dumbledore in such a quick movement, her dark auburn curls whipped around her face.
"Students, this is Domino Hunt, she will be joining you for her seventh year. Domino is working on an independent study, but may still share some classes with you. Please give her a warm welcome," Dumbledore chimed and then gestured the girl to sit down.
She gracefully glided over to the rickety old stool and sat down, crossing one leg, her prim posture intact.
Dumbledore had the most peculiar expression as he gazed down at the girl, but nevertheless sat the sorting hat down on her head.
It was the strangest sight, the sorting hat seemed to curl inward as it touched her. I couldn't quite tell from this distance, but it looked as though she was frowning. The entire school waited with a collective intake of breath to see which house would gain this beauty. I was somewhat curious, but she was still a female, which meant she was still more than likely useless. Like a picture, aesthetically pleasing, but had no real purpose.
"Slytherin!" The hat shouted and our table exploded with cheers and applauding.
Immediately Cygnus and Abraxas turned to face each other to start discussing the possible conquest of her, this was particularly annoying as I was seated in between them.
I watched as the girl lithely walked over to our table. She did the strangest thing though, instead of heading towards the students of her age, this new girl, Domino Hunt, sat at the very end of the table, even a few spaces away from the first years.
That was odd; girls generally tended to have a pack mentality and would instinctually search for other females of the consensus. So why on earth would she isolate herself?
I heard Abraxas splutter and witnessed Cygnus' undignified gawk. Everyone else seemed to do so too, but she shifted her body to the front and waited for the headmaster to continue his speech.
I tuned out the tedious welcome speech; it was the same every year. I don't know why Dippet bothered, trouble- makers would still go into the forest and everyone would practice magic in the hallways.
Dinner was satisfying, but the small talk never strayed from one subject, the new girl, Miss Domino Hunt. She sat at the end of the table daintily picking at her food with an expression of mild disgust, which did nothing whatsoever to hinder her loveliness.
"Think she is single?" Avery leaned over and asked the group of us quietly. Finally I had had enough.
"I don't think that really matters since you are not available Avery," I said, raising a challenging eyebrow. None of my knights were single and this girl looked much too proper to allow a one-night stand.
"I would drop Sage in a heartbeat if it meant I had a chance with her," Cygnus breathed, practically drooling. I scowled in disgust and irritation. Primitive emotions and petty female conquests were for the weak. One only indulged when they absolutely needed to or to flaunt their ability to.
"What do you think of her Riddle?" asked Abraxas, turning his calculating silver eyes onto mine.
"I think that she looks far too aristocratic to end up as simple shag and that she wants nothing to do with us."
They all looked at me in surprise. Really though, it was not difficult to notice how she had purposely displaced herself from the rest of the snakes at our table.
"What about you though Riddle? Think she'll be able to resist you? No broad has ever before." Ivan Lestrange said in his rough brogue, speaking for the first time tonight.
I briefly considered it. Most people found me attractive, which admittedly I was. I am what many girls have called 'mysteriously handsome'. I looked like the ideal teenage heartthrob apparently. Many girls have attempted to chase me, but I only indulge the giggling hyenas every once in a while.
Would this girl be any different? Highly doubtful.
"I don't know Ivan, I have never purposefully tried to charm a girl before, they all seem to come to me." I smirked. It was true.
Never in my life had I had to work for sex. Females would offer to do the most perverted (and frowned upon) things for a chance with me. I was like a pagan god that maidens would sacrifice themselves to. My mind flinched at my body's weakness, but in the end I was always satisfied. And they were too, not that I cared.
The only problem with sex was that it left females expectant. They, with their small little minds seemed to think that one night of fucking would gain them respect and a repeat performance. It never did, so their sloppy attempts at seduction were quite exasperating.
When the feast was finally over, I rose to my feet. It was my job as Head Boy to oversee the prefects escorting out the first years.
After the prefects had managed to leave the Great Hall and the rest of the school began trailing leisurely after them.
I frowned in displeasure as I noticed the Head Girl- a Ravenclaw, Lenore Smith approaching me. I counted to ten in my head and arranged my face into a polite, but completely false smile.
"Evening Tom, did you have a good summer?" Lenore asked, fluttering her stubby eyelashes.
Lenore is one of those girls that just doesn't go away. I could publicly threaten to pour toad liver acid on her face and she would just smile and provide me with the poison. Lenore has tea colored hair, flat eyes and a boyish figure, so naturally she is someone I immediately dismiss. The female gender is already stupid, why bother paying attention to one that isn't even good looking? Yet Lenore is the cat that came back and I wanted so badly to avada that damned cat.
"It was fairly pleasant, how about yours?" I asked politely and felt myself cringe a little inside.
"Oh it was the same as usual. Did you notice the new transfer student?"
'Of course I noticed her you bumbling idiot, she was announced to the school and had the body of a girl from Play-witch', was what I wanted to say. But of course I couldn't do that so Lenore blissfully heard my enigmatic, "I did. Hopefully my fellow Slytherins will welcome her. She is sure to draw lots of attention being a transfer."
Lenore snorted rudely and I fought the disgusted sneer that was just begging to be let out. " A bit too much attention if you ask me."
'I didn't ask you and I would prefer if you go crucio yourself now,' I thought, but made a noncommittal noise instead and tuned out Lenore's envious rant.
If this simple Ravenclaw would get jealous over the girl, I can't imagine the kind of welcome she's getting from the territorial Slytherin bitches. The female power struggle was always mildly amusing and I longed to go down to my common room and investigate how Miss Hunt was holding up.
"You're absolutely right Miss Smith, but I'm afraid that I should be returning to my common room and make sure everyone has been welcomed and settled in properly," I said and quickly strode away, throwing a award winning smile over my shoulder, so Lenore wouldn't notice my abrupt rudeness.
She was staring at me like I was the last pumpkin pasty on the tray, so I high tailed it out of there.
The twisting journey from the Great Hall, down to the dungeons, where the Slytherins resided took me ten minutes where I felt…dare I say excited? I frowned, emotions were for the weak, yet my heart rate was slightly quicker and my pace uncommonly rushed as I murmured, " Blood of Kings," to the stone wall. It slid open and I felt my bubble of excitement mount. The only reason I could even think to justify it was that any heterosexual male would want to witness a good catfight and I knew that these girls would not be pleased with this beautiful stranger encroaching on their territory.
I stepped into the common room and most of the chatter quieted down. I had that effect on people.
I scanned the room and saw the Hunt girl standing off to the side, slightly hidden by the shadows. But upon closer inspection, one could clearly see she was definantly not a girl, no, she was pure woman. Even shrouded by the darkness I could see the smooth curves of her body. Those loose, lush curls and her ruby lips looked like sin. Her body was all raw power wrapped in sensuality. This female was sex personified.
I shifted my attention wondering where the bloodthirsty bitches were. Why were they not trying to chew her up yet?
I quickly glanced at my watch and noticed that we were off schedule, so I nodded to Abraxas and watched as he rose to his feet.
"Welcome to Slytherin first years. I am Abraxas Malfoy, a prefect, if you have any problems please come to Tora Capulet, the other prefect or me. Slytherin is a difficult house to be in at times. Many others will harass you, but always remember, we are more powerful and more pure then them! We rule Hogwarts and instill fear into anyone who attempts to get in our way!"
I smirked, Abraxas was doing a good job, and the first years were hanging onto his every word.
This was a ritual we practiced every year. I would assign someone to act as a leader for the night so I could observe from the shadows and gain more information.
I reiterate, I'm unnerving, and having people stammer like the mentally unstable around me does not help me judge how useful they would be in their competent state.
No, I would judge the hierarchy tonight in the shadows, while all the eleven year olds and Miss Hunt address Malfoy.
"…now we will take you individually into the meeting room and you will be judged and asserted into your place in the hierarchy. This is not a permanent position and it may elevate or reduce depending upon your digressions. Is that clear?"
A chorus of 'yes'' chimed back and the five of us headed into the meeting room.
Abraxas approached me and I left my face customarily blank, "How do you think they will do my lord?"
"Gibbons seemed to have some potential and the Yaxley boy, I will have to see about the others."
Abraxas nodded and turned to walk away, "Oh and good job Malfoy." I said and sent him an unnerving smile.
He shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable and hesitantly retuned the smile, muttering a quick 'Thank you milord.'
I leaned against the cool stone wall, covered in shadows. No one could possibly detect me here, even those who were already present in the meeting room.
Abraxas sat in the formal chair with the rest of the hierarchy surrounding him. Unfortunately the hierarchy had to include females, so they were present as well.
"She better not go after Broden or I'll rip that hussy's curls out. She doesn't even look that pretty," Aster Parkinson angrily exclaimed to the female huddle.
And this is why I hated females; they were irrational and delusional.
Ivan just happened to be walking by and stopped. He let out a maniacal laugh which startled the girls and he looked straight at Parkinson saying, "She's a hell 'lot prettier than you."
I smirked at Ivan's scattered behavior and Aster's murderous scowl. She wasn't brave enough to insult Ivan though.
The door opened and a tiny first year girl named River Mulicber came in. She was a miniscule little thing, all of them were, but this girl seemed even smaller. She had short blonde hair and big brown eyes and I was immediately reminded of a wood nymph, especially due to her upturned nose and cunning spark in her eyes.
And the questioning began. The group spent ten minutes on each first year, but they all seemed impatient and I knew why. Everyone was just itching to question Domino Hunt.
Finally when the last little eleven year old left, Abraxas called out "Domino Hunt."
No one came.
Everyone shuffled around nervously, unsure what to do, until Malfoy once again boomed, "Domino Hunt."
Still nothing.
I grew aggravated, where the hell was she? Surely she can't be so antisocial, that she wouldn't even acknowledge her peers…
Malfoy looked desperately over to me and then his pale face, lost even more color as he noticed my foul stance.
"Find her," I hissed.
Ivan went out to search for her and six minutes later the door opened with Miss Hunt gliding in and Ivan nervously trailing behind her… Wait, nervously? Since when was Ivan nervous, he was too mentally unstable to really fear anything. What did she do to him?
"State your name, family heritage and where you previously studied," Malfoy drawled in a bored, yet serious voice.
The girl just quirked her head a little and in the most paradoxically angelic and devious voice I have ever heard asked, "Why?"
Malfoy visibly recoiled. Idiot.
I knew that he was itching to look over towards me for guidance, but the group had strict rules not to alert anyone to my presence.
"Because the hierarchy demands it of you."
She smiled and it looked feral. Her beauty was almost too perfect. It was completely intimidating. And that voice, it sounded like sin.
"I don't have to answer to you at all little boy." Her face was blank as she said this, I couldn't even detect a hint of annoyance, which I knew she was probably feeling.
Aster stormed up and stood beside Malfoy, " You will do as your told foreigner, if you wish to enjoy your schooling here."
I scowled at Aster, that girl was hindrance. I would get Avery to teach her how to watch her mouth later, because that threat was just pathetic.
Amusement blossomed on Hunt's blank face by Aster's theatrics.
"I have no interest in answering your questions about my personal life, especially when it doesn't benefit me in any way…" she started, slowly advancing towards Aster and Aster cowered, "And I highly doubt something like you could ever affect me in any way." Aster cringed. "Now if that is all, I will retire."
She looked directly at me in the shadows and said, "Goodnight."
My jaw dropped and I hated it.
Who the hell was this girl that managed to intimidate my knights, refused to answer the century old practice of interrogating the new students and seek me out of the shadows?
I was furious. She was arrogant and I don't allow disobedience ever. No matter how pretty she is Domino Hunt will have some serious questions to answer and if she doesn't feel like sharing that perhaps a good bout of crucios and some veritaserum will change her mind.
I stepped out of my hiding place and everyone froze. I knew that my face probably looked murderous, but I just didn't care enough to put up my mask.
"Ladies," I said in a deadly voice barely above a whisper, "I suggest you hide your envy better when you are in the presence of you superiors, as Domino Hunt was clearly your superior!"
They synchronically cringing, but my temper wasn't sated.
"Line up beside your partners. Now." I hissed.
This was a side of me that the females rarely saw. I found that scaring the gentler sex was more effective than inflicting pain, and then having to deal with their incessant wailing afterwards.
I approached Abraxas first, who promptly bowed. I was pissed off and Malfoy's performance with Hunt was less than fucking satisfactory, he was supposed be to instilling fear, not cowering in front of a seventeen year old girl!
I said nothing, but Abraxas knew that there would be hell to pay after the females left.
My eyes then focused on Abraxas' woman, Katrin McNair. Katrin had golden hair, fair skin and hazel eyes, not particularly pretty or smart, but she was quiet and submissive, that was important. I gave her a cold glare and she cast her eyes down in fear. She liked gentle loving.
I moved down the line. Cygnus was next and he tried to hold his head up high, but I gripped his chin like a vice with my hand, "Stop being such a fucking Gryffindor," I snapped and then turned to his fiancé, Sage Rosier. Sage had black hair and dark brown eyes, she was wiry, and had amazing legs. Sage never shut up though, and that was her downfall. Even pounding into her mercilessly, her moans could wake the dead and that was just a turn off.
Ivan was next and I cast a disapproving glare at him, which he somewhat returned, this only pissed me off more. "Somethin' isn't right about that lass," he drawled and then bowed his head.
I growled my frustration. Yes I fucking knew that, she was obviously different by the fact that she didn't seem intimidated at all by our group and we were threatening.
I cast my harsh eyes on the only thing in the world Ivan would never hurt, Tora Capulet. She was polite and kind, with sandy hair and green eyes; not much of a Slytherin and Ivan was extremely possessive of her, so I didn't touch.
Love is such a weak emotion and I wanted to drill that into my knight, but over time I had come to realize that normal people love, I was the exception and that made me stronger.
I stopped at my last knight, Broden Avery and my glare turned murderous. Avery swallowed and his lip quivered, which only made me more disgusted on this waste of a human.
"Get your bitch on a leash, she cost me the night!" I hissed.
I turned my furious eyes to Aster Parkinson and she flinched.
"I don't give a shit about your insecurities, Ivan was right, she is superior to you in every way, get over it! If you ever jeopardize any of my plans again in any way, I will assure you that not only your life will end, but Broden's will with it."
Not like it would be a big loss to me. Aster was something that I touched once and will never, ever touch again.
"Now will all the females in the room kindly, get the fuck out."
They fled to the door like animals fleeing from the hunter. Even if they didn't have brains, they seemed to have survival instincts.
I turned around and let a cold smile grace my lips before I silently cast the burning spell on Avery.
Ah the glorious screams, how they fuel my plans for the future.
Two hours later I stepped out of the bathroom and rolled the sleeve on my white pressed shirt back down my still dampened arms. Blood always ruined clothing and I didn't want to worry about having to obtain a new wardrobe quite yet.
I sighed and made my way down the stone steps into the common room. It was completely empty; just the way I liked it. I sat down on my favorite black leather chair and opened my journal, rolling my stiff neck in the process.
Tonight had been brutal, my knights had weakened and I needed to put them in their place. If they did not keep up with their training, they would be useless idiots, not even competent enough to be front line soldiers.
I suspected that the lot of them are being healed by their whores and whining like the arrogant rich prats that they are.
I dipped my regal quill into the black ink and began to scratch the date onto a blank page when my spine started tingling. The hairs on the back of my neck stood and although I didn't hear anything, I knew someone was there. Someone was watching me.
I slid my wand off of the table and lightly into my hand and whispered, "Finite Incantatum."
Nothing happened. I frowned, that meant that no one was silenced or disillusioned. But the shivers continued and I knew I was being observed.
I dipped my quill back into the ink- pot and waited. I didn't see or hear anyone move, but the entrance wall slid open and snapped shut. My eyes widened and I hastily sent my belongings zooming up to my private bedroom.
I cast a silencing and invisibility charm on myself and stealthily maneuvered out of the common room. There was a figure ahead of me, shroud in darkness, but when it moved in front of the window, I saw pale skin and rich auburn curls. Hunt.
She turned down a corridor and I ran to catch up with her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hear my footsteps, where the fuck was she going anyway? She had never even been in the castle before what if she got lost and couldn't find the common room again? Bint.
I turned down the corridor and saw…nothing. I knew I was frowning and choked when a hard figure came out of nowhere and slammed into me.
Her delicate looking fingers held my neck at a surprisingly strong grip. In my surprise, my spells wore off and I became audible and visible.
I looked up into dark blue, almost black eyes and nearly shuddered, I didn't like this particular emotion. It made me feel uncharacteristically vulnerable. That was unacceptable; I didn't have room for weakness.
Yet she quirked her head in a questioning manner and in that dark voice melodically said, "My business is my own, so I suggest you stop following me Mr. Riddle."
My throat was released and she disappeared again, while I struggled not to pathetically gasp for air. Even if no one were here to witness my moment of weakness, I would know, she would know.
The bitch was going to pay. She didn't want anyone finding out about her past, that much was obvious and she wasn't looking for friends.
I didn't care, she was going to have to get used to my presence because I was never going to stop watching her until I knew everything and one day soon Domino Hunt would be kneeled down before me in a submissive bow and I would be merciless.
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