The sound of Kurt's footsteps echoed around the large, marble room as he looked around the building he was told so little, and yet so much about as a child. His own sound was soon accompanied by another pair of footsteps; a woman's high heels. The revered Headmistress McGonagall was walking slowly down the large stone staircase, making no noise except from the clip clop of her feet. Once she reached Kurt she promptly waved her hand to signal the way with a clipped "welcome". It became immediately obvious that she was not one of the Riddle's biggest fans. Kurt was used to this, however, and swiftly followed her through another set of large doors which immediately took him into the Great Hall.
A wave of sound hit him as the student's chattering was revealed through the doors. Kurt could clearly see the divide of the tables; the ghastly yellow of the Hufflepuffs, the boring blue of the Ravenclaws, the obnoxious red of the Gryffindors, and finally, the comforting green of the Slytherin table; a colour he had come to know and love throughout his life, as his own home was covered in it. Nobody in the hall seemed to notice his appearance as the head master led him around the room to stand near the head table, away from everyone else.
Blaine was caught up in his own world at the Gryffindor table. Surrounded by his friends, he didn't have a care in the world, except from his growling stomach. It felt so good to be back in the great hall, and back in his warm, Gryffindor robes, with the brave lion over his heart. The first years were taking longer to arrive than normal, Blaine noted, hoping they wouldn't take too long as he had heard the house elves had increased their culinary repertoire over the holidays and he couldn't wait to try it out. "I'm so huuuuungry", Nick cried, managing to make himself louder than the rest of the table combined. "Hopefully we'll get a great bunch of Gryffindor's this year to ogle Blainey here some more". Wes stated next, with a jovial voice. Blaine groaned at this;
"as much as I love the attention, if I do say so myself, maybe this year I'll be able to get to each class without someone pointing at me".
"Aww, you don't mean that. We need you, man. Without you, none of the girls in this place would even look twice at us. Now we're friends with the illustrious Potter boy, we're almost as famous as you!" Jeff pitched in. Blaine laughed at this, as he knew his friends were only kidding. He was about to reply when he noticed something out of the ordinary at the front of the hall.
A boy. A boy of around the same age standing at the side of the hall; managing to look both unsure of himself and completely confident at the same time. He had piercing blue eyes, elfin features and the most amazingly soft hair Blaine had ever seen. If he didn't have the rational mind that he did, Blaine would say he was in love. But of course he wasn't, he'd only just seen the boy…who was looking straight at him.
Blaine quickly turned his head away and pretended to be focused on Wes and David's intense conversation about Quidditch. He couldn't help himself from look back at the boy every couple of seconds, however, and every time, the other boy was looking at him also. "Ooh…Blainey's got a crush" he heard from his left. Jeff was knocking his shoulder, knowing he would turn red. "No I don't", he quickly retored, "I was just…wondering who that was; we never get sixth-year transfers".
"Nope. You're smitten, Blaine. I'd know that face anywhere", was the reply. Blaine sighed, accepting the inevitable; if his friends wanted to believe something, you'd better believe they were going to accept it immediately. And, well, it is kind of true, Blaine thought to himself. Wait, what? He'd only just met the boy…but maybe if they became friends something could happen…
Kurt was already sick of this place. The incessant noise, the jovial faces; it was sickening. Kurt already couldn't wait to graduate and leave this place. Despite what most people would assume, he really wanted to make something of himself once he finished his studies. Maybe a singer; he'd always loved music, even when his parents had banned it from the house he would hum under his breath while practicing the unforgivable curses on spiders around the house, per his parents' request. Being a Death Eater, that just wasn't who Kurt was. Yes, he was probably a bit of a badass, and wasn't afraid to say what he thought, but he wasn't evil. And he in no way agreed with his parents' lifestyle, especially after the way they had treated him. "Only two more years", he whispered to himself.
It was at that moment his eyes met a boys at the Gryffindor table. A beautiful boy with dark black hair that was held in place with a mountain of hair gel, and the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen. Kurt would have been completely smitten if it weren't for the fact the boy was very determinately staring at him. Kurt sighed for the millionth time that evening. Yet another child with an Auror for a parent who was conditioned to hate him from the second they entered the earth, Kurt thought. However there was something about the boy that meant Kurt could just not look away. Not that he was bashful about it, if Kurt Riddle wanted to look at someone, then he would.
Both boys were drawn out of their staring contest by the arrival of the first years. Luckily for the hungry students, the sorting went quick, and much to the delight of Wes and David, there were many new Gryffindors. Once everyone was seated, the students turned around, looking expectantly at the tables, just waiting for the mouth-watering food to appear. A good thirty seconds later, however, and nothing had happened. "Attention students", was heard across the hall, causing the murmuring to quiet down to a gentle hum. "We have one more sorting to attend to before you eat your feast. Kurt Riddle, please step forward". At that point a collective gasp was heard throughout the hall, with many eyes turning expectantly towards Blaine, who was staring wide-eyed at the beautiful boy who was confidently making his way to the stool, ignoring the stir he had caused. "Well, damn", Blaine heard behind him, obviously from a startled Jeff.
Kurt sat poker straight on the stool, just like his years of strict upbringing had told him to. The mangy old hat was being carried towards him by McGonagall, however before she could even lift it to place on his head, the hat screamed "SLYTHERIN". The hall was silent except the far side which housed the Slytherins; half of which were cheering until their faces turned red, while the other half just seemed confused as to how to react. Kurt silently made his way over, silently thanking whatever was up there that he wasn't placed in any other house. He was suddenly pulled into a tight hug by a tall Slytherin whom he couldn't identify, due to the fact his face was stuck in their armpit. "Get off me, you freak", Kurt shouted, trying to be heard over the congratulations around him. Suddenly he was face to face with his hugger; Connor Lestrange. Suddenly, Kurt was pulled back into his arms. Connor was the only child Kurt's parents allowed him to see. Another Death Eater family, Connor was much more passionate about the Dark Arts than Kurt ever was. In fact, while he was being hugged, Kurt could see the start of the Dark Mark on Connor's arm. As much as he hated the boy, and always secretly had, it was comforting to know someone in the school, so Kurt hugged the boy back.
Over at the almost silent Gryffindor table, Blaine looked on with a weird feeling in his stomach at the sight of Kurt hugging the school jackass, Connor. Blaine didn't know what was causing the feeling. Was it because he had just found out the boy he felt such a strong connection with was in fact the family of his sworn enemy? Or was it something as simple as jealousy? How dare that slimy excuse for a man touch something so beautiful, Blaine thought, before scolding himself for thinking of something so trivial. Right now, Blaine had bigger things to worry about; mainly, watching his back now a Riddle was back in the school.