A True Snake

You know that moment that you sort of have always been waiting for? The one that you convince yourself will change everything? For me it was always Hogwarts. It was never a question, I never looked forward to anything more than getting on that train for the first time. You see by the time I was eleven I had been on the platform watching the train go off without me for four years, I'd heard stories from my brothers and every year I would beg my parents to go. When I got my letter I had to try my hardest not to squeal, at least not in front of mother.

When we were going to Platform 9 3/4, I couldn't contain my excitement anymore. My brothers watched me with amusement, rolling their eyes as I practically jumped up and down. But my parents who would not have me making a fool of the family name looked on in disdain, nothing out of the ordinary there.

Upon seeing their disappointment I sit as still as I could and start interrogating my brothers about Hogwarts... again.

"So, How do I get put in Slytherin? Who do I sit with on the train? What if I get lost on my way to class? Can I-" I fire a hundred questions at them before they finally decide to answer one or tell me off for annoying them.

"Lord, Vina slow down your making me dizzy with all these questions! The Sorting Hat will put you in Slytherin. You can sit with whoever you want as long as it isn't me or some mudblood. And just stick with a group when walking to class, it's less likely that all of you will forget at once" Octavius replied a genuine smile creeping onto his face as he messed up my short blond hair.

"Your not sitting with me either." Abraxas added a smirk appearing on his face as hauling his trunk towards the fireplace. "In fact, act like you don't know me at all... Starting now"

I wasn't one of those people who took a hint and stopped bothering them, however I probably wouldn't talk to them much until I got home for Christmas Break. Now don't get me wrong, I love my brothers, really I do. But there were times when they were so small minded once you look at the big picture, they were so obsessed with blood status and being the superiors of Mudbloods and Halfbreeds that they never even got to enjoy it.

The horrible thing about being the youngest in a prejudice pureblood family was the loneliness, I spent week after week being taught to be proper by people who were too terrified of my parents to defend themselves, but in a way that gave me an advantage surprisingly enough. Well, the name Malfoy opens quite a few doors, you needed your own wits to get thru to them. After acting like the perfect little girl for my parents for four years, I was an expert at opening door all by my self. I had been at every single party or social gathering my parents went to. I knew half the first year curriculum before I was even potty trained. I was more then ready for Hogwarts and despite my love for my brothers, I would not let them distract me.

Now to even slightly grasp what went on at the station you have to understand, being a pureblood is like a never ending battle, you always need to be two steps ahead of your opponents. You need allies, strategies and most importantly information, the one place that you can get this Hogwarts. So they prep their kids to be ahead of the rest and at the station, they brag like hell.

The perfect example was right there as we walked in, Septimus Weasley was not our equal, and most certainly not our superior, he had married Cordella Black nearly 14 years ago though, and suddenly became slightly worth our time. Almost as soon as we walked on to the platform my mother went over to him.

"Oh, Septimus! How's Cordella? I heard she just had another baby!" She exclaimed in laughter, the man was a deer in head lights as he faced my mother, the this branch of the Weasley family expanded rapidly and took quite a bit of grief from families such as mine.

He might have been nervous but his Gryffindor pride kept a certain level of confidence in his voice, "Yeah our fifth son, Arthur. She had to stay home with him but she'll be glade you asked for her, Ditty."

"Oh, why not bring the baby with her? They're so adorable when they're young" my father said a smirk growing on his face, knowing exactly where the conversation was going.

"Well the noise mostly, wouldn't want him to start crying and um... annoy anyone" he said his voice steady but a glare appearing on his face (no doubt remembering what my father said a few years ago about Jonathan Weasley).

"Oh, it must be one of your genes." He said ushering us away. At first I thought he had changed his mind but it was quickly dismissed as he said that Septimus had been quite the winer during school.

Weasley gave him a look that closely resembled apalled before turning away from us in rage. I don't know why my family did that, it seemed rather petty to me, but it was rather entertaining. As my parents continued conversing with the other families I started wondering around the platform.

Platform 9 and 3/4 was always a sight to behold, the first time I saw it I was astounded from the assortment of magical families saying their goodbyes to the owls and cats running a muck it was one of the most inviteing places I'd ever been.

As I started to lift my bag on to the train a boy came up behind me. "Need some help there, love." he said a gleeful look appearing on his face, as he addresses me in a dreadfully fake American accent.

I turned on my heal throwing my arms around him, knowing who it was in a second. "Orion! It's so good to see you!"

"Oh, come on! I could have been anyone, there's no way you knew that was me. I'm great at accents!" he said as I pulled out of the hug smiling. Orion Black was the closes thing I had to a best friend before my time at Hogwarts, he was a pompous, arrogant fool at times but he had this sort of charisma that consumed you and mad you feel safe.

"Can you believe it?" I asked a brief smirk on my face as he carried my heavy trunk onto the train. "We're going to Hogwart's! No more waiting and wishing we're on our way!"

Even with his back facing me I knew he was rolling his eyes at me, "I've never understood your obsession with going to Hogwarts. You always talk about it as if we wont go there."

Obviously, Orion never shared my excitement about going to school but after five minutes with him you'd know that he was a huge quidditch nut (which I didn't get at all, I mean what's the point?)."Oh, shut it, Black. As if I haven't explained it to you a hundred times"

"But its... school. I'm bored enough as it is with the tutors but now we'll actually be tested on this stuff. What's appealing about that?" he argued. I admit he had a point but, we had already been taught the difficult stuff so I didn't really share his fears.

"Well, I imagine the same thing that's appealing about flying around on brooms only to get hit in the head by a bludger!" I hit his shoulder as we get into an empty compartment dragging our trunks behind us.

"Oh please! Quidditch is the only reason I'm going here instead of Dumstrang, be thankful." He said trying (and failing) to get our trunks onto the storage rails. "And well you're at it be thankful that I'm your friend, too. I'll put these in the with everyone else's luggage"

"Thanks! I'll just be here" I said laying down on the uncomfortable bench. "Maybe I'll even find someone else to sit with. Aren't you glad to have me as a friend?"

"I'm simply elated, Malfoy" he said as he whipped out his wand making my trunk float on top of his and slowly levitating them both back onto the platform. For a second I wounded why we didn't do that in the first place, I almost completely forgot that we can technically use magic now. Not enough that it becomes obvious we had schooling before eleven, but all the same.

Before I could even get my wand out though the door slid open revealing a boy I'd never seen before. He had an almost stony gaze in his green eyes a look that sent chills down my spine from the first moment I saw it. "Is anyone sitting here?" he said in an almost intimidating tone. I nodded my head, before turning towards the window, eager to escape his stare. I wasn't so fortunate though as he ignored my answer and sat down anyway.

I turned back only to find that he was ignoring me, too. "Well if you were going to sit down either way, why ask?" I glared at him crossing my arms like a child as I watched him open one of our textbooks. He refrained from responding and simply flipped a page causing me to pout and stomp my feet. Why was I doing this? I never act like this, this boy was acting like I was the nuisance when in fact he was. "Excuses me but I believe I'm speaking to you."

His book snapped shut, his hand stuck out to shake in seconds, "Fine, if you insist on talking, I'll introduce myself. Tom Riddle."

I look at him in surprise, his voice was harsh and annoyed as if I personally offended him with my excessive desire to speak. I narrowed my eyes in confusion, ignoring his hand completely, "Divina Malfoy. I've never heard the name Riddle, are you a half-blood?"

"I don't know" he said picking up the book again uninterested. "If you don't mind I kind of need to study some of us plan on learning thing this year."

I feel my eyebrows shoot into my forehead in disbelief, "Well, your awfully quick to assume, Riddle. Good Luck in Ravenclaw, I guess, they won't put up with a sharp tongue like yours."

Whatever his response might have been it was cut off by the door sliding open. "I see you've already found my replacement" Orion said plopping down in the seat across from me. "Who might this be?"

Like all things seemed to, this annoyed Tom. "I'm sorry. I think I'm in the wrong compartment, you two obviously never learned decent manners" he shouted and as if the conductor knew to make this statement all the more dramatic the whistle blue at that very second.

"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine!" Orion grumbled sarcastically as Tom went back to reading. "I swear, Vina, anymore friends like this and I'll be forced into a damn book club."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

I don't know why I did this it was rather illogical but I then pulled out my wand. "Watch, I've been practicing." I told him clearing my throat. "Expecto Patronum!"

I don't know what I excpected to happen, I had never successfully created a corpsal patronous but suddenly there was a bright blue snake striking at Orion's neck and my friend was practically falling off his seat to get away from it. I hold back a laugh at Orion's look of amazement before breaking my concentration and kicking his shine. "Does that look like a book club nerd to you?" I said trying to hide my own astonishment.

"But- Why- What are you doing practicing seventh year spells? We aren't even first years! I mean... we are but... We haven't even been sorted!" he started chattering on about how amazing it was.

No matter how utterly impossible it was that I accomplished making a corpsal patronous before even getting to Hogwarts, I'm glad that I did because if I hadn't I probably wouldn't have become friends with Tom Riddle.

I heard a book snap closed next to me, he had a new look in his eyes this time, not quite like Orion's surprise but similar. "Well, I'm not going to get much reading done, am I?" He said a friendly tone infused into his voice. "I'm afraid I've been terribly rude, Miss. Malfoy, please allow me to make it up to you."

I knew exactly what he was doing; he was collecting players, you'd see it all the time if you looked closer. I that second I had no question's about Tom Riddle, he was a different kind of Slytherin, a True Snake.

I narrow my eyes for a moment, he was obviously smart, probably a halfbood but that didn't matter much. "I think this could be the start of an... Interesting friendship. Wouldn't you say, Tom?"

I've never been more right.

The Train ride was interesting to say the least, I mean I never thought I'd have to explain the houses to anyone...

Orion seemed pretty annoyed about having to sit with the 'unpure' but I didn't know. I didn't know that he was the heir to Slytherin, or that he'd kill four people before graduating school, right now the only thing I knew is he was intelligent. He was obviously a bit... socially impaired but we'd help him with that.

"So, Riddle, where were you before Hogwarts?" Orion asked in an attempt to make conversation, at first we were talking and playing Exploding Snap but when I came back from putting on my robbes they were silent.

"Wool's Orphanage. Sorry, Black, even I don't know what mummy and daddy are" he snapped a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Who said I was trying to do anything? Its just a question." Orion said giving him a look that I'd seen many times before. It was a look he had perfected by the time I met him, this timid little smirk, and those innocent silver eyes were only brought out to deceive unsuspecting victims.

I tried to contain the roll of my eyes as I told Tom he was only being paranoid (after all even if he could prove a useful ally I had just met him). But his back stayed straight as a stick, his eyes unblinking as he regarded Orion.

I was siting there looking between the two as if they were in a particularly skilled game of ping pong. Even after knowing him for a short time, Tom Riddle was positively confusing. Ironically, enough I didn't realize it until I saw this little staring match. He was challenging a Black after openingly admitting that he might be a mudblood. You might not understand just how dangerous this was, maybe he didn't either, but challenging any Black even one who is barely eligible to go to school is... highly unrecommended, completely insane, political suicide? Anyone of those would work. But someone of a lower class challenging a someone from a family as powerful as Orion's? Well, let's just say it increased your chances of showing up in the garbage shoot at some random muggle hotel (and thats if your lucky).

I gulped for a second, trying to convince myself that they were both just having a pathetic fight but part of me knew that this argument would never be over. It would aways lurk over our heads, all of our heads now. Tom would have it the worst of course, not knowing who his parents were, but now it was our problem, too. And the second our families reputation were put on the line by our choice of friends we'd have to ignore him.

"Guys? I'm still here! God, if you want to stare longingly into each others eyes at least tell me to leave first" I laughed trying to defuse the tension that had accumulated in the passed few minutes. It worked, too, because almost instantaneously their eyes were wide in shock and aimed directly at me. "Just joking" I said holding my hands up in surrender.

"Well, I must apologize, Riddle. I didn't mean to strike a cord... I'll try to remember not to ask next time" Orion said an overly submissive look in his eyes.

"Oh, no! My fault really, I have quite a flare for dramatics at times." Riddle replied his words practically dripping with his apologetic tone. "Let's just forget about this silly little farce"

The train compartment was then consumed completely in uncomfortable silence, it was so quiet that I could hear the gossip from the girls in one of the neighboring sections. It was arguably one of the most awkward times on the Hogwarts Express (actually the "brother incident" might have been worst but we'll get to that later).

Desperate to break the silence I said, "Well... At least no one lost a hand"

Looking back, it wasn't funny. It wasn't even the slightest bit humorous! But for some strange reason we all burst out laughing.

All I could think at that moment was, "Whew, Crisis averted" and as the we nearly choked on our displaced hysterics, blood status and possible (unlikely) house differences were temporarily forgotten.

The first time I saw Hogwarts was like a dream, it wasn't particularly special, I wasn't ringing my hand over sorting or awkwardly shaking hands with new classmates, no. But the first time I was at Hogwarts was October 27th, 1934. That's right, I didn't get to marvel at its glory well gliding across the lake (though I must admit the view from Hogsmeade is breathtaking). So let's just get that out of the way seeing Hogwarts is always amazing. I mean how could it not be, right? But I wasn't green with envy that my brothers got to see it before me.

Well... That's not completely true... and Hogwarts certainly was utterly amazing, the light from the school illuminated the lake in a way that sort of forced you to watch it shimmer as the boats broke thru the water, it might have even been the main reason I was gapping like a fish ... if the chocolate frogs weren't trying to claw their way up my throat.

After I stopped marveling at the simply magical picture this was, my other senses kicked in. I started to smell the low tide and felt the bug crawling up the back of my neck, the splash of something falling into the lake behind us. And worst of all the taste of bile slowly rushed in my mouth. I quickly swallowed it but the taste had already settled in my mouth. I wanted to be at the school. I wanted to be inside. I wanted to be sorted. I wanted to not be anywhere near this boat. And I was used to getting what I wanted.

"Okay," I heard Orion behind me. "This is awesome, you're right, you win"

I turned toward him a forced smirk slipping onto my features, "Is Orion Regulus Black admiting defeat? Do my ears deceive me?" I mocked him.

"Yeah, yeah, take pride in your victory but remember mockery is degrading, what would your parents say if that's the first thing you gave them from your first year at Hogwarts was a bad reputation?" Orion said jokingly, even though he was right, the only reason purebloods would have more then one heir is so they could prove superiority, not so they can sit back and wait for their inheritance.

"I can't quite remember but I'm pretty sure it degrades you." I rolled my eyes turning back to stare intently at Toms neck, already getting a bit seasick. "What do you think Tom? Who's thought less of in this situation?" I asked trying to include him and distract me from the ever rocking lake. Are lakes even suppose have waves?

"Well, both of you I guess." he said not particularly interested.

"Oh come on Riddle! What are you a diplomat? That's an awfully easy answer" Orion laughed extending the light atmosphere.

"Not really. On one hand you were wrong which in the right context could look weak. On the other hand Davina boasted showing arrogance, which could make her someone you wouldn't want to work with due to the fact that narcissists tend to take more credits then is due to them." Tom corrected him turning sharply a proud smirk spreading across his face. Narcissist!?

It's so obvious, he knew absolutely nothing about the politics of our world. Part of me was refreshed this, but for the most part I was appalled by his nerve. I know, I sound like a priss but to be honest at this part of my life? I was. I was annoying, to sure of myself, spoiled, entitled, rude and extremely full of myself. But no one had ever dared to point it out before this young ignorant halfblood. So yeah, I was surprised! It didn't show on my face, there were no wide eyed stares or hanging jaws but if you looked close, if you looked for the narrowing eyes you might have seen it by a fraction of a centimeter.

I imagine Orion had a similar look to mine because Riddle suddenly looked rather confused by our blank expressions. "I don't know. Its a pretty juvenile argument, isn't it?" he said his eyebrows drawing closer together.

"Um... Tom you realize it wasn't a serious argument, right?" I tried to keep my embarrassment for all of us off my face.

"Yeah, that's what I said" he shaking his head in the universal sigh of 'duh'.

"You've never been in many social situation, have you?" Orion smiled in a sort of apologetic tone, as we finally got to the school.

Careful not to step straight into the muck, I climb out of the evil boat already feeling considerably better being on land. I turn back only to see Orion picking up a wad of mud behind his back, as if he was being descret about it.

"Put it down Orion. Tom is right, silly confrontation make us both look bad" I nigotioated my hands raise to show my surrender, while Riddle chuckled behind him.

Orion looked at us both before bursting out laughing."Oh, Don't flatter yourself, Vina. This is for the ghost I want to see if your brothers were lying about the whole 'soulless' thing"

Tom's eyebrows scrunch together in confusion as he asked, "How would mud help you with that?"

"Oh, if you can go straight thru something it has no soul... Or at least according to Octavius, who lets admit, not the most reliable source." I rolled my eyes trying to catch up to our classmates, who somehow managed to pass us without me realizing.

"Well, he has told the truth before. Maybe it is a good test to check for souls." Orion said the mud still clenched in his fist.

"In my opinion those are the worst kind of liars, you never know when they decide to fib." I told them finally stepping into the school.

"Not to mention that's a really stupid lie... They're ghost of course you can go thru them" Tom said. Orion looked at him for a second before pushing ahead in the crowd muttering under his breath.

"Ignore him." I said rolling my eyes at his antics. "He can be rather dramatic at times"

"You don't say! You know I hardly even noticed" he joked sarcasm leaking thru his tone, surprising me.

"Was that sarcastic! How very out of character, Mr. Riddle!" I mocked him playfully. "For someone who can barely follow a joke, you are starting to fit into our little group quite nicely."

His eyes widened, "Your group? You didn't notice me recruiting you and Orion to be my friends."

I laughed at his comment, not knowing then that it would in fact be his group, and we would always be the pawns.

So, this is the first chapter.

-IsItReallyOver