Lights and Shadows
Chapter Eight
Slytherin's Angel
Author's Note: Thank you, my dear readers for giving me such encouraging reviews! I do hope that my characters are of satisfactory to you! If you have any questions or suggestions, please PM me or leave a review, thank you!
'SLYTHERIN!'
The hat shrieked, almost breaking my eardrums in the process, but I felt sweetly relieved.
The loudest applauding roared for me in the Slytherin Table, and the other Houses sighed and groaned. Arwen, will unsorted, was smiling at me, a determined glint in her amber eyes.
Taking the hat off gently, I walked to my House and saw that everyone stood up welcoming me. Some held out their hands, trying to pull me to sit beside them. But all it took was a true smile (surprise!) from Tom, a bone-squeezing hug from Emerald which was a rare display of emotion for a Pureblood like her, to have me drifting, grinning, to sit between them.
'I always knew you would be in Slytherin!' Tom smirked smugly.
'Yeah, you obviously can't fit into any other House, Serafina!' Emerald joined in.
The other Slytherins rushed over to introduce themselves and it was such a chaos that Headmaster Dippet had to yell for order, so the introductions were saved for later. The Sorting continued.
'Prince, Eileen!' A black-haired girl turned out to be a Slytherin and she joined us at our table.
'Arwen, Fox!' I held my breath as the beautiful girl with white-blond hair streaked with unusual blue walked proudly to the Sorting Hat, oblivious to the boys' intakes of breath. But then again, perhaps they were inhaling as well when I walked up there too, and I simply didn't notice, like her didn't. I found that I was feeling even more nervous than when the hat was Sorting me, for to me, Arwen just seemed more of a fiery-tempered Gryffindor than a calm, sly Slytherin. And even though she said that she would want to be the same House as me, I doubted the hat would have given a student much of a choice. Unless of course, it couldn't decide.
Minutes ticked passed, Arwen appeared to be having a sort of argument with the hat, for her jaw was clenched, and body stiff.
Finally, the hat seemed to sigh and announced, 'SLYTHERIN!'
I was the first to stand up to welcome a smiling Arwen to our table. I pulled her into a tight embrace and Emerald, to my surprise, was thrilled as well. The only person who didn't seem too pleased was Tom - he never liked Arwen.
'Oh, Arwen, I'm so glad you made it into Slytherin!' I told her.
'Well, I said I would be a Slytherin if you are, didn't I?' She smiled.
'I know, but the hat respected your choice, lucky!'
'Uh, that thing, I had quite a fight with it. It almost placed me right into Gryffindor, but my protests made it consider twice. In the end, it agreed that I can indeed be a Slytherin, so, here I am!'
She took the seat right next to me, making Emerald becoming the second girl on my right, waiting for the Sorting to end.
Myrtle Grey became a Ravenclaw along with a few others, Longbottom, Moody and some others were Sorted into Gryffindor, Rosetta and Nicholas Yaxley, Victor Avery, Peony Parkinson, Olive Hornby joined us in the Slytherin Table.
Finally, the Sorting was over, for I didn't think my rumbling stomach can hold on much longer.
Headmaster Dippet stood up and spoke merrily, 'Now, let the feast... Begin!'
All kinds of food were magicked into our golden plates. The other students in the other Houses were cheering and started wolfing everything down. I, however, being the little lady I was, used my knife and fork to elegantly put my favourites into my plate. I chose to eat some salmon salad with avocado, and some tender roasted lamb. Some people in our table took this as a chance to come talk to me, and if I remembered correctly, the Yaxley girl and the Parkinson girl, along with a few Pureblood males, were coming my way.
'Hello!' A cheerful, magnetic female voice had my attention dedicated to the Yaxley girl. She had healthily-tanned skin, purple-black hair and mysterious deep, lake-green eyes. 'I'm Rosetta! Rosetta Yaxley! You must be Serafina!'
'Oh... Hello. Nice to meet you too!' I was a little taken aback by her enthusiasm, since the Yaxleys were known to be a dignified Pureblood royalty family as well.
'Great! Can I be your friend? Oh, by the way, this is my twin brother Nicholas.' She gestured to the obviously embarrassed male Yaxley beside her. He looked roughly the same, but every part of his face lacked the warm attractiveness of his sister, but more of a kind of cold hardness.
'Good evening to you.' Nicholas forced out and practically shot back toward Abraxas.
'Of course you can be my friend!' I answered Rosetta. Haha, this one is the friend type, and with a little bit of training can be a perfect follower! I mentally scowled - since when did I start to think friends as potential followers?
'Great!' She said again and smiled apologetically, 'Sorry about Nicholas. He's a good person but doesn't really prefer to express affections and 'be-my-friend' sort of thing in public.'
Arwen looked at her, amused, while Emerald seemed to be debating over if Rosetta will be a competition for her or would it be better if she used her to get closer to me. This was not strictly Legilimancy - that thing was not appropriate to use in public - but intentions, emotions and stuff did tend to be rushing into me from other people. Except two: Tom and Arwen. A riddle and a mystery. Of course, if you count Professor Dumbledore, that would make the exception three - he was such a skilled Occlumancist that I can't get anything out of his mind!
'I'm Arwen! I like you. You talk directly, that's awesome!' She said sincerely, shaking Rosetta's hand, earning a dazzling smile from the Pureblood witch.
'My name is Emerald Lestrange. I heard that the Yaxleys are losing money?' Emerald sneered, her face a look of hatred. Ah well, I guess she took her as a threat then. So much for hoping that all my friends can get along! The only thing left to find out is how Arwen can handle this; she already seemed to have taken a liking to Rosetta's rare straightforward nature, not unlike herself. As for Tom... I turned to check what he was doing, and was not surprised to find that he was too busy making new friends and raising his status among them to pay any attention. Well, I can't blame him. The first day at school was the most important one, it determined whether or not you were accepted or shoved aside, especially in a House like Slytherin - and especially for someone with a not-so-famous family name, like Tom. Moreover, I was pretty busy here as well.
'Oh, a Lestrange, are you? Mother's been going on about an arranged marriage between your family heiress and the Yaxley's heir - my brother Nicholas. You two do seem like a pair, don't you think?' Rosetta replied, a smirk (the first time I've saw her doing that!) on her face as she saw her opponent's eyes widen, even though she as growling menacingly.
'Oh I wouldn't say that, Yaxley, but my parents already paired me with Abraxas, you know, the Malfoy heir. You, on the other hand - '
'Girls, girls, this is hardly the time and place to fight.' I cut her off, using my quiet commanding tone. Obviously it was icier and more intimidating than I thought it would be, for both of their pretty faces visibly paled.
'O - of course not, Se - Serafina, we were just...just...' Emerald lost her voice and the little courage she had left. I didn't feel exactly guilty, but I was a little annoyed with myself for doing that to my new friends. But it was for their own good; it would not do to have my future followers fighting over some random business. It would not do at all. Ugh, I am thinking just like Tom! Then I comforted myself that this was how every great person would think, and as usual, I managed to convince everyone including myself.
'Sorry, I will not do it ever again!' Rosetta squeaked. I stared into her deep green eyes for a few moments, piercing her soul and shook my head. She was as scared as Emerald, certainly, but that was a half-empty promise. So... Pat her on the head or bite her deeper until I saw blood? Mmh, choose, choose... My dark side won this time (unfortunately for her).
'You are lying.' I said, my voice still uncomfortably quiet.
'I - I'm not, I swear, I...' Her voice died down.
I sighed, this was in public, and the start-of-term feast was hardly the time to scare everyone away.
'It's alright!' I beamed, and my sudden change of personality seemed to frighten Rosetta all the more, but Emerald, having experienced the same thing on the train, took this a bit better than the other girl. 'I certainly can't force you two into liking each other, but I suggest you two not to develop hate. You are officially my friends, and I would not allow my friends to hate each other, to fight, to hurt each other. We are friends - what does it mean to be friends? Emerald? Rosetta?'
They exchanged confused and startled looks, unable to answer, for they didn't understand me well enough to know what I wanted to say.
'How about you, Arwen, mmh?' I turned to the watching girl beside me. Her amber eyes were bright and smiling, a silent approval on how well I can handle them.
'That means we are in a team.' Arwen replied briskly.
'That's right,' I smiled, but on the occasion, its warmth will only increase the level of scariness my face held, 'we are together, no matter what. There will be small differences and complications between ourselves, yes, we are not saints. We will be confronted with problems. But that doesn't matter, for we are friends. Unless you refuse to be my friend, you will be friends with each other. I can't force you to be the best of friends, and I can't force you to completely quit being hostile toward each other, but I do hope that you can act civilised toward the other in front of me. Behind my back, quarrel! But not as enemies. Never as enemies. Do you agree with me, my dear Rosetta and Emerald?' I glanced at them both expectantly, tone still light and friendly.
'Yes.' They quickly mumbled together, their colours back a little.
'Well said! You could have made it into Ravenclaw!' Rosetta's cheerful personality was back almost, as she tried to cheer us all up and in the meantime, bring me out of this chilly mood even though I wasn't showing anything, mind you.
'Haha, you're actually right about that!' I laughed, and from the look on their astonished faces that thought I was crazy for being so madly happy so quickly after I gave them a 'lesson'.
'Serafina...' Arwen's almost pained voice made me stop eating my baked potatoes.
'What?' I asked, a bit startled at her tone.
'Riddle's looking at you. Again.' She choked out as if she was being force fed poison.
Skeptical, I turned to Tom's direction and was at once met with his dark eyes and noticed with surprise that there seemed to be colour in them. A dark kind of grayish green, in fact. I inwardly grinned, wow his eyes are green, really? Then he smirked and turned away, as if he knew what I was thinking and returned into his conversation with Abraxas. Did he know Legilimancy or something? No, that was not possible! Nevertheless, due to my extremely careful nature I immediately built up my highly professional Occlumancy walls around my mind.
I turned hastily back to Arwen, who had a disapproving look on her angelic face. 'What?' I asked innocently.
'Don't fake innocence, Serafina!' She snapped, rolling her eerily golden-orange eyes, 'You know damn well 'what'. That little eyes exchanging between you and Riddle... You really shouldn't be getting too close to him! He's bad news, I just feel it. There's something off about him.'
I sighed, forcing myself to remain cheerful still. I knew all too well what Tom was like, and Arwen didn't know half the tale about me. If only she knew that I killed a goblin the same day I met her... I wonder would she still warn me about Tom, or stay away from me as far as she could?
'You don't know that, Arwen.' I said as patiently as I could, 'I knew him longer than you do. Unless there is proof, I would not believe that Tom is "bad news". You will have to get use to it, Arwen: Tom and I are friends, nothing's going to change that. And if you can't manage to do get use to that fact, try to become his friend as well.'
With that, I stood and left her sitting there, obviously furious and frustrated, to join Tom and the others.
'Evening, gentlemen!' I smiled to the boys and Tom at once turned, apparently pleased that I still have time to see him.
'Oh, hi there, Serafina!' Abraxas waved happily at me, 'Come n' sit down.'
I sat politely between he and Tom, and the conversation topic at once focused on me. 'So... You are truly the Lady Sundavar?' A boy I recognised as Nicholas Yaxley grinned at me, the cold reluctance a short while ago utterly gone, 'My sister Rosetta has been annoying me with stories of your family for months, no actually, years on end, but in fact, I admit I'm really fascinated by your family!' Then his voice dropped to little more than a whisper, 'I just don't want to show my respect for you in front of her though, she'll tease me about it.'
I felt like laughing, this was so sweet, and cute. 'Well that's totally understandable, Mr. Yaxley!'
'Please, call me Nicholas...'
'...Nicholas.'
But the others wouldn't let him to have all my attention all to himself.
'Hello, gorgeous, my name is Victor Avery.' A brown hair, blue-eyed boy planted a kiss on my hand, 'At your service.'
Abraxas scowled, while Tom's lips pressed into a thin line; a sign of warning. 'Why, Victor,' Said Abraxas in his famous Malfoy drawl, 'I thought I am the school flirt, don't you dare take me place!'
We laughed, me and the others actually amused, but Tom with barely noticeable reluctance. I caught his eyes and tried to tell him that it was OK. He understood my message immediately and smirked, turning back to the boys, but not before giving me a 'talk to me later' sort of look. I smiled brightly and he seemed to be holding back a chuckle.
I was just about to join their conversation when a haughty-looking girl walked toward us, swaying her hips dramatically as she did so. She was the kind of a perfect blond bombshell, not Arwen's blond, nor Abraxas' blond, but rather a shade of plain strawberry blond, looking as if it was not the natural colour but in fact dyed. Her eyes were green, not the dangerous black-like green of Tom's, the mysterious lake-green of Rosetta's, or the lively emerald green of Emerald's, but a dull, shallow sort of grass-like colour. By simply looking her up and down I can tell that I would not like her at all. My instinct was accurate, as always.
'A pleasure to meet you all, my handsome princes!' She sang in a banshee-like voice she clearly thought to be charming, 'I am Olive Hornby, at your service!'
'What kind of service exactly?' I muttered to Tom, who was fighting back laughter. I looked at the girl in barely concealed disgust. I hate bitches, and I mean really truly despise them.
Obviously, she noticed me and dropped her flirty smile and turned to me, a challenging glint in her eyes. 'And who might you be?'
'You don't know about her? You've got to be joking!' Abraxas exclaimed, shaking her head, 'She is the Serafina Sundavar!'
I bit my lip to stop myself from giggling. Normally I didn't quite enjoy such attention, but seeing the look on her face made it suddenly enjoyable.
Before she can respond, however, a pug-like girl walked over, looked down at me, and said, 'Are you even a pureblood?'
'The purest there is, Parkinson,' Emerald's voice came from nowhere, and she and Rosetta, although they didn't get along at all, crossed their arms, defending me, 'her family can be traced back to Hecate herself, she has the goddess' divine blood running in her veins!'
'Greek mythology is mythology, Lestrange,' Parkinson sneered, 'it doesn't exist at all!'
I felt a sudden rage boiling inside me - how dare she doubt my ancestry? 'Ms. Parkinson,' I said, strangely calm, 'I can assure you the Greek deities are real, they exist. They are the true gods.'
'Oh, yeah?' Hornby grinned nastily, raising her voice to the top of her lungs, 'Now I remember about your family! Your parents got murdered this year, didn't they? A good thing, that. Inbred should be made illegal long ago!'
The whole table suddenly grew silent, and half the hall stopped eating and joking to watch the argument. I was now practically steaming with rage, Tom seemed ready to leap out of his seat and strangle her, and Arwen was looking as if she said one more word, she would be ripped in half. and I gave her a smile so cold and deadly that she flinched. I was sure my eyes changed in some way, for I can feel them growing brighter somehow, and a bit hotter. Again, I did not yell, but my horribly calm voice was much more frightening than if I shouted. 'It's a pleasure meeting you too, Olive dear.' I almost laughed at the thoroughly shocked look on her face. 'I do hope we can continue this lovely conversation at another time, and somewhere else.'
Then I went back eating as if nothing had happened. After a nervous silence, the others decided that I possessed an honourable big forgiving heart. Only Tom sensed that I was still crazily angry, and I was sure that he would talk to me later about it.
'Oh, Serafina, you are so kind and sweet... You are an angel!' Emerald half sighed, half moaned, 'Too nice to be a Slytherin!'
'Yeah, you really are an angel!'
I simply smiled sweetly in return, and soon the whole House table was chorusing that I was an angel of House Slytherin. The saying quickly spread around the entire school, and that evening, I was given the loving title/nickname that would accompany during all my Hogwarts years: Slytherin's Angel.
Author's Note: REALLY long, I know! Hope you like it! And I just have to invoice Hornby and Pug-face into something ugly...
