By January Orion did have a core friend group but he still was alone often. He preferred it that way though. While his group of friends like to push around and bully mudbloods, he watched from the side lines or took this free time as a perfect opportunity to study. Like a very snowy day in late January. It was the weekend so they didn't have classes but Orion was in the study hall, sitting by himself while his friends were playing outside.
Orion was working on an assignment but he was having a little bit of difficulty as he couldn't find the thing he was looking for in the books that he brought with him. "It must be in this one…right?" He muttered to himself and looked again, flipping the pages but he really couldn't find it.
"It's…" a familiar voice then said and soon someone stood next to him and started flipping through the pages before stopping at page 412. "Here…" the person said and Orion looked up, slightly annoyed but still thankful until he saw it was Felix Donovan. "…" Orion had the word on the tip of his tongue again but he couldn't say it.
"Thank you." He huffed instead and Felix just smiled at him and then left again. The boy almost tripped over his feet on the way and was mocked as well by several students but like usually he didn't react to it.
"He has a serious issue…" Orion said but then got back to the page that Felix had turned it too. "But…he's correct." He sighed and then started reading the section he needed before he starting writing on the parchment paper. Soon he had finished the assignment and he started studying for one of his favourite subjects namely Charms.
Orion liked Charms a lot, along with Astrology and Potions. The last two also seemed to be Felix' favourites. That and Orion had noticed that the mudblood seemed particularly interested in Defence Against the Dark Arts as well. For now, he seemed kind of good at it as well but so were most students. Orion didn't think Felix was skilled at anything because first year classes were easy.
Orion knew there were electives to take in their third year and even though it wasn't something to worry about now, Orion had given it a thought about which subjects to take as you had to pick two. "Ancient runes perhaps?" Orion asked himself softly and then thought about it a little more. "And Care of Magical Creatures could be interesting too…" he added but he wasn't fully sure yet. He only knew he definitely didn't want to go for Muggle Studies. Even if he wanted to, his parents would never approve.
'That mudblood Donovan might go for Muggle studies but wouldn't that be cheating?' he thought. 'Well, he might need an easy grade.' Orion thought as well.
During the rest of Orion's first year, Felix and him never came across each other unless it was in class or when Orion's friends were bullying mudbloods. Felix was often a target at first but at the start of second year, Alphard and the rest of his friend group had decided that Felix was not fun to bully and push around since he laughed with everything. Felix was being mocked still by other Slytherin students but also by students of other houses, including his own.
Felix didn't have friends until one day in October he joined Orion at the lake. He sat down next to the Slytherin who was reading a book about the star signs. "Are you named after the Orion constellation or is that just by coincidence?" Felix asked and Orion shocked up and when he saw Felix he nearly stood up and left but Felix held him back. "I just asked you a question…" Felix said innocently.
Orion quickly pulled his arm back but then nodded. "Yes, my family tends to do that often." Orion said.
"That's really special though. I wish my parents picked such a special name. I bet mine don't even know any star signs though." Felix said.
"Felix is a…decent name. It means 'happy' or 'fortunate'. Your parents must have put a lot of thought into naming you so at least respect them." Orion frowned.
"You're right, sorry." Felix said.
"I don't get why you're apologising to me." Orion said and he looked over the mudblood once more. He had grown a bit and so he was a little bit taller than he was the previous year. His marine blue eyes weren't so bright today and his hair was light brown and slightly longer than Orion's own hair. It was still neatly kept though and Felix wore his uniform properly which Orion couldn't say of some students.
"I don't get why people keep calling me mudblood but here I am, sitting next to someone who calls me that all the time." Felix said.
"I've never called you that." Orion said. Not at loud at least. In his thoughts he called Felix that multiple times.
"Not out loud no but I'm pretty sure you think it." Felix said, it was as if he could read his mind which he definitely couldn't but to Felix Orion was easy to read.
"Are you claiming you are able to read my mind?" Orion asked.
"No but you're easy to read. Just your expression and the way you speak to me already makes it very obvious to me." Felix said and then for a while a silence fell. Both boys didn't say anything.
Felix then brought up astrology. "I've noticed you really like the subject too. Am I correct?" Felix asked.
Orion just nodded, to which Felix said: "During summer I found something really cool." He then took out a pocket watch and Orion frowned at that.
"It's just a pocket watch." Orion stated the obvious. "Hmm, that's what I thought as well but at night, if you open it, it shows all the star signs clearly." Felix said.
"I don't believe you." Orion narrowed his eyes but Felix just smiled. "Then try it yourself." Felix simply said and he handed the pocket watch to Orion who hesitantly took it from him.
"Just wait until it's dark and then open it, there's nothing else you need to do. During the day, if you open it, it's just what it looks like, a regular pocket watch." Felix explained and Orion nodded.
"Are you sure you want to entrust this to me though?" Orion asked.
"You like star signs too and you don't seem like someone who breaks or loses things on purpose so yes, I trust you with it." Felix said.
That night when everyone was asleep, Orion took the pocket watch and got out of bed. He went over to the window in the hope that he woke no one and then opened the pocket watch. He was surprised when all the star signs were projected out of it. All of them were very clear to see and it actually brought a smile to Orion's face. 'He was right about this pocket watch…' he thought. After looking at the star signs for a while, he closed it again and sighed before going back to bed. Deep down he didn't want to give it back but although he hadn't promised anything, he would give the mudblood his pocket watch back as it was just the polite thing to do.
The next day after classes he waited at the lake again, hoping that Felix would just show up himself and he did.
"And?" Felix asked curiously.
"You were right, my bad for not believing you." Orion said and he handed the pocket watch back.
"You can have it, Orion." Felix said.
"What?" Orion frowned. "Why would give something like this away?" He asked in disbelief.
"I can tell you really liked it." Felix smiled and Orion frowned more.
"However, if you feel so bad about having it, can I have something in exchange?" Felix asked.
"It depends. I'm not doing your homework." Orion said.
"Oh no, I wouldn't want anyone doing my homework, that's ridiculous." Felix said and then he said: "I'd like to talk more with you but I can understand that your friends might not like that so if it's alright we could only talk after classes or on weekends at the lake where nobody would notice us?"
Orion was about to immediately reject the idea but then he sighed and agreed instead.
"Sure but only after classes and during weekends when I'm not doing assignments or studying and only at the lake." Orion said.
Felix smiled at that. "That's a deal then. Take good care of the pocket watch alright?" He asked and then planned to walk off but Orion held him back.
"Why exactly do you want to talk with me more?" Orion asked.
"Because I think beyond you hating muggleborns, you might be a great person actually. That and I think the way you view people like me is hugely affected by how you were raised. Hatred is not something you were born with, it's taught." Felix said.
"Have you thought of that yourself?" Orion asked, not sure what else he should say on what Felix said.
"No, of course not. It's widely proven. Muggles do it too. A lot of muggles have conservative values as well." Felix said.
"Do you?" Orion asked.
"No but my family does." Felix said.
"You just said that it's affected by the way you were raised." Orion frowned.
"Yes, hugely so but not entirely. Also, I've always been different from what my parents wanted me to be. They don't like me being a wizard either so they complain every time I speak about magic." Felix said.
"I don't get it." Orion said.
"What don't you get?" Felix asked.
"That your parents hate you being a wizard." Orion clarified.
"Well often people hate or are afraid of things they don't know. Same goes for people who are homophobic." Felix said.
"What's that?" Orion asked.
"Oh…that's maybe a conversation for another time. It's time for dinner I think." Felix said and he quickly left.
"Homophobic?" Orion asked himself after Felix left. "It's probably a stupid muggle thing." Orion sighed and then left to go to the great hall as well.
Not that Orion was interested but perhaps Felix could tell him more about these muggle things and likewise Orion could tell him about magical things. On the other hand, Orion still wondered why Felix was so interested in talking to him on a regular basis.
'He knows I hate his kind and yet he wants to talk to me. Yet he's friendly. I really don't understand him.' Orion thought.
As he sat down at the Slytherin table, Alphard asked him: "Orion, could you be a little more social? You always isolate yourself after classes and during the weekends."
"I just don't like messing around, you know I prefer studying." Orion said.
"Honestly, you're so boring." Alphard said.
"Well I don't care about what you think of me, Alphard." Orion huffed and he started eating.