The common room was dark, the only warmth from the fire in front of which Beth was seated. She held out her hands to warm them. Two months at Hogwarts. She had been enlisted as one of the group. Bec, Emily and Marcus were her best friends and, out of the three of them, her and Marcus were somehow the closest. It certainly seemed that the complete opposite nature of the two of them made a lethal combination. Marcus was rude, had a tendency to bully and become jealous easily, while Beth was generally calm and thought things through. She was never mean to anyone intentionally and, even if she had need to defend herself, Marcus would guard her fiercely, she had no doubt about that. Countless times she had calmed him down after yet another argument. Both had fiery natures so every now and then there were dangerous fights. It was at this point that people left them both to cool down.
The only person Beth would let near her after a conflict vial enough to destroy a country was her brother. He would sit her down and just talk quietly. She always came away happier and enlightened after their sibling 'deep and meaningful's.
Bec and Beth had, since the day they met, become great friends. The two of them, together, could easily out-talk and out-bully Marcus, leaving him standing speechless as the two girls would take turns throwing playful insults at him. Every time he managed to open his mouth he would be interrupted. After a few times people would actually stand by and watch, laughing at the classic lines the two girls would come up with.
Beth and Emily hung around outside of class almost constantly. Somehow, Beth had become, in the short space of a month, mentor, mother and the source of comfort and advice. Emily and Marcus had been fighting a lot for the past week or so and Beth had been there with them every step of the way.
The common room door opened and a dark figure slipped inside. Beth turned and frowned. The person was swathed in a dark cloak. She didn't recognise them. She stood up and called out softly.
"Hello?"
The person whirled around, whipping out their wand. The hood fell back off his head. He would have been about her age, maybe 16. His eyes were a dull grey, black hair spiked. And he was extremely good looking. He glared at her and shoved his wand back into his pocket.
"You must be Beth."
"You must be Tom." She frowned, disturbed by his behaviour. He stared at her appraisingly, his eyes travelling the length of her body. She felt strangely vulnerable up his gaze, as if he was picturing her naked. In fact, she had little doubt he was doing just that.
"I've heard a lot about you."
She smiled. He seemed nice enough. "Like what?" Beth sank down into a sofa, tucking her legs up beside her.
"You're the shallowest person on the face of the earth."
Beth's head snapped up again. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
She shook her head, her eyes wide. "Who said that?"
He shrugged and smirked. "Me to know."
"Yes, and you obviously don't know much! How dare you stereotype me on what another person has said!" Her entire body was shaking with fury as she faced him. "You... you haven't even seen me before this and you come in here and..." Shaking her head helplessly, she whirled around and raced out of the common room, biting back tears of frustration and anger.
Tom stared at her retreating back, sneered, then marched up the stairs to his dorm.