I was going to hold this chapter back and post this chapter as well as the next one at the same time as I wanted to clear up something this chapter is building upon, but as this chapter builds up a lot of suspense (as will the next one) I wanted to get it out ASAP.

This is also a nice long one so it felt right to just come out and post it.

In response to the reviews:

KirikaAndo - Thanks so much for the well wishes! Hope you're having a very good year so far :)

Kavernista - Missed you too! Sluggy is super mean, especially in this chapter but there's more annoying Slug to come! I'm actually super interested to hear your thoughts on the new rival in this chapter too :P

AnadoraBlack - I seriously love that you used to punch boys like Tom Riddle during secondary school. That is seriously hilarious hahaha. I bet they deserved it too. Boys like that made me nervous and shy in my teens, but in my 20s I love putting them in their place with well thought out arguments, it's great.

Guest - Thanks for the review and for the kind words. I'm so glad to have you on board :)

The plan that night was to meet Tom in the Slytherin common room at seven o' clock and we would head off together to Slughorn's office, where the party was being held. That way we would be fashionably late – the party started at seven on the dot so wandering up to the sixth floor would give us enough time to get there after the festivities started.

After spending a few hours with Andrew discussing many topics that entered our heads we departed from one another – I wanted substantial time to get ready for tonight, whilst Andrew still had to do his Herbology assignment and also get ready for the party tonight. He said he had a partner to the event but refused to tell me who it was, he said I'd have to wait and see.

When I got back to the Slytherin dungeons I was hoping I'd have the dormitory by myself to get ready, but unfortunately Beatrice was lying on her bed, drafting a letter to a boy from Durmstrang she was apparently hoping to get married to next year after school finished.

This ended up turning into a blessing in disguise for me. I casually mentioned how I was escorting Tom to the Slug Club party and she insisted on helping me get ready for it, which I was grateful for. I had picked up a few pointers from my mother on how to appropriately prepare for formal events – especially as we had plenty of Black weddings each year to attend.

But it was nice for someone the same age as me to give me beauty tips – I had never really had any close female friends to gussy myself up with so I knew little about teen fashion and makeup. Beatrice being one of the popular girls had a great sense of style. She helped me with choosing appropriate dress robes – a navy coloured dress with short sleeves, a collar, fitted around the bust and waist but then flowing out at the bottom in an A-line shape.

She used magic to do my hair – heating up her wand and using it to make tight curls – she mentioned it imitated a trick muggles apparently use rags for but the heat speeds up the process. She also powered my face, reddened my cheeks and curled my eyelashes.

After she was done she held a wide grin and pushed me in front of a mirror she had on her wall.

"Well you're half-Veela so there was no way I'd be able to make you anything short of spectacular, but I believe I've accentuated your fair features, you look really pretty." Beatrice smiled towards me.

I looked in the mirror and sent her a fake smile. I was very grateful for her help and didn't want to offend her, but to me I felt I looked almost the same as I did every other day. I still enjoyed our time bonding as she helped me get ready and I thanked her enthusiastically as I bounded out of our dormitory and up the stairs which led up to the common room.

Beatrice followed after me, saying she wanted to see Tom's reaction to how I looked. We passed Cordula on the staircase who paid me a very nice compliment on her way down to the dormitory. It made me feel very satisfied that the girls I had to spend lots of time around were finally treating me with a bit of respect.

This warm feeling was short lived as I first step foot in the common room it vanished completely. Drucilla who was previously reading a book by the fire looked up just as I entered and couldn't help herself as she stalked over. She made sure to obtain Rangvald Lestrange's attention as she made her way over.

I may not be the brightest witch but I could tell something seemed off by his reaction. Usually he would sneer and look in glee every time he anticipated something would be giving me a hard time. But today he only looked over feebly as Drucilla stormed towards me.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Drucilla spat towards me.

I looked around and noticed the entire common room had their eyes on Drucilla and I. Beatrice had backed off, obviously not wanting to get involved in the conflict. Nobody else approached, but everyone seemed to watch on intently.

I stayed silent but held an intense gaze towards her. I chose not to speak up until I found out what she was playing at.

"You scrub up well, for a filthy half-blood." She spat towards me.

I sighed loudly and crossed my arms, ready to argue with her. I was normally meek and shy after years of being tormented by most of the Slytherin house for having a Veela for a mother. But after the relentless harassment over the past few weeks from Drucilla I was growing very tired of her same baseless insults.

"Thank you. If the only things you have to say are nasty words about my heritage you can save your time. If you finally have a new or exciting insult then I'd be happy to respond." I sighed, over dramatizing boredom by giving a faux yawn.

Drucilla gaped towards me as she clearly was not expecting me to retort. Usually I attempted to ignore her, but tonight not only had I stepped up to the challenge, my statement was a hard one. All of her stored insults were now useless to her and she'd quickly have to think of something else, otherwise she'd have to step down.

A few moments passed and she was unable to say anything. If she said anything now it would be too late, so I watched as she eyed Rangvald Lestrange helplessly, hoping he would jump to her defence. Usually he loved to dive in at any opportunity to insult me, and unfortunately for me he was quick witted and could always find something condescending to spit my way.

My instincts of something seeming a bit off was correct, as he stayed quiet and ignored Drucilla, not looking her in the eye as she attempted to call him over. Even when she stormed over and grabbed his arm in a desperate attempt to force him over, he shoved her away and exited the common room, muttering something about going to the library to study. Drucilla let out a loud un-ladylike screech, making every single person in the common room scowl at her ear piercing loud noise and she stormed down to the dormitories.

Every pair of eyes in the common room turned to me, and I stood there awkwardly. I wasn't used to being the centre of attention – it seemed strange, to be considered so 'good looking' but also so much of an outsider that people actively went out of their way to avoid me. That was my life at school due to my mother's heritage, so I didn't know how to react when for once I was the spectacle.

Even though I knew everyone's eyes were on me, I still felt I should turn around, as if someone I should pay attention to was watching from behind. I spun around and found this was correct. Tom was leaning against the doorway to the stairs that lead down to the boy's dorms watching me intently. His gaze gave me intense butterflies. I definitely enjoyed his handsome face staring into mine, and I could see protectiveness in his look. No one aside from my family had cared for me so much before, it was a nice feeling.

He didn't say anything but lightly grabbed my hand and lead me through the common room and out the door. On our way out a few of the boys let out some cat calls, but grew silent when Tom sent them a murderous gaze.

He only spoke to me once we had taken a few paces out into the dungeons and we were well away from the Slytherin common room.

"I'm sorry to lead you away from everyone, but I wanted to share this intimate moment with you, and you alone. You always look stunning but tonight you've really taken my breath away." Tom stated, lightly spinning me around so he was facing me.

I stayed silent but looked deep into his eyes. Even at this distance he was incredibly hard to read but I was pretty sure he was being completely sincere, his full attention was on watching me silently.

"T-thank you." I stuttered beginning to feel a bit nervous under his forceful gaze.

Out of nowhere he pushed me against the dungeon wall. He stayed quiet for a few moments as he continued to stare into my face. I sent him an inquisitive look as I was not sure where he was going with this. With no warning he grabbed my face with his hand and placed his lips onto mine. It started as a sweet kiss but it quickly developed into something more. He began to attack my lips hungrily, even starting to bite my lower lip passionately.

It took me a few seconds to react but I melted into the kiss and kissed him back. We were affectionate like this for a while, but an awkward cough broke us up and we parted to see Andrew Hartwell standing there looking almost a little crabby.

"Before you say a snide remark Riddle, I also wish I wasn't here either. Slughorn sent me to find you, I think your presence is missed." Andrew coolly spoke up, getting in before Tom could insult him.

"Why did he send you? Doesn't it make sense for him to send a Slytherin in case we were actually inside the common room?" I asked him as we began to slowly start making our way to Slughorn's office.

Upon speaking to Andrew I could feel Tom grab my hand protectively. I shot him an inquisitive look and he tightened his grip even more forcefully. I tried to wiggle my hand away but he held on too tightly and I was unable to get out. I decided to not say anything right now, but make sure to bring it up later on, perhaps when we were alone.

"No, it doesn't make sense. Unless Slughorn wanted to send the Gryffindor prefect purely to annoy you guys, it's stupid." Andrew agreed, but his eyes went wide as he looked at my crestfallen face. He must have let that slip without thinking and then remembered the conversation we had earlier today where I was telling him Slughorn was telling other teachers – my favourite teacher, that I wasn't good enough for Tom.

It stung for a second as the painful but fresh memory crossed my mind. But I immediately grounded myself as I occupied my mind with other thoughts. I currently had Tom holding my hand and guiding me towards the party. I also found it amusing that Hartwell, a boy who showed the true stereotypical Gryffindor arrogance and cocky nature was now someone who felt bad for possibly offending me.

These two things made me smile through the rest of the awkward stroll to Slughorn's office where the party was being held.

As soon as we arrived at the party Andrew quickly departed from Tom and I without even uttering a word. He did however shoot a wink our way before striding over to a girl who was currently engrossed into conversation with Newt.

Mary Figglestill was the complete opposite of me. Whilst I had fair Veela features inherited from my mother, Mary was a dark haired beauty. Fashionable dark hair and beautiful big brown eyes – her skin also held a lot more colour than my pale complexion. My looks were something I had never been too insecure about, but Mary certainly gave me a run for my money. She was also my opposite in academic success – she abandoned the 'hands on' subjects I thrived in and instead was excelling in the difficult subjects such as Arithmancy, Transfiguration and Potions. A clever Ravenclaw student, she was the obvious choice for Head Girl this year.

Mary was disliked by the Slytherin students as she was a muggle born. As much as I was given a hard time by them for having a Veela by a mother, at least it was determined I was part of the magic community. If it were up to other members of my house, the likes of Mary Figglestill would be chased out of Hogwarts, exiled from the magic community forever. I had never had any run-ins with Mary, in fact we would sometimes shoot each other smiles when we passed in the corridor, even though we had never really conversed properly. I wish it was an arrangement where we disliked each other, it would make it so much easier right now when I found myself shooting her a filthy look towards the back of her perfectly curled head.

I always found Mary Figglestill warm and welcoming, but right now I hated her. I hated how graceful she looked as she spoke to Newt. I hated the way she managed to get him to hold onto every word she was saying and how he seemed to light up when she said something funny. Newt looked like he was genuinely enjoying her company on an immense scale, I couldn't tell whether she was flirting or just being a charming student but either way it unleashed ugly, jealous feelings inside me, something I had never felt on such calibre before.

As if he could sense my growing hatred I was glowering into their general direction I noticed Newt look up from Mary and look into my direction for the first time. Before I could read his expression properly let alone retaliate Tom had grabbed my attention again by grabbing my face and forcing me to look into his deep brown eyes.

"It would be improper to kiss you right now, but it's going to be so hard to restrain myself." Tom growled, moving his hands from my face slowly down my body, before he rested one hand on my back protectively.

I wanted to bring up a few things. I wanted to ask Tom about what his intentions were when he held onto my wrist tightly before but mostly I wanted to know what we 'were' – was he courting me for the intention of building a relationship with me or was this just a small fling to him?

"Oh, look who it is. It's so good to see you, Black. Say, how's your cousin Walburga going? I always really liked her, she was so skilled at potions." Slughorn greeted.

The fact he had barely greeted me (and not by name but surname) before immediately asking about my family was not lost on me, especially as he had never taken an interest in me before but was keen to hear all about Walburga. Walburga was the daughter of my Uncle Pollux – my father's brother. Walburga was a year older than me and had graduated last year. She absolutely despised me – unlike Drucilla however she completely ignored my existence rather than found ways to insult me.

It was tempting to air the dirty laundry in front of Slughorn in terms of how revolting my family were really like, but I held myself back. It wasn't appropriate conversation, especially considering tonight I was supposed to be proving to the world that I was worthy of Tom's affections, and childish family dramas were off the table.

"She's doing fairly well. She's met a man and I think she's starting to learn domestic spells from our grandmother to prove to him she would make a good wife." I stated, trying to say it as neutrally as possible, purposely omitting that it was our other cousin Orion she was wanting to marry.

"That's a shame. She was such a good potion maker, I was hoping she would continue down that path. Homemaking is a good choice for a young woman such as yourself, but definitely not Walburga Black." Slughorn stated loudly, not realising how insulting his words were towards me.

Although to his credit, Slughorn did not know of my insecurities. It was quite the compliment to be thought of as a woman who would make a good wife, considering this is the role women played in society. However I had always wanted more in life and envied girls like Mary Figglestill who seemed to have it all, and I can't believe I'm admitting this but even my dear cousin Walburga Black, who seemed to have some sort of academic success, enough to earn Slughorn's respect.

In my silence (as well as Tom's who's face I couldn't stand to look up at in shame) Slughorn continued on, emphasising his point and driving the nail in further.

"I mean just take a look at you, you're stunningly beautiful. Whoever lands you as their wife will be a lucky man, you'll work wonders on his career together. Walburga, and I mean not to speak ill about your cousin, but she's not a looker like you. Her potion making could benefit society more so than being someone's wife. I'm not saying she shouldn't marry, but marriage should come after a career." Slughorn explained.

Once again I could tell this was meant to be a compliment to both my cousin and I and through Slughorn's innocent look there was no malice in his tone or body language whatsoever. His words were a spoken reminder that I was cursed with good looks and no substance and this is how society viewed me. It hit me to the core and hurt me deeply, but I had to save face. Getting angry or upset visibly would do me no favours, and I had Tom Riddle next to me, the one I wanted to impress the most.

"I mean no disrespect sir, but I understand you haven't had an opportunity to really get to know Victoria. She is perhaps the most beautiful girl I have ever laid on, yes. But I see a lot of importance in her, and if you got to know her I know you would too." Tom stated to Slughorn, disagreeing with his opinion of me but using a very civil and polite tone.

I could have melted there and there. Without me even speaking up about my insecurities he came to my rescue and spoke his mind, defending me against Slughorn's perceptions. He was also slightly caressing my back, extending his gentle touches to my arm. The physical contact and his protective yet charming words about my character were unleashing feelings in me, strong emotions I had never felt before. Tom was always the leader in physical advances but right now I was craving his rough touches on my bare skin, and his lips locked with mine. I was desperate to have his hands run through my hair, I would even sacrifice Beatrice's hard work on my hairstyle if it meant Tom was the one ruining my hair. I wanted to be alone with him right now but I knew that wasn't possible at this moment.

"Well, perhaps you're right. The Blacks seem to be full of very extraordinary people, Victoria's father included. How is the rest of your family going? In fact, I'd like to know about your cousin Cedrella Black, it feels like she's fallen off the face of the planet. She's the only one of my former Slug Club members who no longer writes to me." Slughorn asked me curiously.

I didn't know whether to cringe or smirk. I wanted to avoid mentioning any family dramas with Slughorn, but he had now dug deep enough that it was now impossible to not mention one of the major Black political dramas.

"She uh…. She's not a Black anymore. She married into err… an opposing family of the Blacks so we don't really hear from her anymore. According to the grapevine she's now pregnant with their first child, but that's all I know." I stated, trying to remain cordial and hoping Slughorn would drop the subject.

The very worst crime a member of the Black family could commit was to mix the bloodline with dirty blood – a muggle, muggle born or blood traitor. Cedrella's husband's family came from a long line of what our family referred to as 'blood traitors'. It was frowned upon that my father mixed his bloodline with one of non-human status but it was not considered a pureblood crime. At the end of the day Veelas didn't touch anything non-magic which earned a little respect, and they were pure magic themselves. Even my father, who knew about the tongues that went wagging when he picked my mother for a wife, would poke fun at the talk. 'My wife might have a non-human status but she's better than a mudblood, much better looking than those foul mutt breeds too.' he would always brag at the dinner table at family gatherings, and be met with roaring laughter.

Therefore although it appeared to Slughorn when I said Cedrella was no longer a Black I meant she was no longer a Black due to marriage and changing her surname, I really meant that she had been disowned by the entire family. It was a big shame because Cedrella was one of my nicer cousins growing up. Some would insult me whilst others would pretend I didn't exist. Cedrella – who was seven years older than me had taken me under her wing and always helped me growing up. Her final year at Hogwarts was my first year and she sat with me at every meal to make sure I was going along just fine. I had wanted to write to her for a while to see how she was, but I knew my father would lose his mind if he knew I was still in contact with her – and my father was one of the 'nicer' Blacks.

"Oh? What family did she marry into?" Slughorn asked curiously.

I sighed as I looked towards Tom hoping his attention would be diverted elsewhere for once. Unfortunately for me he was listening intently and I could tell he was very interested in hearing about the Black family, including this drama.

"The Weasley family. She married Septimus Weasley and became a Weasley." I curtly responded.

Slughorn only let an 'oh' as I noticed he called over two specific people. He had clearly lost interest now that I had revealed the non-powerful family that my cousin had married into. I was glad he had stopped interrogating me about my family and had dropped making comments that made me feel inadequate but I wasn't too keen on the company he had invited.

Andrew Hartwell and Mary Figglestill came over once beckoned by Slughorn, Andrew had his arm slung casually around Mary's shoulder. Andrew winked towards me and I realised Mary must have been his mystery date he made a big deal about earlier today. I sent him a smile in retaliation. Mary sent me one of the warm smiles she would make when we locked eyes but for the first time I did not smile back. Although I had always been jealous of her exotic beauty and academic success, I now had a new reason to be jealous. I had witnessed her have my favourite teacher wrapped around her finger and I did not like it one bit.

"Hello once again, Hartwell. I can see you've escorted the lovely Miss Figglestill to the party. I guess if you lost out on the position of Head Boy, having the Head Girl on your arm is the next best thing?" Tom cruelly stated, a small smirk on his face.

"Say what you want, Tom. I'm pretty happy with my date and my position at this school. I'd much rather be the Gryffindor Quiddich captain than boring old Head Boy." Andrew shrugged, not taking Tom's bait.

Tom went to speak up but Slughorn spoke up, breaking up the possible confrontation.

"Andrew, can you do me a small favour? It's time for my traditional Head Boy and Head Girl dance which I always organise at the first party each year. Can you please go tell the musicians to play something soft and romantic-like?" Slughorn asked Andrew.

I panicked a little, and looked towards Tom who had a frown on his face. The thought of Magnificent Mary having both my date and my favourite teacher mesmerised was unsettling, but I was more worried about being left alone in a party where I didn't know anyone. I had also seen Rangvald Lestrange and another one of Tom's friends Avery walk in not too long ago, and I was scared of what they may be up to.

"Of course, sir. Say, Tori. Wait there, why don't we have a little dance when I come back?" Andrew asked me grinning and bounded off before I could respond, and I saw him shoot Tom a look of satisfaction upon his departure.

Tom let out a low growl but dropped his hand from my back. As annoyed as he was with Andrew's proposal, I knew he would never speak up against a teacher. Slughorn had backed Andrew's idea, which meant that Tom was restricted in arguing against it.

"I think that's a fantastic idea. Victoria you wait here and Andrew will come join you soon. Tom, Mary, if you make your way to the middle of the dance floor. Your song will be starting soon." Slughorn stated, putting an arm around both Tom and Mary as he ushered them to the space that had been designated for dancing.

I stood there awkwardly, grabbing one arm with the other and looked at my feet. Surely Andrew wouldn't be too long, we would stick together until Mary and Tom stopped dancing and then companion swap would be over and I would go back to Tom. This way there would be limited time I would be at this party alone. I never thought I'd see the day I desperately wanted Andrew Hartwell's company, but this school year was shaping up to be very strange.

I heard the soft romantic music start up and I flicked my sights onto the dancefloor. Most people had left the dance floor to give Tom and Mary space to dance. With a clear view of the two the same jealousy I felt before began to rise in me. It pained me to watch the two, just the same it pained me to see Mary with Newt.

Tom had his hands placed upon Mary's waist, the same hands that would hold me protectively, or touch me roughly when he was feeling passionate. Mary had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, a place where only my arms belonged. Perhaps worst of all was how close they were to each other. Their faces were inches apart and I saw them both looking into each other's faces. Mary had a small smile on her face and as I didn't know her well enough I couldn't read her intentions. Was it a polite friendly smile, or was she ecstatic that she was in the arms of the most handsome boy in school? Even more annoyingly I couldn't read Tom's formidable expression. He looked almost neutral as he looked into Mary's face. I was hoping he would perhaps look my way a few times, or even just look unhappy. But instead he had a blank face I was unable to read.

I tore my eyes away from the couple and backed away slowly. I felt both anger and devastation course through me at the same time. Tom and Newt were the two people who were making this school year enjoyable but Mary seemed to have stolen both from me, and I couldn't handle this.

I looked around trying to find Andrew so I could say goodbye and have him relay the message that I wasn't feeling well, so I could promptly leave. Instead I found myself face to face with Newt Scamander, who was smiling widely.

"Tori! There you are. I've been trying to find you all night. Would you care for a dance?" Newt asked me politely, a gigantic smile on his face.