Author's Note: And here we have an extra chapter! To my defense, my favorite book just came out, and I wasn't in a writing mood, so I decided this was easier. Let me just say, this was probably the hardest chapter I have ever had to write, and that's referring not only to this story, but all my other essays I had to do. So forgive me if it sucks, because I just didn't want to write it near the end, though I figured I should finish what I had started.
I repeat: This is an extra chapter. You do not need to read this in order to understand the storyline. Very little mentions of Hermione and Tom in this chapter, and none of scenes have them together. The next chapter will go right back to the plotline, so feel free to skip this chapter if you want to. (Though I hope you won't.)
UniCryin-Yes, I did mean eyelashes. Fail on my part. And I purposely tried to make Rita hate-able, so it would be more in character. If you're looking for a likable Rita, you may need to read another story.
Angellwriter- To answer your multiple questions: 1. Can't answer that. All in due time. 2. Can't answer that either. 3. Finally one I can answer! Hermione is rather insecure at this point, as she hasn't really had anyone who has truly cared for her (as you can probably tell, she's pretty keen on pretending Nick doesn't exist when she thinks about these things) therefore, right now, she's just trying to see what she can get with Tom, though with her temper, this is not going to last like this. ;) 4. Rita knows about Tom through Tracey, and with a headmaster like Dippet, anything is possible. 5. Evidently, right now.
Thanks for your reviews!
harmonious, voldyismyfather, asianstotheleft, lalyta8, TheGirlonFire52, UniCryin, TheEscapeFromReality, Weird-Chik2, Zombie Reine, Virtuoso Wanderings, Alassea Riddle, morpheusandmuse, LK-HoGwArTs-hEaDgIrL, AkiProductions, Angellwriter, tHevoLtuRi'SdARkpRiNceSS
"Sir! You mustn't do that!" The maid, Leila, shrieked as she watched hopelessly as Abraxas stomped all over his dress robes. The fabric ripped slightly, though it did not seem to bother the boy. "You have a dinner to go to!"
"I don't care!" Five year old Abraxas all but screamed, turning his glaring eyes at the maid. She shrunk back, wondering why she took this job in the first place. If it hadn't been enough that she had to face Lord Malfoy's nasty temper every day, she also had to deal with his two sons. Abraxas was, of course, the better of the two. Gabriel was just downright awful. However, she didn't exactly look forward to face his stubbornness either.
"I want you out," Abraxas suddenly declared, and Leila eyed him fearfully. He was now jumping on his ridiculously expensive bed, one she could only dream of having. The servant headquarters were better than she expected, but worse than she hoped for. If she hadn't been in such a need for money, she would've never signed up for this. She would've bought a house far away from the Malfoy Manor. "You can't tell me what to do."
Leila opened her mouth, but then the door opened and Lady Malfoy came strolling in. Leila tried her best not to gap at her beautiful dress, and the sparkling pins holding her blond hair. Lady Malfoy was a beautiful woman, but when she dressed like this, there were no words to describe her stunning demeanor. Her eyes, however, were cold and hard, and Leila shivered when they swept across the room.
"Abraxas," Lady Malfoy clipped, and the young heir immediately quieted down upon his mother's arrival. "Go put on your robes." Abraxas frowned, but didn't dare say anything. Lady Malfoy then turned towards Leila, who was wishing she could just squish in to a corner and disappear. "I am disappointed in how you handled this situation."
Leila cast her eyes downward, aware that Abraxas was watching her carefully. He looked too mature to be just a mere five year old, and it always unnerved her when she was scolded in front of him. "I'm sorry, Lady Malfoy," She whispered softly.
"You should not be apologizing to me. It's my son's time you're wasting." Lady Malfoy turned around to exit the room. "Get him dressed in five minutes."
She left, and Abraxas sat expectantly on the bed, showing no sign that he would be helpful. Leila sighed, gathered the dress robes from where Abraxas had stomped on them, and held them out for the young boy.
Abraxas looked at it, and then back at her. "Mother said you had to get me dressed."
Leila blinked for a couple of seconds, and then said, "Then, sir, will you get up? I can't get you dressed when you're sitting."
Abraxas clenched his jaw. "Mother said you had to get me dressed. I don't need to do anything."
Thus, Leila was left with the nearly impossible task of changing Abraxas's clothes without him moving at all. He would not lift his arm, nor would he move the legs that he was sitting on. Lady Malfoy had permitted her five minutes, but she hadn't even managed to take off his shirt by then. He was seemingly trying his best to make sure that this task would be as hard as possible for her while shooting insults at her at the same time. He also seemed to get the idea that she was trying to molest him, and he didn't hesitate to tell her so.
In the end, she had grown increasingly frustrated and rather unnerved as Abraxas continued to stare at her. She had accidently pulled too hard, and one of his shirt buttons popped off and rolled under the bed. Abraxas stared at her, and then down to his shirt, where the button was missing. Leila froze, knowing that as soon as Abraxas called for his mother, she was going to feel the pain of at least one curse.
The young boy, however, just blinked. "My button is gone," he said simply.
"Y-yes, sir," Leila stammered. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"It was my favorite shirt," Abraxas said, though she didn't know if he was speaking to her or to himself. "That was my favorite button." He glanced beneath the bed again. "My favorite button is gone."
All of the buttons looked the same, but it wasn't her place to point it out. "I'm sorry, sir," she repeated.
Abraxas frowned at her. "I don't want your apology," he said. "I want my button back."
Leila nodded hastily, hoping that he would keep it like this and not call for his mother. Lady Malfoy was definitely the worst of the family. She barely saw Lord Malfoy around, and neither one of the sons were too keen on using magic with her. They preferred taunting her, which was fine with her. Anything beat having the torture curse cast on her. "I'll go get it for you," she said, and before he could say anything else, she ducked under the bed.
It was dark, darker than she had originally thought. She thought about going back up to get a flashlight, but she didn't want Abraxas to be furious when she came empty-handed. She groped around, making a face when she touched all kinds of dust. Clearly, the maid in charge of this room was slacking off. She wondered if it would be beneficial for her to rat the other maid out, or if it would just make her more enemies. She highly doubted Lady Malfoy would show her appreciation of that.
Her fingers successfully connected with a smooth, circular object, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly started to edge out from under the bed, making sure she was aware where the bed was so she wouldn't hit her head. However, Abraxas took that moment to start jumping on the bed. Though he didn't weigh much, the bed sagged down and hit her head as she was going up, nearly knocking her out.
"Ow!" She said, trying to fight back tears. What kind of adult would allow a five year old to see her cry? However, the pain only grew, and she swore she could see stars. "Ow. Ow. Ow." The bed jumping had stopped, and Leila waited for the boy to start making fun of her.
However, his insults never reached her ears. Instead, she heard a soft voice say, "Leila?"
She managed to crawl out from under the bed, still clutching her head painfully. She held out the button for him, which he took—without a 'thank you,' of course—but he was still glancing at her curiously. "What happened?"
"I hit my head," she tried to smile, but he wore an unreadable expression. His head was cocked to one side, and he looked too mature to be a five year old. "It's no big deal," she touched her head, and winced. There was going to be a bruise forming there later.
"Leila!" Abraxas said so furiously that she jumped and moved away from him. What did he want? Was he angry that his button was dirty? Or maybe he would think that she didn't hit her head hard enough. She swallowed. "Don't die, Leila!"
Leila stared at him. Was that concern she saw in the boy's eyes? She couldn't be sure. Or maybe this was just a joke he was playing on her that he could laugh about later. It certainly seemed more plausible. "I'm not dying, sir."
Abraxas rummaged through his closets and pulled out something. It was a band aid, with golden ball with wings on it. Leila had no idea what it was, but she had seen him throwing the ball around the house. He seemed happier when he was with it. "Here," he announced, and without warning, stuck it to her head. Rather than sticking to her head, though, it was clinging to her hair, but it didn't seem to bother Abraxas. "Better?"
Leila could only stare bewilderedly at his strange behavior. "Y-yes sir."
"You're not going to die anymore, are you?"
"No, sir."
"Good," he beamed at her, grabbed his robes, and then skipped off his bed. "Bye, Leila."
Leila blinked as the young boy, wearing his dress robes and looking quite handsome indeed, exited the room with a new spring in his steps. She couldn't help but ponder the idea that maybe, under all the ice he had cast around himself, there was a heart in Abraxas Malfoy after all.
ஐ
"You're uglier in real life,"
Abraxas scowled at the boy in front of him. He looked about his age as well, and he had black hair that was slicked back, and dark eyes. He gave Abraxas a smirk, but it wasn't a nice kind of smirk. It was more…challenging.
Abraxas Malfoy never backed down from a challenge.
"Why are you looking at my picture?" Abraxas countered back, and the boy flushed. If he were to harbor a guess, this boy was one of the sons of the Black family, though Abraxas had never seen his face in the newspaper, so he guessed that the boy wasn't very important.
"I wasn't looking at your picture," The boy said. "I can't help but see your obnoxious face on every newspaper. Do you have to have the spotlight on yourself? Quite the attention hog, I must say."
"I don't see you on any newspapers," Abraxas replied haughtily. "So I wouldn't be talking."
The boy opened his mouth, but was cut off when his mother approached the bickering duo. "Orion," she said sternly, and the boy immediately fell silent. The woman was pretty, though there were dark circles under her eyes. His mother had always said that people only got those when they were tired. Maybe the woman was tired because Orion was loud all the time? "That's no way to treat our guests. Why don't you show him your room?" The look in her eyes clearly said that arguing was not an option.
Orion hung his head and nodded. "Yes, Mother." He threw a glare at Abraxas and then stalked off, leaving him to catch up with the boy's long strides. Abraxas glanced towards his mother, but she shooed him off.
They made their way down a narrow corridor, when Orion suddenly slapped his head and said, "I forgot something!" Abraxas looked at him, confused. "Just go down there and make a right, and then it's the first door on the left. I'll be right with you." Before Abraxas could protest, Orion sprinted off and out of sight.
Abraxas bit his lip. He was in a random house and he was lost. However, he followed Black's directions and moved forward. The door had a large number 413 on it. Abraxas frowned at it, before slowly opening the door.
…and he wished he hadn't.
A large, ugly dog was sitting there, baring its teeth angrily. As Abraxas stood, petrified, it reared its ugly head and growled at him. It leaned closer to sniff him, its ugly paws reaching for him, and it wasn't until the dog's spit dropped on his head did he wake up and slam the door, running for his life.
He pulled out his wand as he ran—his mother had brought him to Diagon Alley just the week before—and waved it over his head. Instantly, the dog's drool vanished from his hair. Leila had spent hours on his hair, but to her defense, he had been rather unhelpful. Still, his beautiful hair, covered in dog spit…he grimaced.
Abraxas jumped a mile when he heard the growl of the dog behind him. Without checking to see if it was real or if he had hallucinated it, he took off down the hallway. He had no idea where he was going, just turning whenever he had to. He stopped to pant a couple of times, but would hear the growling, and would take off running again. While his stamina was decreasing, the dog's only seemed to be increasing.
I can't win.
Just when he couldn't run any longer, he spotted a door slightly open. He threw himself in to the room and closed the door behind him, before sinking to the floor, panting. It took him a moment to compose himself before he could trust himself to stand. The dog, however, was gone, much to his relief.
That was when he noticed that he wasn't alone. He had thrown himself in to a bedroom, and there were two kids about his age. There was a girl, who was lying with her back to the mattress, her dark hair splattered prettily around her. She looked rather innocent, and her big eyes blinked at him curiously.
The boy who was leaning on top of her looked rather like the Orion boy he had met earlier, but upon closer inspection, Abraxas could tell it was not him. This boy looked more somber, and his hair wasn't quite as messy as Orion's. His eyes, rather than radiating anger, were closed and guarded.
"Um." Abraxas said awkwardly when no one said anything. The boy had moved slightly off the girl, but to Abraxas's dismay, did not remove his hands from her face. "Sorry. I got lost..and…" he trailed off, biting is lip. Then, because he had never been able to stop his lousy mouth, he blurted out, "Hasn't your mother ever told you it's indecent to do this sort of thing with guests over?"
The boy frowned, but recognition dawned the girl's face. "We're not doing anything," she reassured him, her cheeks taking a pink tinge. "Cy was just tickling me." She pushed the boy—Cygnus, Abraxas assumed—so that she could get up. Cygnus glared at him, and Abraxas just shrugged. It wasn't as if he was particularly interested in the girl, even if she was rather pretty. Cygnus didn't have to consider him competition. "I'm Violetta," she introduced herself. "I'm five."
"Abraxas," he nodded curtly at her. "I'm also five." He added quickly, "Though I'll be six in two months."
Violetta smiled at him, and Abraxas decided right then and there that he liked her, but before she could say anything else, the door burst open and in came a panting Orion. "You won't believe it," he was grinning from ear to ear, a look that Abraxas hadn't seen on his face before. He looked like a nice boy when he wasn't scowling. "I sent him in the direction of the hallucination room. He should still be running around. Maybe I should go take pictures." He snorted.
Abraxas clenched his jaw, glaring furiously. So he did it on purpose! He was a git. A big, fat git. Abraxas didn't hesitate to tell him so, and Orion's eyes widened in realization when he realized that the boy he had just been talking about was standing right next to him.
"So you made it back here after all," Orion sneered. "Pity." He then ignored Abraxas and smiled at Violetta and Cygnus. "Come on. Mother wants us down there for dinner."
Cygnus was still staring between he and Abraxas suspiciously, but Violetta nodded. "Come on," she said cheerfully, tugging on Abraxas's arms. Orion saw the contact and scowled. Cygnus saw it as well, but his expression didn't change. "Let's go."
Abraxas nodded, but noticed that Orion was still staring at them. Smirking, he reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind Violetta's ears. Violetta smiled prettily, but Orion nearly flew across the room. He could hear an amused snort come from Cygnus. Before Orion could do any harm to him, he pulled Violetta out of the room. "Lead the way," he said, and she nodded.
Dinner started off terrible. Apparently, the two families had decided that he and Orion needed some bonding time, so he ended up between Violetta and Orion. The latter had begged to trade seats, but both of their mothers would not allow it. Finally, realizing it was useless, Orion sat back and didn't say anything else, throwing glares at Abraxas.
Next to Violetta sat Cygnus, and the two of them chattered. Rather, Violetta chattered, and Cygnus listened. The boy had a small smile at his face though, and Abraxas couldn't help but envy the obvious friendship that the two of them shared.
He rarely had friends. His parents would never let him meet anyone else. He supposed his best friends would be Mr. Phil, his teddy bear, and Leila. But Leila almost died because of him, so he didn't know if she still liked him. He only wanted to have some fun with her. He hoped that the band aid was still making her feel better.
"So, Abraxas," Lady Black drawled slowly, and he bowed his head respectfully at her. His mother looked pleased that he had paid attention during his etiquette class. "Tell me a bit about yourself."
"I like Quidditch." Abraxas said. He saw, out of the corner of his eyes, Orion's eyes light up. So he was a Quidditch lover as well? That was a pity. He would have to tolerate his presence on the Quidditch team, assuming they both went in to Slytherin. Abraxas frowned. Though, if one of them didn't get in to Slytherin, they would have bigger problems than each other to worry about.
"Do you?" Lady Black cooed. "My son loves Quidditch as well. Orion, not Cygnus." Her eyes wandered over to Cygnus, who stared back. She seemed to give Violetta a disproving look, which the little girl didn't notice, before returning her attention back to Abraxas. He was confused. What was there not to like about Violetta? "Do you play well?"
Abraxas shrugged. Under normal circumstances, he would've bragged. However, Lady Black was unnerving him with her smile, and he figured the less he conversed with her, the better. "Not that well," he said, and his mother beamed at his modesty.
"Quite the boy you have there, Irma," Lord Black said. Gabriel stiffened and glared at his brother, obvious distraught that Abraxas was getting all the attention. He was two years older, seven years old, though he always liked to pretend that he was older. "Shame we didn't have any daughters, or I would arrange for them to be married."
Gabriel nearly choked on his wine, his eyes blazing when he looked at his brother. Orion decided to be nasty again and said, "Why would any girl want to marry him?"
"Orion, dear," Lady Black glanced at her son sharply. His mother always looked at him like that, but never as angrily as Lady Black was doing now. Abraxas had originally thought the two women were similar; now, he was grateful that his mother was the more composed one. "That's not how you speak to your friend."
"He's not my friend!" Orion yelled, and then got up. Feeling slightly annoyed that the boy had insulted him, Abraxas stuck out his foot as he walked by, tripping him. Orion sprawled on the ground, ignoring the snort from his brother and the 'Oh my,' from Violetta, glaring at Abraxas. Then he spun around and disappeared.
ஐ
It was two weeks later when Abraxas saw him again. He was with Leila, as he was often. The maid had been rather surprised when Abraxas declared the two of them friends, sprouting some nonsense about wanting to be 'like Violetta and Cygnus.' Leila had no idea what he was talking about, but was happy that she could be in a room with him without feeling nervous.
She had told him the story of her son, Kyle, back home. Abraxas had asked if he was magical, and Leila nodded. She was proud of her son for being the first person in her family, ever, to be magical. Of course, others didn't see it as she did. When she had first arrived at the Malfoy Manor, she had foolishly told Lady Malfoy about it. Nevertheless, she received a full hour of torture, and she learned never to bring it up again.
Orion bounced in to the room and looked disgusted. His gaze wandered towards Leila, a woman wearing tattered rags and sitting on a clean, pureblood bed, to Abraxas, who was dressing naked women with clothing. "What are you doing?"
"Barbie," Abraxas held one up, flashing it Orion. He made a face. "You're supposed to dress her,"
"That's gross," Orion said. "Mother said that you had to be truly desperate to touch a naked women." His lips curled up. "That makes you a desperate person."
"Shut up!" Abraxas yelled at him, chucking the Barbie at him. Orion dodged quickly as the doll crashed in to the wall and fell limply to the ground. "It's just a doll!"
"You're too old to play with dolls!" Orion yelled back, and then grimaced at the Barbie. "Ew, its leg came off. You broke its leg." Orion glared at him. "Leg killer." Abraxas scowled as Orion sat down on his bed.
"Get off my bed."
Orion ignored him and focused his eyes on Leila, who backed away slightly. "Why do you have a maid?" He sneered at Abraxas. "House elves are so much more efficient. There's no need to Mudbloods like her."
Abraxas frowned at him. "Leila's my friend," he declared loudly, and Orion shot him a disgusted look. "If you don't like her, you can go away."
"I can't go away. Mother wants me to talk to you," Orion scowled. "Make her go away."
Leila glanced at the two bickering boys, already making a move to stand up. "Sir," she said, deciding to address Abraxas by his rightful title. She had been given him the leniency to address him by his name these last few days, though she didn't think it would be the best move at the moment. I should go-"
"No." Abraxas said. "I want you to stay." His eyes lit up. "Can you tell us a story?"
"Story?" Orion said, leaning back against the pillows. Abraxas scowled at this gesture, though the other boy didn't notice. "That's utterly boring, isn't it? Though it's better than listening to him talk, so…" he looked at Leila. "Story it is, then."
Leila was suddenly nervous as the two boys looked at her expectantly. "I don't know any stories," she said softly.
Orion gave her a look that wasn't pleasant, but Abraxas jumped in. "You have a family, don't you, Leila?" She nodded. "Tell us about them then." He bounced on the bed with his knees. "I was to hear more about Mister Leila and Little Leila and Mama Leila and Papa Leila." He looked at Leila proudly. "She told me about Kyle Leila before."
"I didn't come here to hear you rambling, Malfoy," Orion said. "I came here to hear her story."
"You came here because your mother told you to, Black," Abraxas countered. He turned and beamed at Leila, who was rather confused as to why the two parents would try to thrust these boys in a room together when they obviously hated each other. "You can start now, Leila."
"There isn't much to tell," Leila protested, but from the looks on the boys' faces, they weren't going to take 'no' as an answer. "Kyle is three years ago," she said. "His first word was potato."
"Potato?" Orion wrinkled his nose. "I don't like potatoes."
"Leila makes the best potatoes," Abraxas said. "You'll make some for him, won't you, Leila?" Leila stared. For a five year old, Abraxas had a strange way of expressing his dislike for people.
Orion shook his head. "I hate potatoes. All potatoes."
"You've never had a real potato, then," Abraxas argued back.
Leila couldn't help it when a small giggle passed through her lips. Both boys looked at her curiously. "First of all, Abraxas, I don't make the potatoes. I wash and serve them." Abraxas scowled at her. "Second, why don't the two of you tell stories? It's much more interesting." She gestured towards Orion. "You can start with why you hate potatoes."
"There's nothing much to it," Orion said. "Wallie made me my first potatoes and they looked like lumps of poop."
"Who's Wallie?" Abraxas asked bluntly.
"My cousin." Orion waved him off. "She's even more annoying than you are." Abraxas glared at him. Orion looked at him innocently. "You are annoying. Don't deny it."
"Am not," Abraxas lunged for him, and thus, their story telling time was over. Not that Leila minded; she preferred to watch the two of them fight rather than have to tell another story about Kyle. She missed him enough as it was, though, now that she looked at the two pureblood boys fighting, she was quite reminded of him indeed.
ஐ
Abraxas had a three year break from Orion Black, and he almost forgot about the boy. He was a distant memory, and ever since Lady Black had disappeared from some sort of freak accident, Abraxas had done his best to push the boy out of his mind.
Today was the first day of Hogwarts for him, and to say he was nervous was an understatement. Gabriel seemed to make a sport of goading him, telling him the dangers of every monster that lurked in the school. His mother had snapped at him to stop doing so, but once she had her back turned, Gabriel resumed torturing him.
"See you around," Gabriel called gleefully, heading down the train with his friend, Avery. Avery, Abraxas knew, was one year older than him, but he was held back. Why Gabriel was interested in being friends with someone obviously dumb and sinister was beyond him. Gabriel gave his brother one last smirk before shutting the door behind him.
And then Abraxas was alone.
The first couple of compartments he opened were full. A couple of them looked at him curiously, apologizing for the lack of seats. There was one compartment where a redhead and his friends sat. There was one open seat, but Abraxas wasn't going to sit in that. He had a feeling his hair color gave it away who he was. He knew who the boy was too; red hair and a hand-me-down-robe…must be a Weasley. He would rather sit on the roof than going anywhere near him.
Nearing the end of the train, he knocked on compartment twelve and entered without waiting for a response. Inside, there were two boys. One was probably the most handsome person he had ever met, and he had no doubt that if he were a girl, he would've fallen head over heels for the boy. The other boy, who was grinning and making wild hand gestures, looked vaguely familiar…
"This compartment is full," the grinning boy drawled, though it was very much empty to Abraxas's eyes. He pointed that out, which made the boy's grin grow wider. "Can't help if we're fat, can we? We take up this whole compartment."
"Yes, well," Abraxas closed the door behind him. "There are no other seats, so I'm sitting here anyway." The boy made a small noise of protest, but Abraxas ignored him and sat down. The other boy, the one with the dark hair and blue eyes, was watching him. His head was cocked to one side and his gaze was calculating.
"Hey!" The grinning boy poked him, his grin suddenly gone. "I know you! You're that guy who played with naked dolls!"
"I do not," Abraxas said hotly, glaring at the boy next to him. "And you're the guy who hates potatoes."
Orion shrugged. However, he did not snarl or glare like he used to. Abraxas wondered why his mother's disappearance could have such a positive effect on his behavior. "Never really got over that. You promised me Leila's potatoes, didn't you? How's Leila? She owes me potatoes."
"Leila…" Abraxas trailed off, remember the car, her happy face as she talked to him. "Leila died two years ago on her way back to visit Kyle. He's been sent to an orphanage."
Orion's jaw dropped, but the boy sitting across of him tensed at the mention of an orphanage. "I'm sorry," Orion said. "I'll miss her potatoes."
Abraxas glared at him. "That's all you have to say?"
"Well, she died happy, didn't she?" Orion shrugged. "What more can you ask for?"
I don't know, maybe not dying young? However, Abraxas kept his thoughts to himself. He had been broken when Leila died, though neither of his parents offered many condolences. They had no idea how their friendship had escalated over the few years, and frankly, they wouldn't have cared.
She's a mudblood, Abraxas. You can't allow yourself to grieve as they come and go.
He had met Kyle once, before he was sent away. Abraxas had learned that his father had left Leila right after Kyle was born, so it was only she and Kyle left. Leila's mother had agreed to look after the little boy, but she died the previous spring due to heart failure. Abraxas couldn't help but feel bad for Kyle; he had lost everything, and he was alone in the world.
His mind had flashed to the countless hours that he and Leila had spent together, and immediately felt guilty. He had taken away the time where she could've spent with her son. Her real son.
"This is Tom, by the way," Orion said, obviously trying to break the thick atmosphere as Abraxas lost himself in his thoughts. "Tom Riddle."
Tom cocked his head to one side, gauging his reaction. Abraxas knew that he was waiting for him to blurt out something like 'you're not pureblood!' However, he refrained himself from doing so and merely nodded politely. "I'm Abraxas Malfoy."
Tom merely nodded, and then went back to staring out the window. For someone who seemed to be completely new to this process, he seemed rather calm about it. If Abraxas didn't have Gabriel to help him—though he did more harm than good—he would've been freaking out right now. Speaking of brothers…
"Where's Cygnus?" He asked Orion.
"I don't know," Orion shrugged, though there was a hard edge in his voice. "He's probably in some compartment, snogging Violetta." Abraxas shot him a look. "Not that I care, of course. Not at all. They can do whatever they want."
"I'm sure," Abraxas said, and then Orion ignored him. Trying to break the awkward silence, he turned to Tom and asked politely, "Which house do you think you'll be sorted in to?"
Tom looked at him, his eyes calculating. He was obviously not one of the foolish, giggling first years. He was already a force to be reckoned with; Abraxas could tell by his posture and the glint in his eyes. Superiority seemed to be rolling off his body in waves as well. He seemed to be commanding fear as well. However, Abraxas was a Malfoy, and Malfoy never feared anyone who did not have a pureblood status, though he himself had always been less prejudice than his family.
Abraxas seemed to pass his test, as the corner of Tom's mouth twitched upwards. It wasn't quite a grin, but it was quite different from his usual, blank face. "Slytherin," Tom said in a cold voice. "It's the best house."
"Glad to see we're on the same page," Abraxas said, right as the compartment door opened. Orion stiffened as a girl with curly black hair came in, followed by a pug faced girl with short, black hair. The curly hair girl froze when she saw Orion, while her friend gaped with her mouth wide open, staring in shock at Tom.
"Wallie," Orion said, the name ringing bells in Abraxas's head. "How nice of you to join us."
"Wallie" sniffed loudly, but her words were overshadowed by her friend's stammering. She was approaching Tom slowly, the boy having an amused expression on his face. "H-hi." She said breathlessly, as if she had just been running a mile. Abraxas doubted that the train was even close to half a mile long.
"Hello," Tom said pleasantly, a smile instantly in place. So he was an actor as well, as he? Guess he didn't even bother putting on a mask for us. "What brings a lovely girl like you to our compartment?"
The girl flushed, though Tom was laying it rather thick. Wallie had flounced over to join her friend. Abraxas looked over at Orion, who was discretely pretending to be sick. They shared an amused glance, something that they would've never been caught doing the last time they met.
"I was just looking for my cousin," Wallie spoke up. She, like her friend, had turned a shade of red. The color clashed horribly with her hair, though Tom either didn't notice or chose to ignore it. "I-I'm Walburga Black."
"And I'm Tracey Parkinson," the other girl jumped in. "It's nice to meet you." She eyed him curiously. "Which family are you from? You look like you can be a Bulstrode with that complexion, though…" she trailed off, biting her lip. "The Bulstrode has a sickly girl, don't they?"
"Violetta is not sickly," Orion muttered angrily under his breath, clenching his fists. Walburga heard him, and shot him a gleeful smile. Clearly, Violetta was not the most popular around the Black household.
"No, I am not a Bulstrode," Tom said pleasantly, though there was a hard edge to his voice now. Even though both Walburga and Tracey did not seem to be the smartest people in the world, they could easily recognize that 'Riddle' wasn't a wizard name. It was hard to get in to Slytherin without being pureblooded, but Tom had seemed so sure of himself that Abraxas gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Tom was saved from answering when Orion glanced out the window. "We're almost at Hogwarts," he announced. "So we'll have to change." He smiled sweetly at Tracey, as if saying he wasn't going to lose to Tom. "The two of you should go outside, or you'll see things you might not want to see."
"Oh!" Tracey's face grew redder, if possible. "We don't mind, do we, Walburga? We can-"
"Absolutely not," Walburga dragged Tracey out by her robes. "That's my cousin you're talking about. That's just disgusting. No need to look for his non-existence manly parts."
Ouch.
ஐ
"Cygnus Black,"
After the long speech by Dippet—which was an awful waste of time—everyone in the Great Hall started to watch as the first years were sorted. This process was tedious and slow as well. He didn't see the purpose of having them all go up there slowly to put a tattered hat on their heads. Maybe it was a special experience for some people, but it was a waste of time for him.
Orion's brother headed up to the front. His nose had grown slightly longer, and he had grew his hair out. He still looked quite like Orion, though his eyes were more guarded than they were before. That was the reaction he had expected from Orion as well, after their mother's disappearance, but they seemed to have opposite thoughts on how they should handle the situation.
Abraxas spotted Violetta sitting up in front, biting her nails nervously. Cygnus gave her a small smile—which the crowd thought was directed towards them, and some even squealed—before the hat was dropped on top of his head. It barely touched it before it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" A small round of applause arose from the Slytherin table as Cygnus made his way towards it, though not before shooting Violetta a look Abraxas couldn't comprehend.
Orion was sorted in to Slytherin as well, and whispers could be heard around the room. "Of course the Blacks go to Slytherin." "I don't know why they even bothered getting sorted—they obviously know which house they're going to." "They are all exact mirrors of each other, aren't they?"
Abraxas knew that his surname gave away which house he should go to, but he couldn't help but wonder if he should purposely try to get in to another house, just to prove himself. Not that it would do any good, though, seeing how his parents would immediately disown him. Plus, he was a Slytherin through and through. He tripped a boy purposely, sending him in to a lake (though he had swam after him and apologized), he had stole a girl's teddy bear and lost it (though he had replaced it with a bigger and better one), and he had broke a boy's computer (though he had sent out for the best people there were out there to fix it.) Okay, so maybe he wasn't the harshest of Slytherins, but he knew he belonged there.
Violetta, though, was different.
When Abraxas had first met her, when he was just five, he knew that she was innocent. Maybe it was her statue, or just her face. She definitely did not look like the type of person who would belong in Slytherin. She didn't look like she could hurt a fly, intentionally nor purposely. She got up shakily when her name was called and headed up to where Dumbledore was holding the hat kindly. Tracey was whispering to Walburga loudly, and Abraxas wondered how she knew that Violetta was 'sickly.' Walburga didn't seem like the type of person neither Orion nor Cygnus confided in.
The hat sat on Violetta's hat for quite awhile, and her eyes were squeezed shut. His gaze wandered over to the Black brothers, both of them sitting together, looking equally nervous. When the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" much to the surprise of all the other students, Orion's sigh of relief was audible above the polite clapping, and Cygnus caused quite a scene by pulling her in to his lap and hugging her in front of everyone. (It did cause quite a lot of girls to start crying about their lost love.)
Abraxas watched idly as more people went up. He wasn't really interested in anyone for awhile, as Tom would come after him. A boy, who evidently blew something up on the train flashed by. A girl with flaming red hair that might as well have been a relative of the Weasley's went up. Abraxas tuned himself out, tapping his fingers against his knee.
"Abraxas Malfoy."
Whispers started in the ground again as Abraxas stood up. Slytherin seemed to be the only house where all the people of a particular surname went to. The Weasley's were an exception, though he supposed they were an exception in everything.
The hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!" as soon as it touched his head, hardly even thinking, so maybe he wasn't as different as he thought he was. Orion moved over to make him room at the table, and that was that.
Tracey Parkinson, the flirty pug faced girl was also sorted in to Slytherin. She plopped down across from him and kicked his foot throughout the rest of the Sorting Ceremony, shooting him what he thought were cute glances. Abraxas mainly ignored her, moving his foot out of her reach. However, she misunderstood it as he was playing hard to get, and her smile only got wider. He had no idea in what alternate planet kicking feet was considered attractive, but Tracey seemed to be living there.
Tom was called up, and Tracey immediately frowned at his last name. There was no doubt that she was now deciding whether his blood status or looks mattered more to her. The room fell silent, and girls and boys alike gaped at him. Tom, Abraxas thought, seemed confident enough. However, he glared at Dumbledore before he sat down, and Dumbledore's look wasn't as kind as it was with the other students as he placed the hat on Tom's head.
The wait seemed agonizingly long. Tom sat perfectly still the whole time. Tracey turned to Walburga, who was sitting next to her, and whispered, "I can't believe they made the hat so big! Now I can't even stare at his eyes while he's sitting there." Abraxas guessed that she grew bored of kicking him and moved on to bigger and better things—not that he minded.
When the hat finally announced Slytherin, Abraxas had no doubt that every girl in the Great Hall wept—some tears of happiness, some of sadness. It was quite easily to get some of the pureblood Slytherins to forget their prejudice, wasn't it? Just get some pretty face to walk by and they grovel on their knees.
Tom sat down across from Orion, which also happened to be next to Tracey. The girl look thrilled and sat as close to him as possible without receiving the disproving glances of the professors. Tom, Abraxas noticed, was ignoring Tracey and eating neatly. He didn't seem bothered by the whispers around him. While the girls crowded around, no doubt to check him out, some of the other boys weren't as lenient with him.
"Riddle?" The boy next to Gabriel hissed. It was Avery, and he was regarding Tom with a menacing look. Tom lifted his head from his food and stared at Avery with cold eyes. "What kind of surname is Riddle? This school is corrupt," he declared. "Wait till my mother hears that there's a mudblood in Slytherin."
Tom, who hadn't lost composure yet in front of Abraxas, tightened his hands in to fists. The look in his eyes was enough to freeze hell over. However, Avery just laughed and sat back comfortably. "You don't scare me, mudblood," he snarled at him. "There's nothing you can do to me."
It took approximately three seconds in to the DADA class the next day for Tom to send Avery flying in to a wall. It took just another round of cursing to make Avery follow him like a puppy.
ஐ
"First years aren't supposed to be trying out," Orion said, looking around. The second Abraxas had heard about the Quidditch tryouts, he had owled his parents, telling them to send him his broomstick. He had left it at home, because he thought there was no chance that he was going to be allowed to tryout. However, out of the seven players on the team, five of them graduated. The Slytherin team was in desperate need of people, so they grudgingly allowed the first years to tryout.
"Half the people trying out are first years," Abraxas pointed out. The two remaining Slytherin players—a small chaser and a bulky beater—were orchestrating everything, trying to call over the noise the crowd was making.
"True," Orion nodded, and then turned towards Abraxas. "Do you think I'm going to make it?"
Abraxas laughed. "If you fly anywhere close to what you've been telling me, you have no problem, Black."
A girl broke free from the crowd, saw the two of them standing alone, and bustled over. She would've been pretty, if she hadn't been wearing that scowl on her face. Her brown hair was tied up in a ponytail.
"Can you believe it?" She said angrily. "They allow first years to tryout, but we have to do it in triplets. They don't want to waste too much time with us."
"We're doing it in triplets?" Orion said, his eyes wide. "I thought it was about individual skills."
"It is. They're just evaluating everyone at once." She pointed to where six people were prepared to take off. "It's like Queen of the court. Whoever loses gets kicked off, and if you win, you get to stay there and show off more." She paused. "You can either sign up in a ground that has no seeker or seeker. It affects who you play."
"Guess we all know who I'm pairing up with," Orion said, grinning. "Because you begged me so nicely. Why do you always need me to protect you, Abraxas? Can't you find someone else?"
Abraxas rolled his eyes. "If you want to pair up with someone else, go ahead. I won't mind."
"Too bad," Orion replied cheekily. "You're stuck with me now."
The girl cleared her throat, and they turned to look at her. "Would you mind pairing up with me as well?" She asked. "Assuming that neither one of you is a keeper."
They looked at each other, and Orion shrugged. "Sure," he said. "I'm a chaser, and Abraxas here is a seeker, though I bet he isn't any good." Abraxas sent him a surly look. Orion, however, was busy shifting through his personalities. He winked at the girl and said, "May I inquire what your name is, pretty lady?"
The girl laughed, and flushed slightly. "Does that line really work on most people?" she said, and Orion shrugged, clearly not caring that she wasn't swooning. Maybe he had enough swooning girls for a lifetime. "I'm Eleanor," she introduced herself. "Eleanor Bletchey."
"Well, then, Eleanor Bletchey," Orion said. "Let's sign up before all the good spots are taken," he dragged her away, leaving Abraxas standing in the dust. He was about to go after him when he felt someone poke him in the shoulder.
It was Tom. Abraxas looked at him, and the boy gave him a small smirk. "What are you doing here?" Abraxas inquired, noticing his lack of broom. "You aren't trying out, are you?" Somehow, he couldn't imagine Tom flying.
Tom shook his head. Abraxas had gotten to know him—as well as Cygnus and Orion—better over the past few weeks. They had lengthy discussions in their shared dormitory every day, though it was mostly Orion talking. It was nice to listen, though, and Abraxas found himself looking forward to their dormitory meetings.
Tom had established himself not only as the halfblood—he had corrected Avery right after he cursed him for the fifth time in two days—but as one of the most genius students Hogwarts had ever seen. It had only been a couple of weeks, and already he seemed to have the intellectual level of some of the fifth and sixth years. And yet, Abraxas had never seen him pick up a pencil to do any work that wasn't homework, and when he did do his homework, he procrastinated like crazy.
"I'm here on Tracey's request," Tom said smoothly. "She wanted to accompany Walburga, who was coming to cheer on Avery and Lestrange," there was a hard edge when he spoke of the latter two boys. He then glanced down at his arm. "It seems like she's finally let go of me."
Abraxas couldn't help but snicker.
"I can see you are trying out," Tom said. "I think I'll go sit in the stands and cheer you on. Maybe throw a few tomatoes are two at you."
"What about tomatoes?" Orion was back, still dragging Eleanor behind him. "Oh, hey Tom. Didn't expect to see you here today." Eleanor noticed him as well, and nodded politely, which was returned. Eleanor must've been the first girl Abraxas had met at this school that wasn't crazy about Tom. Or maybe she was just better at hiding it.
"Potatoes would work better," Abraxas informed him. "Chuck them at Black's head. It's super effective."
Tom smirked again. "Duly noted." Orion looked like he wanted to hit Abraxas on the head with his broom, when they were called up to the field. Tom nodded, and walked away, no doubt to prepare some potatoes to throw at them during the tryouts.
The beater was staring at a clipboard, and looked up when they walked over. "Malfoy, Bletchey and Black?" They nodded. "Seeker, keeper and chaser?" They nodded once more. The beater made a mark on the paper, before he looked over at Abraxas, scrunching his nose. "No offense, but your name's rather unusual. Abrasauch?"
Abraxas blinked, and then glared at Orion. The boy held his hands up. "I didn't know how to spell it!" He protested, before adding, "And maybe I was hungry and was thinking about the sauce we had for dinner yesterday."
"I wouldn't spell your name wrong!" Abraxas said hotly.
"That's because my name is easy to spell," Orion shot back. "How was I supposed to know that your name has an 'x' in it?"
"Because it's common—" Abraxas trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "How do you know I have an 'x' in my name? I didn't tell you." Orion gulped, realizing his slipup. "You did this on purpose!" Abraxas accused him. "You have a weird sense of humor, Black."
Orion opened his mouth again, but Eleanor cut him off. "Um, guys?" She gestured towards the beater, who was watching the exchange with a smirk on his face. "Can we fight later? The other team is waiting."
Indeed they were. From the looks of things, they were older students, maybe around third year. From the looks on their faces, they seemed quite sure that they were going to beat them soundly. Well, not if he had any say about that. As long as Eleanor and Orion didn't give up too many points, the game would be in his hands. He was the one who was going to catch the snitch.
Orion seemed to realize this, because he reached over to pat Abraxas on the back. "Don't mess up," he advised cheerfully.
"Thanks," Abraxas said. "Your confidence in me is astounding."
Orion grinned. "I won't be offended if you don't catch the snitch, though I'll be disappointed in you for the rest of your life. You don't want that, do you?" Abraxas rolled his eyes. "Moral of the story, catch the snitch and we'll all be fine."
"Ready?" The chaser was the referee, looking at both teams with a bored look on his face. Abraxas guessed that it was quite boring after awhile to watch a bunch of people flying around on brooms. As much as he loved Quidditch, it wasn't something he'd want to do either. Abraxas would rather be the one flying.
Abraxas glanced back at Eleanor, who nodded at him. He then glanced over at Orion, who mouthed 'If we lose, I'm going to kill you.' Trying to prevent himself from grinning, he looked over at the other team, who was looking bored. They seemed to think that just because they were first years meant they couldn't play.
I'll show you.
The chaser blew the whistle, and six players kicked off. Abraxas spotted Tom in the stands, a bag filled with unknown objects on the floor next to him. He smirked at it. Tracey, it appeared, had found her way back to Tom and was now once again latched to his arm. Tom noticed him looking and raised his free hand in a mock wave. Tracey winked at him.
"ABRAXAS," Orion roared, speeding towards the quaffle. "Do you have to ogle at Tom in the middle of the tryouts?"
Abraxas would've flown over and smacked him if he didn't see the other seeker drop in to a dive. The crowd started cheering. Abraxas spotted it and dropped in to a dive as well. Even though he started slower than the other seeker, the snitch was closer to him. The yellow ball was growing bigger and bigger by the second, and Abraxas reached out his hand, as he had done so many times in his life…
The other boy crashed in to him, nearly knocking him off his broom. Abraxas slipped off it, but managed to climb back up. The chaser blew his whistle, signaling a foul. Orion cast him a worried look, but headed towards the foul spot. The other seeker caught his eye and mouthed, 'Totally worth it.'
Abraxas flew shakily to Eleanor, who looked at him in concern. "Are you alright?" She asked. "I would've thought you would have fallen off before that. That dive was rather risky."
"You're underestimating my skills," Abraxas said, rubbing his left arm. "That hurt. It's just tryouts. Did he have to play it rough?"
"Some people are just insane," Eleanor shrugged, and then pushed him forward. "Go on. Orion's just hit his free throws, so we're up 90-10." She smirked as Abraxas gaped at her. "I think you're underestimating our skills as well. Just focus on the snitch."
Abraxas flew up again, being sure to put as much distance between he and the other seeker as possible, while still keeping his eye out on him at the same time. He did occasionally glance down at his teammates and had to admit that Eleanor had been right; he was underestimating their skills. Orion flew crazily, but it confused his opponents enough to let him score. Eleanor was graceful, blocking the quaffle like it was a reflex. He could spot the ref smiling at the two of them. They had obviously proven themselves. Now it was his turn to prove himself.
He spotted the snitch them. It was right below him, and he dropped down in a dive. The other seeker noticed and started going for it as well. It was close, but evidently, he was the one who was going to get it. He was closer. However, the other seeker was the same height as the snitch; Abraxas was dropping down. It was considerably more risky. The other seeker seemed to notice as well, as he slowed down his broom considerably. If Abraxas ever slowed down, the other seeker would be the one to get the snitch. If Abraxas didn't slow down, he would crash in to the field. The snitch wasn't up high enough.
Abraxas didn't slow down.
The other seeker's eyes widened when he saw that Abraxas wasn't slowing, and held his hands up, as if saying, 'If you think you can keep the snitch in your hand after you hit the ground, be my guest.' It was crazy, Abraxas knew. Doing it on his Quidditch pitch at home was very different than doing it in public. But he had practiced it so many times it came to him easily, almost as easily as breathing.
Abraxas reached out his hand again for the snitch, closing his hand around the golden ball. Then he twisted upwards, his leg skimming painfully against the ground before he was airborne again. He wobbled a bit, not as graceful as he had hoped for, but the snitch was securely in his hand. The ref blew his whistle, and the game was over.
Orion barreled towards him and hugged him, nearly knocking both of them off their broom. Eleanor flew over as well, planting two kisses on his cheeks, which was then followed by Orion's wolf whistle. That was promptly cut off when Tom delivered his promise—two unpeeled potatoes came flying out of nowhere and hit Orion in the back of the head. Orion sputtered and glared at a smirking Tom, but even that didn't dampen their moods. And nothing could beat the moment when they landed on the ground again, and the beater smiled at them and said,
"Welcome to the team."
Abraxas would remember that moment for the rest of his life.
ஐ
"That's it?" Hermione asked him, looking at Abraxas. When he nodded, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd end it with making it on the Quidditch team. I take it that your second, third and fourth years weren't as interesting?"
"No," Abraxas said offhandedly. "Unless you were interested hearing in every victory I helped earn."
Hermione laughed softly. "It's nice to hear about that," she said. "Everyone seemed so small and innocent at the time. Even…" she trailed off, biting her lip.
"Tom?" Abraxas offered helpfully. Hermione nodded. "No, I don't think Tom was ever innocent. He just liked to have fun more. He still does, though he's better at hiding it," he glanced at Hermione. "Do you know it was his idea to join you in the snowball fight a couple weeks ago?"
Hermione nodded, and then grimaced. "You shouldn't talk about that," she said gently. "It was a bad day for you."
"Ah, well, I'm getting rather used to this place." Abraxas gestured around his cell. "It's not much, but I'm starting to think of it as home. Funny because the smallest room in the Manor is about ten times this size. Speaking of the Manor…I wonder if my parents heard about me yet." He had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Do you want them to know?" Hermione asked.
Abraxas shrugged. "On one hand, I do. I want visitors." He caught the look on her face. "Of course, I appreciate you being here. You have no idea how much this means to me. But I also want to see some of my family, or…" He looked away. "Never mind."
"Black?" Hermione asked. When Abraxas didn't say anything, she continued, "Did it make you feel better when you talked about him? Or did it just hurt more?"
"Well, of course it hurts," Abraxas said. "I skipped the later years, but that was when my friendship with him really escalated. I can't believe he would just refuse to believe me like this."
"Why don't you tell me about that?" Hermione asked helpfully. "It might help if you got it out of your system."
Abraxas looked at her skeptically. "You want to hear about how we went skinny dipping in the river during the winter? Or do you want to hear about this one night during the summer where we went to a club and got so drunk that we woke up in a pile of—"
"Nope," Hermione cut him off. "I'm fine with not hearing."
Abraxas smirked. "Thought so."
They sat in silence for awhile, before Hermione asked, "Is that why you were willing to talk to me?" She asked. Abraxas raised an eyebrow. "Did I remind you of your friend? Of Leila?"
"Oh. That." He raked a hand through his hair. "I suppose you originally did. You had the same occupation, had the same brown hair, though I have to say hers is a lot neater than yours." Hermione scowled at him. "Though you two are completely different. Leila was an actual maid. She knew what it meant to be one. While you," he looked at her. "I don't know where you learned this from, but you never talk back."
"I don't know where you learned this from, but you're also not supposed to friend your servants," Hermione shot back hotly.
"There's no rule about that," Abraxas said swiftly. "And would you rather I didn't?"
Hermione shrugged. "I guess not."
"I guess not?" Abraxas grinned. "I befriended you out of the goodness of my heart," here, Hermione snorted, which Abraxas ignored. "And you give me a 'I guess not.'"
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Hermione gestured around. "I would've thought that counted for something."
"It does," Abraxas sighed. "I hope I can get out soon. Or that they declare me guilty. I think even conviction is better than this."
"I thought you said that this was becoming more and more like home," Hermione raised an eyebrow. "And don't talk like that. You're not guilty, so you shouldn't plead guilty."
Abraxas sighed again, and he suddenly looked like the five year old that he had told her about. He looked scared and vulnerable. "I just want to go home," he said tiredly. "I don't want to stay here anymore."
"Don't worry," she patted his hand reassuringly. "I'll get you home. Even if it's the last thing I do."
