{Great Hall, Hogwarts}
{29th June 1992}
{Rigel's POV}
The Great Hall glowed with a golden light as I stepped inside, my eyes immediately drawn to the enchanted ceiling above, mirroring a serene twilight sky. Thousands of candles floated in midair, their flickering flames casting soft shadows across the hall. The long tables were decked out in the colors of Slytherin, and the house banners were draped proudly above in celebration of their victory in the House Cup.
The mingling smells of roast chicken, buttery mashed potatoes, and treacle tart filled the air, making my stomach rumble. I was among the last to arrive; the hot shower had been too enticing to walk out of, along with the parting gift from Evelyn. I walked toward the Slytherin table, passing rows of smiling faces, with many of my classmates laughing and chatting, their voices blending into a static hum.
The pressure that everyone was under just yesterday was now bursting; the exams had been tough, even for me, as I realized that I was a bit unprepared for the written portion. Most of my skill and confidence in magic comes from levels and practical spells; they are as much a byproduct of my will and intuition as anything else. So, I had to grind the written exams for the last couple of weeks.
'I don't think I made a mess of anything anyway, plus who cares anyway? It was just Daphne's nervousness rubbing up on me.'
Sliding into my seat beside Daphne, I exchanged a nod with her. Daphne was one of the few people I could consider a friend in Slytherin—a house where alliances were often as shifting as the staircases. She had been cool about that one night, going back to her ice princess persona, as that night was long forgotten.
'Though I'm pretty sure I can't forget that night, and maybe neither can she.' Still, our cooperation had been fruitful; over the last several months, we had gotten comfortable around each other, a fact that Susan didn't like, but she couldn't really do anything about it since she had to spend a lot of the time divided by house loyalties.
Not that I made any progress on that front, with my time divided between Evelyn, Pansy, Narcissa, and an occasional Rita bound with a vibrator shoved up her arse in my closet. Time constraints forced me to abandon my idea of gotta catch them all, as after Halloween and Harry's extended stay in the hospital, I realized how vulnerable I was.
"Ready for the summer?" Daphne asked, her eyes scanning the room even as she addressed me.
I shrugged, reaching for a pitcher of pumpkin juice. The abhorrent drink didn't taste any good, but it was the only cutlery available. "As ready as I'll ever be. Can I get some water?"
The color vanished from the pitcher as I poured crystal clear liquid into my glass. One of the elves fulfilled my request, but the color of the drink once again changed to orange. When I placed the pitcher back down, their orders were still clear.
"Any special plans for a vacation?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, catching on to the vague response.
I shrugged, and her eyes drifted away, knowing that I wouldn't be sharing anything like that in such a public space. My eyes drifted to the other end of the spectrum. If Slytherin were excited at the prospect of going home, then Gryffindors were practically jumping and shouting. That was not even an exaggeration as Fred and George were throwing something into the air, and seconds later, fireworks burst into the night sky.
'They are progressing quite quickly after getting some funding, and the number of pranks that my housemates had to endure worsened by a fair margin.' My eyes drifted to the golden trio. Hermione animatedly discussed something while Ron Weasley laughed, his mouth full of treacle tart. Potter seemed more relaxed than I'd seen him all year. The usual tension in his shoulders eased as he joined in the mirth.
How their little group had coped together, I don't know; there was a story there that even Hermione was dodging around. We had been friends and acquaintances who sometimes met each other by accident in the library, and other than I hadn't really tried anything. The barrier between Gryffindor and Slytherin was too much to bear in the school, but I'm pretty sure I would have another opportunity to bag her pretty soon.
'It couldn't have been the Cerberus as Narcissa put an end to that farce pretty quickly.' The school run has been interesting; there was a hint of protest from the Gryffindors, which Prof. McGonagall herself quickly quashed. Snape has become a bit overbearing toward the Gryffindor now that Dumbledore is not here to keep him in check, which has resulted in more than a few spat matches between the two houses.
'I wonder where we'll live; with Dumbledore out of the picture for now, I'm pretty sure Harry will live with Sirius and me, which means I would also have regular encounters with the Weasleys.'
"You know he'll be back next year, right? With our newbie protection expiring this year, next year, the house politics would involve us as well, and there is no way Draco would ignore this opportunity to take revenge." Daphne spoke, her eyes briefly drifting toward Pansy; the rumors had continued to circle around the two of us, though their frequency had decreased.
"What?" I blinked my eyes innocently at her, which got me an eye roll in response. Suppressing the chuckle, I looked toward Narcissa, ever-wrapped in her dark-colored dress; she stood more confidently, radiating a sense of satisfaction.
The candlelight shifted as they rose, gathering everyone's attention. Clad in robes of deep green trimmed with silver accents, Narcissa exuded an aura of dignified authority. Her platinum blonde hair was styled in an intricate twist, and her piercing blue eyes surveyed the room with a mix of pride and formality as she raised a slender hand, the murmurs and whispers among the students hushed into silence.
"Good evening, students," she began, her voice clear and melodious yet carrying an unmistakable note of command. "Another year at Hogwarts comes to a close, and what a remarkable year it has been."
Tuning out the speech, I instead focused on what was to come: 'I can finally explore this world with a little bit of confidence.' My shining eyes stared at the transparent blue screen, displaying the culmination of the past several months' effort.
---
[Dueling Lv 7]
[Spell Swatting Lv 4]
[Spell Chaining Lv 5]
---
---
AN: 50+ advanced chapters on P.atreon. I had nothing planned plotwise for the rest of the year, as both Voldemort and the Basilisk are gone. So instead of writing constant smut, I decided to fast forward to the end of the year.