Imperium - t.r.

Chapter One: Sixth Year Begins

Anastasia sat alone in the train car, holding a mug of coffee in her hand and an old book in the other. She did not look up when a group of Slytherin boys sat in the car with her. She wrinkled her nose in irritance when she caught sight of her old friend in the window's reflection. The friend that had abandoned her in their second year to befriend the purebloods who bullied her relentlessly. Even though the stuck-ups' antics never truly bothered her, it still felt like a betrayal. 

She reminisced about their shared moments in the meadows or on the seas during the summers and in their secret meeting place in the Forbidden Forest they used to run off to in their first year to watch the stars and talk about their day away from the watchful eyes of the other Slytherins. Her teeth grit as she held the book directly in front of her face, remembering the day he told her to go away. And she did, never trying to befriend him once more. He chose his path, she chose hers.

"De Meath!" Tom said to her. She snapped out of her thoughts, but continued to ignore his calls as she turned the pages of the wondrous world she held in her hands, desperately trying to submerge herself in its reality once more. His voice got louder, but not too loud that his voice turned into an unseemly shout.

"C'mon De Meath, I know you can hear me," Tom sighed exasperatedly. "Stop being childish!"

She gripped the book tighter before regaining composure, still focusing on the tale between her fingers.

"Anastasia!" he tried.

"I was planning on having a peaceful train ride, but obviously the ghoulish gang has other plans," she grumbled under her breath before relenting, still looking at her book. "What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to align yourself with me once more," Tom said clearly, nearly making her scoff audibly.

"Wow, you sure went out of your way not to say 'friends'," Anastasia scoffed, still reading.

"I'm not sure if you heard me," Tom repeated. "I want you to be part of my group. With me... like old times."

Anastasia looked up at him, wedging the bookmark in the book and closing it, staring at him before finally answering "Wow. Where on this doomed Earth did you find the audacity? I mean, at first I thought you were joking, but now I realize you're serious. You told me to shove off and now... after three years, you want me back. What? Did you get bored of your walking circus of entitlement over here?"

"You watch your filthy mudblood mouth, De Meath!" Abraxas Malfoy spat, readily drawing his wand and pointing it at her. She coolly looked at him, the tip of elm, pointing to the space between her eyebrows.

"What're you going to do, O Great Heir Malfoy? Hex me? Curse me?" she chuckled before smacking the wand out of his hand, letting it roll on the floor until it landed by a polished black shoe. "We both know you can't and even if you could, I'd be able to send you flying before you uttered a sound. So much for the great magicks of the Noble and Most Pure House of Malfoy."

As if something snapped with Abraxas, he lunged for his wand, only to have scalding coffee poured on him in a flash. The others winced as he shouted while the hot coffee turned his porcelain skin a bright red. She put the mug back on the table before grabbing her book and her trunk, preparing to move to another compartment.

"Ah! My robes! My skin!" Malfoy whined.

"Maybe use some of that money and magic you brag so much about to fix your problems," Anastasia suggested before leaving the compartment.

"Well, you sure chose a crazy one, Riddle," piped Rosier.

"Tell me about it," grumbled Lestrange. "She broke my jaw last year... with her bare hands!"