The Tale of Two Brothers.

5

Tom Riddle stared at the unfamiliar boy in front of him. He had internally rolled his eyes as Lucius and Evan had once again left him to snatch the small boy away. He seriously felt the urge to tell Lucius off for tormenting the boy. It was true that he had fallen asleep for a moment or two on their first meeting, he didn't see why Lucius still held a grudge over that. It seemed like the sensible part of human population was finally coming to light. 

The boy in front of him had black hair much similar to Snape, but some shades lighter. He had this brown-black eyes that now held fury as he held Snape behind him, glowering at Lucius. Tom could almost see the pout forming on Lucius' face. Evan had narrowed his eyes at the new comer, not a good sign, the most you get from Evan is a blink on a Christmas day. Of course it would be different when it comes to the Snape boy. Why was everyone so obsessed with the Snape boy anyway?

"And you are?". He used his dominant voice. Tom never wished to appear polite in front of new people. It was necessary, after all, nobody would dominate world with manners and politeness. It was all territorial. Tom was definitely surprised and a bit amazed when the boy didn't even flinch. An admirable trait, even Dumbledore failed to meet his eyes sometimes. He poured more dominance into his gaze, slightly powering his magic a little  more. He was satisfied with the small blush that formed on the boy's cheeks at the sudden magic around him. 

Octavius felt really uncomfortable under the tall teen's gaze. He was assessing him, that's for sure, but his magic was too powerful, covering him, poking and prodding at his magic. He was ready to tell the guy off for doing something so disrespectful at another dominant, if not for the sudden rush of students from behind them. He gave them one more glare and dragged Severus away from the three upper years, they probably will be in his year. 

You had my attention, now you have my curiosity.

Severus felt his heartbeat returning to normal after his brother sat down next to him on the Slytherin table. His sorting was taking way longer than normal, for a moment he thought his brother was going to be sorted to another house. Octavius ruffled his hair and filled his plate with fruits and chicken. They had seated themselves at the end of the table, away from the prying eyes. Octavius knew how uncomfortable his brother was.

Not even fifteen minutes into the feast, Severus began feeling eyes on him. Especially from his side and back. He knew those pair of eyes belonged to two sets of students who made his life a living hell. Octavius, as if feeling his brother's growing uncomfortableness  gently grabbed his arms and nudged him to the doors. Severus led the way towards the Slytherin dorms while Octavius kept an assuring hand on his shoulders.

Severus let out a sigh of relief as they exited the Great Hall. Octavius had thrown his arms around Severus, keeping him close. He liked this, feeling safe and having someone to rely on. A small smile formed on his lips as he led his brother towards the Slytherin dormitories.

"Who was that?" Octavius asked, breaking the silence. Severus scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. Was his brother blushing? It could not be called a blush since there was only faint tinge of pink on the extreme end of his ears. Octavius peeked at his brother who was now looking at him with calculating gaze. He immediately averted his gaze and cleared his voice.

" umm..I meant the third boy. He just looked peculiar, nothing else. Just that." 

Severus was still not convinced. "That is Riddle. He is the good one. They didn't bully me in his presence. But he is very powerful and shady. They say he is building some sort of cult. I mean a lot of people do blindly follow him. Anyway, that guy is very intelligent. Top of his year. His say is final in our house. The other two are the nobles, they are his immediate followers or i would like to think so"

Cult you say?