𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓕𝓪𝓽𝓮

19| Good Timing

A/N: Look who decided to update. Well my exams finished yesterday, so ofc I had to!!

"Hey Everdeed, wait up!  You seem to love gossip, so here's a piece. How 'bout you tell your fellow gossipers about how Percy Weasel's girlfriend left him for a one night stand, eh? I'm sure he's gonna love it. He actually walked in on them fucking in the library", Hadrian cornered Nicholas and told him in a stage whisper.

Two girls had paused near them at hearing Weasley's name, for they knew that Hadrian would never mention an enemy's name casually. They looked at each other with wide eyes and walked away, tittering.

"Are you sure that that was meant for me? From how those girls were whispering, one would think that I was just the most convenient sacrificial lamb", Nicholas deadpanned. Hadrian shrugged and brushed imaginary lint off of his shoulders. Then he walked away. He fucking walked away!

Being a Ravenclaw and gossip went hand in hand. While studying, the silence did get boring every once in a while. They filled it with petty gossip. Pretty interesting, if you ask him. There were, of course, a few odd ones who looked down upon speaking while studying.

"Hello Cristina, I hope you are well. Stellan was cursed very badly. I do wonder why he's not a Gryffindor with all the risks he takes", Nick greeted the delicate Italian girl.

"Nicholas, I am well. It was nothing I couldn't fix and I am glad to see that Stellan has such... caring friends. I'll be sure to convey your regards to him when I visit him in the Hospital Wing since you seem to be unable to do so", she said in her sexy Italian accent.

What he wouldn't give for a chance to date her! He shrugged in a way that meant 'sure' and walked off.

Nick knew that he wasn't considered worthy enough by Hadrian's Slytherin friends, but he simply brought up his connections. He was a half blood, sure, but he knew curses that would make the Carrows look like children and Malfoy's skin crawl.

He simply went to the Everdeed vaults and picked up books that sounded gruesome. He didn't have a mother to teach him 'morals' and his father was too much of a dickhead to care.

He might be a Ravenclaw but he could take risks that would make the boldest chew their nails. Ravenclaw also stood for their creativity and wit, after all.

He knew he was a piece of shit and probably- no, scratch that, definitely- didn't deserve Calfucci, but one could hope. She was too good of a soul. Besides, her parents were Italian aristocrats and purebloods; she had probably never worked a day. He had a tarnished surname, was a half blood and did not have a single Knut that he hadn't earned. They were from two different worlds.

He was going to have a travelling job at Gringotts while she had enough money to live a lavish life without moving a muscle. How he wished things were different and the name Everdeed instilled respect instead of morbid disgust within people.

Not even for the sake of having her but at least having a reputation when he went around. It hurt when he saw the sneer rising on their face at his last name. He knew that Slytherins had their daddy issues but he had to say- Hadrian had handpicked every single person from every house with mommy/ daddy issues. Nicholas had both...

Artemisia... this name was something Ethan had been looking up for months- twenty months to be exact. It was an exhausting task! He had even started to doubt she existed after the initial three months. No medical records, birth certificate or even memories of birth. Ethan valued his life too much to voice his concerns, though.

After another month of no success, he had finally begged Hadrian to give him something as a base. Finally, after having a birth certificate, he found something. He wasn't sure how the guy had found it but certain that he won't like the answer.