The Tale of Azure - Book I: Shades of Green and Blue

Chapter Six: The Blood-traitor and the Half-blood Golden Boy

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" or Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler), only my characters.

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Azure was about to open the door of Dungeon Five when a cool voice from behind them made itself clear.

"Well, well, late again are we, Ashlane?"

She did not need to turn her head to know who it was but she did anyway, albeit not until she offered the petite a Funtom Chocolate bar, quickly whispering that she could enter first. Warren muttered "thank you" and entered the classroom, closing the door behind her.

The Slytherin let out a sigh of relief; Warren did not need to meet someone like him who hated Muggle-borns and Muggles despite the fact he had non-magical blood in his veins. He was just like most of her Housemates: prideful twits who hated everyone below their status and had a long withstanding rivalry against Gryffindor, another equally prideful house, if not a bit nicer than her own House. As for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, she got relatively along with them. Though, she was aware of the underlying stigma of being a Slytherin student, whose stereotype was he or she thought that only Pure-bloods were the "real wizards", despising Muggles and "Blood-traitors".

Ironically, she was one of those so-called "Blood-traitors" and the Hat had placed her in Slytherin, the House that put blood status above everything. Now, Tom Marvolo Riddle was a Half-blood who masked his Muggle parentage very well. Few people knew that Marvolo was the name of the former Head of the Gaunts before his wife (and elder sister) Pleia passed away and he fell into disgrace, forever shunned by wizarding society. One of the "Sacred Twenty-Eight" and heavy supporters of inbreeding, the Gaunts were rumoured to be direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin, inheriting the ability to speak Parseltongue – Riddle had shown in their first year he could do this – and most likely, Legilimency.

Being his former classmate – and also her partner in some classes – she had come to realize some things about him. Blessed with mysterious dark brown eyes, thick black hair and handsome features, Tom Marvolo Riddle was the heartthrob among the female population, excluding two or three exceptions. Boys from every House also respected or feared him. As for the teachers, they had been completely "charmed" by him, minus Professor Dumbledore and Professor Tranquilflow. But Professor Slughorn had taken a special liking to him, which while not uncommon, it unnerved her because it showed how much of a good manipulator Riddle was. Flattery was one of his most polished weapons.

However, she would always feel troubled by his presence. There was a dark foreboding in it that she did not like, not one bit; his Aura was more pungent and distinctive when compared to other students. It reminded her of the same Aura of negativity and thirst for power she had found in Gellert Grindelwald. She had nearly collapsed on the main street of Sankt Blasien, Southern Black Forest in Germany shortly after the meeting with said Dark Wizard.

Following the exposure to Grindelwald's evil, her parents had a heated discussion with the Minister for Magic, which only got worse when one of that madman's followers attempted to abduct her during that year's Summer Holidays. She stopped going anywhere without an escort; it was the best way to protect her from Grindelwald's followers who were too much interested in her innate powers, which were, as the revolutionary himself had put, "a rarity".

Up until this day she continued dreaming of unfathomable blue eyes that belonged to a smartly dressed blond man with a thin moustache and the most unusual wand she had ever seen. Lately, blue had turned into dark brown and instead of silvery blond curls, she saw jet-black hair...

Calm down, me; focus on the matter at hand!

Azure shook her head furiously and began eating her chocolate bar, purposely irritating the not-yet Prefect. Inwardly, the girl briefly entertained the thought of insufflating him, just to wipe that air of concealed superiority of his face. Too bad that he was too good to let himself get hexed.

"Five minutes won't make a difference," she said between bites. "Unlike others, Professor Slughorn is a decent enough and thoughtful man. Don't you think that as well, Riddle?" An elegant eyebrow rose, dark brown eyes looking at her as if she was a specimen to dissect. Her eyes defiantly stared back. "What about your duties?" Azure continued, still munching the sweet bar like she did not have a care in the world. "Like this week's Prefects-to-be Meeting or...whatever you candidates to Prefects do in your free time when you're not patrolling and finding faults on any member of the student body, much like those arse-licking twits you aspire to be."

She was about to finish her snack when the wrapper incinerated due to a curt wand gesture.

Twit, Azure cursed inwardly while wiping traces of chocolate with her handkerchief.

"That would be my business, not yours," Riddle answered, taking one step towards her. "A deduction of 20 points due to tardiness, 10 from the other Ravenclaw girl you were with."

Just perfect! You had to be Parkinson's stand-in.

She swallowed a groan. Today of all days, Patrick Parkinson was indisposed, which meant that the fifth-year Slytherin Prefect duties were passed to the candidate: Riddle.

"Punctuality first and foremost, Ashlane," he chided her. She detected disdain in his tone, especially after "punctuality", the latter being a jab at her family motto. "You should also expect two hours of detention for disrespecting a senior student on the next Friday. Don't be late."

Azure mock-bowed. "Fine, I shall do as you command, My Lord," she replied acidly to the model student who, after a long stare, turned around and started walking down the corridor, soon disappearing.

Glaring at the space, she clicked her tongue, her suitcase furiously making contact with the nearby wall. Sighing, she let her wand fall into her hand like a concealed dagger or kunai – the effects of reading too much of those books on ninja that her late great-uncle had brought home – and muttered "Reparo", not waiting to see the Charm taking effect. Attending Potions was more important. If she wasn't careful enough, she would be expelled this year and she would have to transfer to Beauxbatons.

She did not want to cause more problems for her family.

As if a narcoleptic Aura Seer wasn't enough of a problem, she thought bitterly, recalling the unfortunate condition she had been diagnosed since age five and her innate abilities who had made her a "person of interest" in Grindelwald's eyes.

But that dark feeling never left her mind; unconsciously, she knew that Riddle would tread down the same easy and seductive path the infamous Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald had taken and...probably going further than the "Greater Good".

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