the seven devils [completed]

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖎𝖝𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓

THE ANATOMY OF ICARUS LESTRANGE - THE DUELIST

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Varya could not remember the last time she had celebrated Christmas. As a matter of fact, she thought she had never savored the holiday much- her school did not make a big fuss about it. Gifts were prohibited, as they did not want to encourage students to be materialistic, and the festive dinner implied that dessert would be served, unlike the regular days. She never minded it, in any case. After all, it was the only thing that she knew.

At Hogwarts, however, the holiday was the most critical time of the year, and as she walked down the hallways, she could see multiple students already wearing Christmas sweaters and reindeer antlers. Some went the extra mile and had charmed a small cloud of snow to follow them, or had made their costumes shine with holiday lights.

It was mildly inconvenient, Varya realized when she sat in class next to a Hufflepuff that had snowflakes dancing around her. A few of them landed on Varya's hair, and she bit back a nasty remark, brushing them through her hair.

Professor Merrythought was demonstrating the Everte Statum charm, a spell commonly used in dueling that sent the opponent flying back a few feet. She had Tom Riddle up front, as always, and Icarus Lestrange, who was quite the skilled duelist.

"Now, Riddle will be demonstrating how to cast the charm efficiently, and I want you all to pay attention," she said, pacing the front of the class, "and Lestrange will be taking the impact, unfortunately-"

"Is it because of the charm I used on the Hufflepuff, Professor?" interrupted Lestrange mockingly, earning a scowl from Merrythought. Even though Varya had been forgiving of the merry students, Lestrange had taken it as an opening to charm a classmate's antlers, making them grow in size and stick to his head, much like real ones would.

"Precisely, and I expect to see you in detention as well," she said, shaking her head in condemnation.

"Would not have it any other way, ma'am," he said, sending a wink her way. Varya rolled her eyes, but she could not help the smile that stretched over her face.

Nevertheless, it vanished from her lips when she met Tom Riddle's stare, who was frowning in aversion. Their gazes locked, and it seemed almost hopeless to pull her eyes away, stupefied by his intensity. In retrospect, Tom Riddle was an enthralling being, with intellect so developed that he outwitted some of the teachers, and his ambition burned like wildfire. It glowed of beautiful emerald green, much like a serpent's scales, and nothing could extinguish it once it ignited.

He lifted an eyebrow at her, almost like an invite, but Varya did not know how to respond. They had not had a conversation since Hogsmeade, and there was something in her that wanted to reach out to him, to figure out what he was thinking. Tom Riddle had become her ultimate fixation.