Venom & Virtue

chapter 2

Once my house was announced, there was a flurry of claps from the far side of the hall.

McGonagall lifted the hat from my head and I stood up, looking in the direction of the bench covered in students wearing black and green robes.

I began to walk over to them, keen to get the humiliation of the moment over with.

My feet carried me up the aisle, passing the younger years until I was nearly at the very back of the hall where the older years were sitting.

I slowed once I reached the groups, beginning to panic slightly as it seemed that no one was particularly keen on moving to accommodate me.

Just as I was about to forcefully wedge myself into the bench, I heard a light voice calling my attention.

"You can sit with us if you want."

I looked up to find a girl smiling at me in a friendly manner, her head sticking up a fraction amongst the sea of faces.

I quickly walked over to the group she was seated with, sliding into the space she'd made on the bench.

"Thanks," I mumbled, resting my elbows against the table.

"No problem," she grinned as I turned to examine her properly.

She was an extremely beautiful girl, practically model-like in her appearance, which was definitely an accomplishment in the bland Hogwarts' uniform.

Her shoulder-length hair was an icy blonde that blended nicely against her creamy skin, a detail that made me envious. The tip of her nose was filed to a perfect point that curved slightly between her maya-blue eyes and to top it all off, she had a delicate rosy hue to her cheeks that suited her seemingly sweet disposition well.

"What's your name?" She prompted, probably assuming me to be an imbecile from my silence and blatant stare.

"Seraphina," I replied, fiddling with a strand of my own raven-black hair.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Violetta," she gestured to the two people on the other side of the bench, "Terence, and Adrian."

I nodded at them as they smiled at me in greeting. They were equally good looking too, one a rich blonde and the other dark-haired, with strong jawlines to match.

"Are you all in sixth year?"

Violetta nodded eagerly, "what about you? Are you a transfer?"

"Not exactly," I trailed off as the old man at the front of the hall began to speak.

We turned slightly on the benches, giving him our full attention.

He began to relay a welcome speech, talking about the school values and what it meant to be a student representative of Hogwarts.

"Dumbledore must be due to keel over this year, I mean the man is practically a relic," Adrian whispered over his shoulder to Terence.

"We are talking about a 116-year-old wizard, what makes you think there is any chance of that happening any time soon?" Terence sighed, leaning their head on their palm.

"Probability."

"And that's why you failed maths in primary school."

Adrian rolled his eyes before continuing, "fine, let's at least make this little debate interesting. I'll bet on it."

Terence straightened their posture, suddenly interested in the prospect of a wager.