Venom & Virtue

chapter 3

I felt it long before I found its source.

The familiar crackling of powerful magic radiating through the air of the common room.

It worked its way into my fingertips, electrocuting them with a strange buzz that was so intense, my hands almost became numb.

Whilst we walked down the passage, I extended my fingers and flexed them, frowning as the tingles ran further through my blood.

After countless hours of observing Ministry meetings in obedient silence, I'd grown accustomed to reading wizards and witches through their magic alone.

It had been my way of understanding people who I wasn't allowed to talk to. A skill spawned from childlike curiosity.

It was a useful ability, and after years of practice I'd built up a rather sensitive radar to the variances in it too.

When prisoners were put on trial for heinous crimes against the magical community, I'd been able to detect the differences in the dark magic within them.

The ominous feeling had been strange at first, overwhelming, as if I were wading through the thick sludge of a muddy swamp.

It was entirely exhausting, even disheartening, to be in the presence of that type of magic.

And the worst of it always came from those who had used the unforgivable curses.

Often, it was so acrid that I'd had to refrain from gagging as it wrapped itself around me. But it was an entirely different sensation to those of the morally astute Ministry employees, safe and solid.

After those types of trials, I'd relish the moment when court was adjourned and I could return to Kingsley's office, free to bathe in the warmth and gentility of his magical effervescence.

He'd been curious about my ability more than anyone else. Apparently wizards and witches in the Far East practiced the skill of magical perception too, but Kingsley had seemed impressed at my ability to develop it independently. He thought it indicated a natural intuition.

But as I'd gotten older and been given more freedom to interact with employees, I'd gradually forgotten to use it, until I put up protective walls entirely.

And yet, now the overwhelming sensation of the emanating magic had cracked through the thin veil, my perception seemingly in overdrive.

As we reached the end of the passage, I tried to ignore the feeling, focusing on Violetta ahead of me instead.

A few more steps and we made it, stepping fully into the large space of the Slytherin common room.

The first thing I noticed was the lighting, or lack thereof.

It wasn't bright or dark necessarily, but a strange mixture of dimness and vision.

I glanced around the area, taking in the luxurious carving of the stone pillars, contrasted against the regal wooden furniture dotted around the room.

The choices of material were interesting; everything from rich black leather sofas, to green crystal ornaments and plush velvet drapes that offset the grey concrete bricks.

In its entirety, the common room had an opulence and grandeur to it that reminded me of the magnificence of the Ministry foyer. It almost felt like a home away from home.

In that sense, it was intoxicating; somehow inviting but frigid simultaneously, seductive.

Violetta turned to face me, smiling slightly as she saw the impressed expression across my face.