Adventures of Beatrice the Basilisk

Chapter 10: Badboy Begone

A/N: We can't escape Tom. Halp us pls.

It was safe to say that Beatrice was no longer part of the friend group. Tom liked this, she was angsty and seemed to make everything about her, which Tom didn't like, as everything was obviously meant to be about him.

It had been about 2 weeks since the incident, and Onika seemed to have finally moved past her despair at losing her new friend. Tom could also be finally happy, as this issue would no longer be irritating him.

For the past week Onika had been slapping his arm whenever Beatrice was nearby, telling him not to look at her and not to glare (as much as she wanted him to), Tom literally could not care less. He could feel her staring at them though, which was incredibly annoying, like- did she mind? Get over it.

For the first week, Onika, and subsequently Tom, had evacuated their corner of the common room whenever Beatrice entered, which he felt was a huge overreaction and an even bigger waste of time. Onika was spending most of her time either doing the mountain load of homework that they got every day, or writing her newspaper, which had been met with immediate success.

Tom was a little annoyed when he got dragged into it to help edit but he did try to be supportive as he didn't want to end up like Beatrice- it also didn't hurt that the newspaper gave him a little attention too. Onika was currently his only friend. That would have to change soon, he couldn't be a nobody forever.

He decided that the best way to boost his reputation was to appear nice. This was very hard, as he was usually a condescending little brat towards everyone who came within a 5 metre radius. He also decided that his bad boy phase would have to be over, and he needed to be a suck-up to all his teachers. This would allow him to get the best marks, and reputation. Soon, people in his classes would have to talk to him for the best study notes and tips, he reckoned that this would make him gain a lot of friends, regardless of whether he liked them or not.

Scratch, scratch... (quills)

This quiet evening, Tom was sitting with Onika in their corner of the common room. They had finished their homework for the night, and Onika was busy writing an article for the newspaper. Tom was glaring at Beatrice from across the room, who was surrounded by books, parchment and notes, seemingly struggling with the homework. Serves her right, Tom thought.

"You look busy," Tom spun in his seat, to look at the person who had spoken to him. It was that prefect with the weird name- Orion? Ugh, great. He seemed really stuck-up in Tom's opinion, though he was popular, so Tom put on a smile that just passed as friendly.

"I've finished my homework. Can't I relax?" Tom asked, he couldn't help giving some attitude.

"Oh to be a young, naïve first year with barely any homework... " Orion said, in a mock reminiscent tone. "Back in my day, death staring someone who looks to be struggling from across the room wasn't a form of relaxation,"

"Is that right? Well I don't have anything better to do. I've finished reading all my textbooks," Tom said the last bit with pride, he had spent countless hours in bed reading his school books to try and be able to answer any questions that the teachers may ask. He was taking this new persona very seriously. It surprised him a little.

"Ohh, so you're a bookworm, eh? Well, I think I have just the book for you," Orion went to the shelf beside them and pulled out a thick, leather-bound tome. It read: 'A true history of Magic. With close reference to the supremacy of purebloods,'. The cover was dark green and had a bit of a shine to it. It looked very appealing. Tom regarded the book in his usual monotone manner though inside, he was immensely intrigued. Orion was looking at him very closely. "Have you read it?"