Of Monsters, Of Men

Chapter 7

First Term

September, October, and November passed quickly. After getting used to the verbal and occasional physical incidents of abuse, Tom and Harry fell into the pattern of attending class, acing assignments, and perfecting spellwork. They borrowed as many books from the library as they could, reading late into the night past curfew, trying to enrich themselves and immerse themselves in the new culture. Especially so that they could excel at Transfiguration, their hardest class—not because of the content, but because of the teacher.

However, no matter how they tried to please Professor Dumbledore, it seemed that Dumbledore had written them off completely. Insightful answers to questions were met with clipped one word phrases from Dumbledore. More often than not, Dumbledore would ignore them entirely, focusing only on the Gryffindors. At least in the beginning Dumbledore had given them some attention.

For some reason, Dumbledore never looked at Harry with the same gentleness as he had when they first met; not even when Harry waited patiently with his hand raised for him to inspect his and Tom's flawless transfigurations. No matter how much Harry tried to deny it, it hurt. No matter how much he grew to dislike Dumbledore, he still craved that man's praise. Dumbledore had an entrancing way with words that made Harry want to please him as best he could, unlike Tom, who remained completely unaffected. Harry had somewhat childishly hoped Dumbledore would cut him some slack, but every following dismissal only increased his resentment.

Outside of class, Harry and Tom spent their time learning the unspoken rules and culture associated with being a Slytherin. They were taught the art of crafting a Slytherin scheme through  endless experiences: painful pranks, public humiliation, private mockery, and occasionally public mockery.

The never ending feeling that they would never be welcome, that they were undeserving of Slytherin haunted the both of them. The jabs hurt more than Harry cared to admit, and the only reason he got through it at all without becoming too emotionally affected was because of Tom. Tom was his rock, his aloofness and equally disparaging attitude an anchor for Harry to cling to when the schemes became particularly awful.

Both Harry and Tom knew they weren't experiencing the worst of the worst possible treatment. What had saved them from a stronger lashing had been their innate brilliance. Or rather, Tom's innate brilliance that he had forced Harry to foster. Their obviously gifted magical prowess and intelligence equated to perfect schoolwork and spellwork, which was a feature Slytherins could not ignore. Harry was sure that many students, especially the poor Dark Witches and Wizards, eagerly wanted to, their eagerness only curbed by the higher castes.

However, among the widespread verbal and physical abuse hurled at them, two bullies stood out in particular. Marcus Avery and his sidekick, Xavier Selwyn were the worst of the worst due to the frequency and harshness of their attacks.

Marcus Avery was the dirty blonde that couldn't hold Tom's eyes at dinner and Selwyn was his sidekick. In Harry's opinion, the two were quite similar to Billy and his crew; all of them were tactless, overconfident, and overcompensated for their insecurities. Selwyn, unlike Billy's sidekick Eric, was skinny and sickly-looking, the opposite of the hunk that was Eric.

The standoff between them reached the tipping point in mid-December. Harry and Tom had just entered the Slytherin common room after dinner ended, and they were walking to their normal spots in a discreet corner of the room. Harry was conversing quietly with Tom when Marcus Avery approached them, flanked by Xavier Selwyn. Harry ignored them, hoping they would leave soon.

"Too scared to talk to me, mudbloods?"

Many eyes swivelled and ears pricked to take note of this confrontation. In the background, the younger years were making predictions on what was going to happen, all expecting Avery and Selwyn to be victorious.