His Equal [Tom Riddle]

ten

Kepi sat in an abandoned classroom on the second floor, her heart beating in wicked anticipation as she lit the seven candles before her. They were arranged in a repeating pattern of dark purple, magenta, yellow - dark purple, magenta, yellow . . .

She removed four identical copper plates from her bag, each magically engraved with hieroglyphics depicting Set, persuasion, and anguish. She cast a basic four-point spell on her wand so that it would point her in the direction of true north, and from there she meticulously aligned each copper plate with the northern, southern, eastern, and western cardinal points.

One of her rings was transfigured into a silver dagger with ease, and she bit the inside of her cheek as she slid the blade across her palm. Making sure to not get any blood on the ground, for this could ruin the entire ritual, Kepi put an ample amount of crimson liquid into each copper plate before mending her skin back together with a wave of her hand. 

Now that the physical aspect of the spell had been performed, the young witch sat back and folded her legs. Her lungs filtered through the stuffy air of the castle, and as she fell into her meditation, her lips moved at a rapid pace to mutter the incantation that Set had taught her the night prior. Engrained in her mind was an image of her dueling partner in Defense Against the Dark Arts - the loud-mouthed, unbearable Fiona Smythe.

Fiona Smythe was a Gryffindor. Born to two muggle parents in the heart of muggle London, she had the poise of a seven year old and the mouth of a sailor (that hadn't travelled much). Many mudbloods understood their place in the eyes of purebloods, but not Fiona. Fiona would laugh at Kepi's insults, taking them as friendly banter, and one time she went as far as tying a scarf around her head saying, "look, Kepi, I'm an Egyptian too!" She finished off the insult with a very strange dance, that Kepi had never, ever seen before in her country.

To say that Kepi hated Fiona - for a multitude of reasons - would be a major understatement. 

The blood in the copper plates began to simmer as Kepi's concentration zoned in on her target. Behind her eyelids, a cloudy vision started to form. She could see two girls in front of her, an offensive amount of red and gold, and a board game. Her mind had sufficiently taken over Fiona's. 

This being her first time performing the spell, Kepi could feel her energy draining quickly. But she was on a timeline, like Set had said, and she was determined to impress him. As the image of Fiona's point of view sharpened, Kepi willed the Gryffindor to excuse herself from the game and go into the bathroom.

So far, so good. 

Kepi could see Fiona's hand shaking as she reached for the wand in her pocket. The girl's mind had been easy enough to overcome, but as Kepi prepared her for something so sinister, she could feel the mudblood's mind fighting back. This spike in emotion sent a surge through Kepi, however, and when she finally managed to get Fiona to lift the wand to her own head, Kepi knew that would succeed.

The blood in the copper plates was boiling now, and a ferrous stench emanated around the room. It was a good thing that all professors and students were bound to their rooms at this point in the evening, because dark magic was radiating from Kepi at alarming levels.

"Avada kedavra!" 

The words passed through Fiona's lips, and with a green flash, Kepi was immediately thrown from the girl's point of view. Kepi let out a hiss as she grabbed her head in pain, and her tongue picked up a metallic taste as it darted across her dried lips. Her nose was bleeding - profusely. Kepi lowered her back onto the floor in exhaustion, and she fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

**

"Where were you?" Cicely hissed groggily from beneath her covers, shielding her eyes from the orb of light hovering over Kepi's extended hand. "I waited up for you for like . . . four hours. I thought you'd been petrified!"