06 | THE SLYTHERIN RULER

THE ONLY THING THAT BROUGHT HER BACK TO REALITY was Noah's low whistle as his eyes strolled down the same guy Alexia was mentally jinxing. Hogwarts students had parted now, leaving a free hallway for the foreign students to cross, like Moses and the Red Sea. The Beauxbatons went up first, and Alexia's target was one of the last.

Don't look, don't look, don't look, she begged, but as always she had her wishes denied by the universe when the guy passed by them and tilted his head to the side slightly, only enough to look at her again, and Alexia felt pierced by the sharpest of blades, right in that empty space in her chest that didn't feel so empty now, from how fast it was beating. Fuck, she mentally cursed again. Fuck my fucking luck.

He passed by her impassively, as if he had not just wreaked havoc in all of her senses. But even if she felt completely disturbed and out of herself, she could decide not to show it. She would never show it, especially not to him. He was just some guy, after all, nothing more. Extremely handsome, yes, but that was all. Alexia didn't do love. It didn't usually work well for her.

She went back to her usual self in the blink of an eye, so quickly not even her best friends noticed the change. They were more interested in watching him, anyway, as were most people. The guy was already becoming quite the sensation, Alexia could see. People loved a pretty face, sometimes even at the expense of an ugly heart. But Alexia wasn't like that; she wondered if his heart was pretty. Then she wondered why the fuck she cared.

As soon as all of the Beauxbatons got out of the carriages and joined the Hogwarts students, Durmstrang's imponent ship reached the bank, boys and girls alike jumping from it skillfully. They all seemed intimidating and fascinating in equal amounts, and started walking, or better said, marching towards the gathered students in what seemed like a military parade. Their attires were of brown or red, plain and practical. Neither of the two schools had houses, so the colorful ties of Hogwarts stood out in that sea of blues and bronze.

There was a girl leading the platoon, a platinum blonde, angelical girl who carried herself like a warrior, squared shoulders and head held high. Alexia narrowed her eyes, intrigued. She respected a person that could naturally stand up for themselves, and this girl clearly had that in droves.

"Jesus," Kendra whispered beside Alexia, breath completely taken away, "I don't know how Hogwarts expects me to last the entire year, I feel like I'm about to die from too much hotness right now."

"Focus on one of the Potters," Noah snickered, "the feeling should disappear right away."

The Nordic girl was getting closer, flanked by two boys similar to each other and to her. They carried themselves with the same pride but in a more laidback, less threatening way; like her, they had blue eyes and blond hair, one of them in curls that kept falling to his eyes because of the wind. The other boy was taller and had hair slightly spiked up in the front.

"How far is Scandinavia from here, exactly?" Noah muttered, almost in an angry tone. Alexia knew what that meant. He was fighting himself and losing. "'Cause I think I'm moving there..."

Just like Alexia moments before, he trailed off, because suddenly the tall guy snapped his head in Noah's direction upon hearing the sound of his voice and their eyes met, Noah's Adam's apple moving up and down beneath his skin. Well, at least I'm not the only one, Alexia thought.

Noah sustained the guy's stare, as if waiting for him to move it to someone else, the girls perhaps, but he didn't. Instead, one tip of his mouth twisted up, and he winked at him.

Alexia was pretty sure no one other than her or Kendra had ever dared to wink at Noah, especially not with such ease. Noah's fists instantly curled into balls and his jaw clenched; it saddened Alexia that that was his natural reaction to careless, free joy.

"Oh, boy," Kendra murmured, exchanging a glance with Alexia while Noah murdered the guy's back as he passed, "this is going to be fun."

ϟ ϟ ϟ

Entering the Great Hall, Alexia was happy there was at least one thing the foreign students seemed mesmerized by at Hogwarts. The first years were always fun to watch, but this year she was more interested in trying to spot a particular head in the crowd, to no avail. She tried to convince herself she was just assessing risks, but she knew she was just fooling herself. That guy, almost certainly French, had ignited something in her, something she didn't even know existed because it had never been felt before. And if he had already invented an emotion within her, Alexia didn't want to think about what others might follow.

Giving Kendra a quick, meaningful smile, Alexia and Noah led the Slytherins to their table while their friend made her way towards Ravenclaw's.

"I just hope they don't make us sing the School Song," Noah said when they sat on the familiar benches. The first years had been led to the front of the room; the foreigners had stayed in the back. "That's going to be so embarrassing."

Before Alexia could reply, Adelina got up from the golden chair at the center of the High Table and made her way to the podium, eyeing her students at the same time Alexia's stare wandered over the Professors behind her. The first one she noticed was Rubeus Hagrid, of course, Gamekeeper and also the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. He was a gigantic man with a long beard and an even bigger heart. Next to him was Neville Longbottom, the Herbology teacher who broke Hufflepuff stereotypes by bravely standing up to Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts and who always had a kind word to say to his students, even the Slytherin ones.

Then Alexia saw Lotus Acker, the Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw House who was also the Deputy Headmistress. She was an edgy, quirky woman with curls the color of honey and whose eccentricities made Kendra have a permanent crush on her. She was talking with the Transfiguration teacher and Head of Hufflepuff, Khaleesi Renell, who was a short woman with short brown hair and a big smile omnipresent in her face.

Next to them was Astronomy teacher Denyse Huang, who was a Ravenclaw and also one of Alexia's favorite teachers given the fact she was one of the few who barely took any points from Slytherin. It was common knowledge such practice was mainly to annoy her colleague Dhruv Barad, who was the Alchemy teacher and also a Gryffindor. Alexia, much like everyone else, suspected that more than rivalry they shared feelings for one another.

Alexia's eyes then landed on the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and Head of Gryffindor House, Seymour Slade, who was, much to her dismay, an extremely handsome man who enjoyed taking points from her at every chance he got. Luckily for her, his brother did the exact same thing to the Gryffindors, as expected of the Head of Slytherin House; Cain Slade was the Potions teacher and in Alexia's opinion, even more handsome than Seymour. He was also her favorite teacher; the one she knew would be on her side and defend her whenever needed. The two brothers, despite their epic rivalry, shared an even more epic fraternal bond and were great examples of what the Gryffindor-Slytherin tie could achieve.

Cain noticed Alexia's stare on him and winked; she fought against herself and gave up, tossing him a small smile. He was probably the only person in the world she had a soft spot for.

"Now that we're all here, I would officially like to welcome everyone to Hogwarts and of course, our very special guests from abroad," Adelina started with a radiant smile. "As always, we will proceed with the Sorting of the first year students, but they will not be the only ones sorted this year. Our Beauxbatons and Durmstrang guests will be invited to have the full Hogwarts experience, meaning you will be sorted into the Houses and given the Hogwarts uniform to wear, though you can of course wear your own school uniforms if preferred. This means that the Houses the students are sorted in are to treat them just like any other one of its members. They will sleep in your dormitories, hang out in your common rooms and can even try out for your Quidditch Teams. Prefects and Captains are especially expected to make sure every student is well integrated."

"What? I can't believe this," Alexia muttered through gritted teeth as Hogwarts students discussed the news among them in a whirlwind of murmurs. As for the ones at the back of the room, none of them seemed surprised or upset; they had clearly been informed beforehand.

"Very well, then, with that settled, let the Sorting begin!" Adelina clapped her hands and Lotus Acker got up, bringing the Hat with her. When she called the first name, a small girl stepped forward nervously. The Hat had barely touched her head and it was already screaming 'SLYTHERIN!', making Alexia's table explode in applause.

"Welcome," Alexia said, offering her an easy smile, "you're in the best house."

"Thank you," the girl replied, instantly feeling more comfortable. "But if anyone bothers me, am I allowed to punch them?"

Alexia chuckled. She liked her already.

"That will probably take points from us. Let's do this instead. If anyone bothers you, you tell them next time Alexia Nott will tie their bowels into a knot and hang them on the Forbidden Forest for the Acromantulas to eat."

Instead of looking frightened or disgusted, the girl beamed. "Deal."

The first years Sorting went by quickly, with Alexia greeting every new Slytherin student while some other Slytherins tried to scare the Gryffindor ones. Finally it was time for the never before seen.

The Beauxbatons were first, most of them being placed into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Alexia considered this to be unfair, but she was expecting a large portion of the Durmstrangs on her house.

"Damien Chevalier!" Lotus shouted, and the boy Alexia had been trying to simultaneously find and ignore pushed himself off the wall and walked towards the chair. When he let himself fall on it, his eyes scanned the room, as if searching for someone. Alexia forced herself not to look at him and achieved it for about two seconds before her head moved to him without her consent and their stares clashed. He seemed sculptured rather than human, all of him graceful but defined angles, long eyelashes and a jawline as sharp as Alexia's tongue. When he looked straight at her, Alexia felt seen. And she immediately hated it, hated him, because no one got to see her when even she didn't.

Not even the Hat on his head took the beauty from him, and it stayed there for some time, in an internal struggle, making Alexia lift one eyebrow.

"I bet he's going to be a Hatstall," Noah commented.

"No, he can't be."

"Why, because you were the last one and want to hold that title forever?"

"Exactly," Alexia nodded, her nostrils starting to flare as time passed. Unlike her, who had been a fidgeting small girl oblivious to what she was supposed to do with so many people looking at her, Damien seemed perfectly serene. And then, only some seconds away from being considered a Hatstall, he tilted his head to the side, looked at her again and the Hat boomed Slytherin.

Alexia's nails dug so deep into her skin she thought she'd break them. Unbelievable. This was unbelievable. Of course he'd be put into Slytherin. That's how the universe worked. Always against her.

"Get ready to welcome the pretty boy," Noah chuckled as Damien took his time getting to their table. "He's going to get us points just with that jawline, you'll see."

"Or he'll sabotage us to favor his friends, the majority of which went to Ravenclaw," Alexia retorted. "It makes no sense that they get to participate in everything."

"If you were in a foreign school, would you like to be excluded from everything?" Albus Potter questioned from a few seats away, his voice just above a whisper. "Or have the opportunity to be a part of something?"

"Damn you, Potter, why do you always have to be right?"

"I wish my family thought that way too," he said, his small smile sad. Almost immediately, Scorpius leaned towards him and whispered something in his ear that made him laugh.

"Can I sit here?" An unfamiliar voice pulled her back from the tender sight of those two best friends and made her look up to meet those vibrant topaz eyes that were already staring at her.

"Sure," she forced herself to speak over the lump in her throat, hyper aware of everyone else's eyes on them. But for the first time it wasn't because of her, but because of who she was with. She didn't like being relegated to second place so easily. "Welcome to Slytherin."

Instead of sitting down, the guy kept staring, his head slightly tilted to the side as he studied her. When he spoke, his French accent sounded like music to her ears. "Then why don't I feel welcomed?"

Alexia snickered, surprised by his straightforwardness. She had tried, she really had. But she hated this guy already, and she had always been better at showing negative emotions than positive ones. She had no desire to make him feel welcomed; she just wasn't expecting he'd realize it right away. She always hid everything pretty well, sometimes even from herself. Always a mask in her face, in her tone. There were so many disguises she could pick from and people never even noticed she was wearing one at all. And now this French had come and she already felt naked. Too vulnerable for her liking; and for her own good.

"Oh, that's just Alexia being Alexia," Noah chuckled, gesturing towards the seat across from them. After being murdered by her eyes, he smiled innocently at her and greeted Damien with a silent nod, which he failed to notice since his eyes were still stuck on her. Slowly, with a confidence she most definitely wasn't feeling, Alexia quirked one eyebrow up and smirked.

"Face it, Tiger," she said before his astonished eyes, "you just hit the Jackpot."

Damien's eyes narrowed dangerously at the same time Noah burst out laughing. "Admit it, you've always wanted to say that!"

"Maybe," Alexia shrugged. Instead of sitting down, Damien rested his hands on the table and leaned over it, into her. She felt invaded, lost in the space between their eyes.

"If I did, what's the prize?"

"You get to be on my good side. That is, if you don't do anything that pisses me off," her eyes were shooting daggers at him now, the smirk completely vanishing from her face. This guy had a way to turn her words against her that she did not like. "Believe me, you will not want to get on my bad side or see me pissed off."

He leaned back abruptly, and something within her chest, a thud in her heart, protested against his absence. Then he sat down, looked right into her. Now the sky inside of her was opening and lightning was peeking through; she felt electrocuted, betrayed by her own thoughts. She needed to stay away from him if she didn't want more of her barriers falling down.

"I had heard this house had quite the reputation, and I was wondering where it came from," he commented, while everyone else at their table forgot about the Sorting and decided to watch their quarrel instead. His eyes were infiltrating hers, slithering in like a burglar in the night. That's how she felt, like he was stealing something from her. "I don't think it's from you, though, because you seem like the kind of snake that has shed its skin so many times you don't even know who you are anymore."

Alexia gritted her teeth harshly, her fists clenching on her lap.

"What do you think you're doing? It's not very wise of you to come into someone else's house and insult the host."

He shrugged. "Call it authority issues. I never liked people who think they're more than everyone else and that the rest of the world owes them something just because inside they're lacking everything. I don't like people who think power comes from fear, who act like they own the place just because others are too scared to stand up to them. You're the ruler, here, right? Well, face it, chérie. I'm the opposition."

"I never said I was a ruler," Alexia retorted, feeling herself losing the battle.

"But that's what they call you around here, no?" He asked, his voice a mix of raspiness and doom underneath the lure of his French accent. If there was a voice under the definition of temptation in the dictionary, it was his. "The Slytherin Ruler?"

"Which is a title I clearly didn't give myself. How did you know of that?"

"I heard some things. Besides," he drummed his fingers on the table, not caring about how everyone else followed their conversation, "I can recognize a King when I see one." He paused, and Alexia saw the menace lying beneath his charm, the perils. This guy was dangerous waters. And Alexia felt like she had just dived deep into them. "We, the French, don't like them very much."

"You're free to do a revolution if you want, chéri," Alexia smiled, but it was a smile that could cut as deep as a knife. "Just make sure you don't end up dying from it."

"Well, some causes are worth dying for, you just have to know which ones, don't you agree?" There was an underlying hazard to his nonchalance, Alexia could sense it. More than that, she could feel herself attracted to it.

"I wouldn't know," she said, her voice set in stone. "Most of the causes I'd be willing to fight for are dead."

"Then what makes you live now? What are you looking for?" He inquired. Everyone around them was stunned, but both Damien and Alexia were too engulfed in each other to notice. Ever since their eyes had met, they hadn't moved from one another.

"Right now? For you to leave me the fuck alone."

"Non... you're looking for a riddle to solve so you don't have to worry about your own."

"Why do I feel like that's a threat?" Alexia asked through gritted teeth, in that low tone that scared everyone away. Her eyes were creating fire, whereas his were as unfazed as ice.

"Not a threat, ma belle, just a friendly warning," he smiled, and his smile cut not like a knife, but like paper. Imperceptible to everyone but the person who felt it. "The only thing I like about rulers is to watch them fall."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Could you tell I was inspired? xD I actually quite liked Alexia and Damien's first interaction and I hope you did too! Hopefully the friction between them was palpable enough, because that's what I was aiming for. Anyway, let me know what you think ♥