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Chapter Text

Chapter One

Welcome Princess Azula

The Fire Nation, one year after the Hundred Year War.

The sounds of the festival resonated through the crispy air, the children running and laughing, adults dressed in traditional garb and the smell of food permeated the scene. It was the celebratory event of the Festival of Szeto, the fire nation commemorated the history and accomplishments of the previous fire avatar, Roku. The residents of the capital were dressed in red, flames alit, spectators gathering to watch live street performances and plays.

The capital was lively, a year after the end of the Hundred Year War and peace spread under the reign of the new Fire Lord Zuko.

Far off, from the lively celebrations and away from the capital, in one of the hidden towers within the fire nation, no sound of festivities echoed among the halls. It was a dreary and dark night, solemn guards patrolled the vicinity. The tower housed only one captive, dangerous criminal, guarded by seasoned and elite guards but tonight marked the night of the grand festival so the guards were lessened, security diminishing.

Princess Azula had waited and planned for a year.

Many thought her mind was no longer lucid but she was biding her time for the right moment. She had conquered the city of the formidable capital of the Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se. She was a seasoned war veteran and had a sound mind, many thought the princess was not patient but she waited, and waited and waited.

And tonight, she escaped.

xxx

Azula rushed through the woods, her pursuers hot on her heels. She was tired and weak, having spent an entire year in captivity. She ran into a deserted, debilitated village, hiding behind the desecrated landscape, consequences of the aftermath of the war.

She held her breath, as she ducked into a deserted dusty home, bracing herself against the derelict walls. The Yu Yen Archers were on her pursuit, she could hear the whispers of the wind as the arrows cut through the air, sailing through the open windows, piercing the walls, centimetres from where she was crouched.

Azula cursed as another wave of arrows followed through. She threw herself to the ground, and twisted, grabbing a hold of a fallen chair and hurling out the window, glass crashing at the impact. The distraction and debris gave her a moment of reprieve as she rushed out, throwing blue flames towards her assailants. The archers fell back as the fire drew closer to them.

The princess turned on her heel and continued running, out of breath and more fatigued than she was accustomed. Up ahead, she saw an eerie murky pond, water glistening in the moonlight. She drew closer, resting her hands on her knees as she took a few calming breaths. The air was still, the clouds gathered and the moon waned, the light flickering out as the looming darkness moved forward. It was difficult to gauge her surroundings entirely as the darkness spread. She reached the pond, kneeling and cupping cool water in her hands, splashing her face a few times.

Whispers began to call to her, enticing and promising. She looked around in confusion, unsure where the sounds were coming from.

They seemed to come from everywhere and yet...nowhere.

She looked down at her reflection and her eyes widened. Her reflection was smirking at her, the eyes were no longer the familiar gold but were eerie pitch black, unnatural and malevolent in nature.

Princess Azula, the whispers called, it was her own reflection speaking to her.

She saw the palest arms move out of the pond, pale as the moon, outstretched towards her. She felt a pull towards the spirit, as if another entity was pushing her towards it.

The pale hands grabbed onto her and yanked her forward. She felt herself falling, and falling and falling.

xxx

Azula opened her amber eyes and looked around. She was in an unfamiliar place. The air was thick and foggy, she looked around her and saw stone walls, stretched far, an opening to a cave a couple meters away from where she lay. Light filtered through the entrance of the cave, illuminating the damp space. She stood up warily, checking her body and seeing that she was uninjured.

There was a scratching sound coming from further into the cave, an insistent sound, followed by a low humming male voice. She walked towards the sound, unsure and cautious, seeking answers to her plight. There were etchings on the walls, strange depictions and paintings of unfamiliar battles and sacrificial rituals. She saw a mural of a woman, tied to a wooden cross, men and woman surrounding her angrily, their arms raised in supplication to the sky as the woman burnt, flames licking at her body mercilessly.

Azula paused as she saw a different painting, one of a grotesque creature, with many legs, a insect-like body, hovering menacingly over kneeling humans who were dressed in the red robes of the fire sages.

Something about that painting felt familiar. Like it was a part she had forgotten. But a part she knew. A history not known to all people.

"Welcome Princess Azula," an echoing voice spoke.

Azula steeled herself. She recognized the mural and the malevolent spirit with centipede parts. She turned around, face passive as she took in his monstrous form. He greeted her with a woman's face, a calm and soothing expression on his face. She knew to be cautious, she would not underestimate his abilities. 

"Koh, The face stealer." Azula said, voice careful.

The spirit continued to stare at her with a serene expression.

"You brought me here?" She questioned with a blank look.

Koh switched his face to that of a laughing monkey, grinning at her with sharp teeth. "Yes, I do meet mortals from time to time." The monkey released a delighted, animalistic cry.

He moved away from Azula and looked up to the mural of prostrating fire sages. "I have been watching you for many years Princess. I am quite fond of the Fire Nation." He hummed quietly. 

"You see, long ago mortals use to give me offerings and ask me for favors. Ambitious ones, your great grandfather was one, Fire Lord Sozin. He wanted unprecedented power, I quite liked him."

The spirit turned back to her, this time in the face of an owl. It blinked at her innocently and circled around her, the spirit's long body wrapping around her.

"You see princess, you have lots of potential like Sozin. I want to offer you a chance, a new beginning." He spoke softly, face changing yet again, this time into an old man.

"There is a different world, another place where you can rise, grow and conquer. I quite like watching you, you're very entertaining. Much like your great grandfather."

Azula held back her shivers, she did not like the idea of this spirit watching her but he was offering her a chance. A different place, a place where she can start new.

"Another world?" She questioned.

Koh turned his face back into the pale, woman. He led her farther into the cave, shadows flickering as he did. They went farther and farther down, deeper and deeper into the cave. There was a distant sounds of explosions and screams, it sounded muffled and very far away. They stopped in front of another mural, this one was very different. The people in it were unrecognizable, they were wearing long black robes and pointed wooden sticks towards their opponents, different rays of light releasing from the strange objects.

"This other world is in a time of war and strife as we speak. This is a world that will allow you to thrive. You have a name there. A destiny, if you may" He looked at her, smirking slightly. "You royals always loved your destinies."

Azula stared at the mural thoughtfully, ignoring the "destiny" comment. That was definitely more Zuko's forte than her. 

"Is it my only choice?"

"It is the only choice." The spirit spoke cryptically.

Azula remained silent, gazing up at the mural. The spirit turned to her.

"This is a world of magic, magic is the equivalent to bending in your world. When you go there, you will become a person of that world, you cannot come back here. I find that this world will not serve your purpose any longer, your father lost his bending, its over for him. But you-" he turned towards her, eyes dark and murky. "You're still very young, a shame to let you waste away. You can accomplish so much more."

Azula thought of her current predicament. She was wasting away, already a year of her life was wasted in the treatment facilities, locked away in the tower. She no longer had any allies or friends. Her closest allies had betrayed her, her father was imprisoned- a man with no bending, no power- he was useless. She had nothing and no one tethering her to this world. 

She didn't see a future in this world, she was a fugitive and no one would help her. She was hated by all four nations, if she went back she would be captured again, maybe even her bending would be taken away.

She couldn't allow it.

This was her second chance.

She turned to the spirit.

"At what cost? What is your end of the bargain?"

Koh laughed a sinister laugh. His laugh was quiet but it echoed through the cave ominously.

"Oh," he spoke softly, sounding delighted. "I will come to collect later, you will pay your dues but not for a long time."

Azula wanted to question him more but she felt that he liked being cryptic. She had to take this risk and deal with the collection of the debt later.

"Do you acquiesce Princess Azula?"

"Very well, you have a deal."

The spirit grinned and the cave was engulfed in sudden darkness. The last thing she heard was his laughter echoing as she felt herself fall, and fall and fall.

xxx

Britain, 1943.

Unspeakable Bones rushed into the heavily warded room, feeling the thrum of magic echoing through the walls as the alarm bells sounded. He stepped forward, eyes wide as he watched a dark swirl of energy emerge from a dark artifact that was enclosed in a warded glass case. The dark shape releasing from the artifact was spinning rapidly and enlarging in size.

It had a circular shape, purple at the edges, wispy like clouds of smoke.

He conjured a patronus in alarm to his supervisor's office, alerting him of the occurrence. He waved his wand hastily and conjured a number of safety shields to himself and the remainder of the artifacts in the room. He watched as the dark cloud-like shape clung to the ceiling, latching there and growing larger and larger. The air in the room felt thick, and he heard the sound of thunder coming from the center.

It appeared like a portal.

His supervisor, Unspeakable Ackerman, rushed in, he conjured a shield and fired a few diagnostic spells at the mass.

The mass was displaying lightening and strong winds.

Bones stared, strengthening his own shield with a few spells as the winds picked up, the thunder ominous.

"What happened?!" His supervisor demanded.

Bones looked to the older man and shrugged. "We had a few wards placed when we brought the artifact in months ago and the alarms went off, high levels of magic were recognized. Now its doing this. We did not get to identify the artifact's origins yet."

It was an odd artifact, it had a golden base, a circular form that appeared as a gate, divided into four parts, a symbol on each section. The symbols were faded and hard to discern. One was circular, with wave-like lines in the centre of the circle, a faded light blue tint to the symbol. The second was a faded triangular shape with a light green hue, the third appeared similar to a red flame and the final had three small swirls, its color was too faded. Around the shapes, there were encryptions of ancient runes and other symbols, unidentifiable to the team of Unspeakables. It was warded heavily with dark magic. 

They had their best team of experts on it but they yet had to unravel its secrets.

Until today.

Bones stared up in apprehension as the artifact opened up a portal and the portal continued to grow in size, releasing thunder and lightening and heavy winds. The wind was cold, and freezing. It felt unnatural. 

The Unspeakables watched as a figure emerged from the portal, falling forward with practiced ease, crouched onto the floor. They froze, watching as the artifact let out an inhumane screech and exploded into bits.

The portal vanished and the bits turned into dust, vanishing as if they never existed.

Bones froze as the figure stood unsteadily and opened their eyes. Bones found himself staring into molten gold.

XXX

Unspeakable Bones was an Unspeakable for over fifteen years. He had seen many strange things during his career but today was an anomaly he had never experienced.

He watched as his supervisor conversed with...the dimension traveler?

He was still wrapping his mind around what he heard. The other world sounded way worse than theirs, even if they were also at war.

A Hundred Years?! He couldn't imagine the misery of such a long war period.

Elemental Nations. Benders. A Hundred Year War. A spirit realm. An Avatar?

"So, there's absolutely no passage back to your world?" Ackerman asked, hands clasped in front of him as he regarded the girl.

They were in the privacy of his office, wards were erected along with silencing spells that activated once the doors were closed.

The girl shook her head, her hands were clasped neatly in her lap, sitting upright, with her back straight. She was exuding confidence and there was a sureness in the air around her. She did not appear plebeian despite her simple, white robes. She appeared quite comfortable despite catapulting into a new world, it was like she was expecting the outcome.

He knew for a fact that he could never be this casual if he was sent to another world.

Bones watched as Ackerman surveyed her quietly, his face pensive but eyes critical. He reached into his drawers and pulled out a file, along with a dark quill case. He opened the case and pulled out the contract-binding blood quill.

"Since there is no way back, you can stay in Britain but we will need to run a few tests to gauge your magical aptitude. You will need a new identity and you cannot share the existence of other worlds. We will erect permanent mind shields that prevent anyone from seeing your old world. Since you were a princess in your old world then you're the equivalent of a Pureblood in our world." 

Ackerman jotted down more things on the parchment.

"You will be taken to Gringotts and Diagon Alley by Unspeakable Bones, you will set up your bank account. You will need to attend magical schooling, since you're sixteen, you'll be starting in September at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with all the other sixth years. We will give you books on our history and customs so you can gauge the current political climate and past histories. We would like to however research more about your...magical fire affinity so we will meet with you during the holidays and summer."

Ackerman waved his wand at the shelves in his office, a thick tome came sailing towards him. He placed it on the table and opened it, surveying the pages quickly. He pointed a thin finger to the family genealogy. "We will ask Gringotts to fake a record of ancient ancestry for you, preferably an old family that died out. If you pay them well enough, they can falsify information for you."  He closed the tome, and gazed down at the contract he drafted.

Unspeakable Ackerman passed the binding contract to the teenager, telling her to sign her name. The girl looked over the contract, reading it carefully. She took the blood quill and signed her name.

"Outside this room, you will be a normal citizen of Britain. We will have you take an Unspeakable vow to ensure you cannot speak of your old world. It is similar to the unbreakable vow except they can be removed by the castor. You are not at the risk of dying from this vow but you will find that you cannot actually speak of your other world, you will simply be unable too. Only the occupants of this room will know the truth about your circumstances. Bones and I will also undertake the vows."

Bones took a steadying breath as he was handed a slip of instructions by his supervisor. It had hotel information and further instructions to carry out.

"I will write to the Hogwarts headmaster after we settle everything. The school year is in one month and a half, that gives you little time to acclimate but we will work on it. For now, Bones will take you to the bank and show you to your hotel accommodations."

Ackerman raised his wand and transfigured robes onto the girl and she stood up, appearing like a normal magical teenager. Bones left the office, the teenager walking beside him, her arms were crossed behind her at ease, her head surveying her surroundings curiously.

xxx

Azula watched, smirking in delight as she took in the sights of the creatures around her. They were vicious looking beings, holding weapons in their hands, eyeing the patrons in suspicion and distrust. She liked them already. They reminded her of ruthless Fire Nation soldiers from the war.

They followed a goblin who led them to a guarded office. The goblin knocked, speaking in unfamiliar tongue. The door opened and they were ushered in, there was an older looking goblin, sitting behind a large desk.

He sneered at them.

"What clandestine business do you wish to conduct today, Unspeakable?"

Azula watched as the man next to her straightened, handing the goblin a parchment. The goblin sneered and opened it, eyes widening briefly. His dark, beady eyes stared at the fire bender contemplatively.

He motioned for them to sit down. The goblin pulled out a thick dagger, placing a blank parchment on the table.

"Three drops of blood on the parchment." He explained, handing Azula the dagger.

The princess pursued her lips in annoyance. What is up with these people and blood?

She sliced her hand and held it above the parchment. Drawing away after three drops, she allowed the Unspeakable to heal her cut with his wand.

She sat back and the goblin picked up the parchment, his eyes widening as he stared down at the words.

"Well...it appears you already have an identity, Heir Azula Eichiro."

He handed her the parchment and she surveyed it in confusion.

Full name: Azula Sozin Eichiro.

Heir of Ancient and Noble House of Eichiro.

Parentage

Mother: Ursa Sozin Eichiro (deceased).

Father: Ozai Sozin Eichiro (deceased).

Magical Affinity

Fire Bending

Lightening Bending.

Vaults

Vault 427. Vault 433. Vault 456.

Total Wealth: xxx.

"It appears you have the blood of the most elusive and ancient Eichiro house. They are old pure-bloods from Japan who migrated to Britain, it was believed that they died out long ago, no descendants were known."

"What do you mean elusive?" She asked.

How is this possible? Is this the doing of Koh?

She recalled his mystifying words. You have a name there. A destiny, if you may. 

She knew her parents couldn't exist in this world and was quite glad to see them both deceased. She didn't want any interferences this time. 

The goblin sneered.

"They existed for a long time but kept to the shadows, no one even knew what they looked like, except that they had golden eyes." The goblin gazed at her bright eyes thoughtfully. 

"They perished many centuries ago. The fact that you have their blood...is unprecedented. We use old magic for this, blood magic. You have old blood and with old blood comes great power."

Azula took a moment to process this information.

With old blood comes great power.

She smiled slowly. This was her second chance. She would seize it.

xxx

Time passed quickly for the fire-bender, they visited many shops, she was able to make purchases for herself, buying the school books she required, along with robes and a wand. She picked high quality robes because she was a high quality person.

She spent her mornings training her magic with Unspeakable Bones and spent her evenings in her hotel lodgings, reading all the books she can on the Wizarding and Muggle World, within Britain and outside Britain. She wanted to acquire all forms of knowledge of this world. She refused to be ignorant, knowledge was power. She found that she had a high level of magical aptitude and casting spells was not difficult for her, it appeared that her status as a prodigy carried on into her new life. She studied about the Ancient house of Eichiro but could not find enough information.

They were people who operated in the shadows, the name was whispered centuries ago but no one knew what they did and what they stood for. The lack of information was both frustrating and relieving. Frustrating because she was curious, they seemed like complete enigmas, vanishing without anyone none the wiser. Relieving because since she was the last descendent, she got to decide how she wanted to play out her role of Heir.

The Unspeakables gave her a background story, she was travelling with her parents on a covert family business trip in Europe and they were attacked by unknown wizards. Her parents perished and she survived, coming to Britain to start fresh. Any difference in her customs and speech was because of her Japanese upbringing. She would maintain a mysterious and elusive persona, true to her family name. She found herself excited to start her education, she was hardly surrounded by people her age, she was confident that she would excel in whatever she set her mind too but a part of her was apprehensive. She could not speak of her other world experiences because of an Unspeakable vow and no one could view her memories because of the placed impenetrable mind shields but she still had to be careful.

She was in a new world and there was only so much she can learn from books. Azula closed her book on Pure-blood customs and mannerisms. She stretched her arms above her head and eyed her stack of parchments. She picked up her acceptance letter from Hogwarts and smiled in anticipation.

xxx

Deputy Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore stared at Headmaster Armando Dippet as the older man relayed information regarding a transfer student joining them this year. Dumbledore sighed and sipped his tea. The information he provided was very little to go off of and the start of the term was tomorrow. Had he gotten the information earlier, he could've looked more into the new student just to be safe.

After the events of last year...the murder of a Muggle-born student and suspension of a Gryffindor, the professor couldn't help but feel apprehensive of the idea of a new student, transferring into sixth year.

Also an Eichiro?

Descendants from that family line have not been seen in a very long time, he thought they left Britain centuries ago.

What brought them back?

He hoped the student would at least be a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, that way he would feel more comfortable and assured.

He certainly did not need another troublesome Slytherin.

Tom was enough.

He sighed heavily.

Tom was a prefect this year.

He wondered what trouble awaited him.

XXX

Azula ignored the loud, innumerable sound around her as she read through her sixth year charms textbook. She occupied a train compartment by herself adding repelling and notice-me-not spells on the door, not wanting to deal with any students yet. She skimmed through the text, staring at the diagrams of wand movements, her hand mimicking the image as she practicing casting multiple different spells. She was glad for her large magical aptitude and the rigorous training she had with the Unspeakables.

Bones was wary of her in the beginning but quickly admired her sound mind and abilities. She wasn't like other sixteen year olds who did not appreciate learning. She learned everything eagerly, taking in years of magical knowledge in a short time.

The whistle sounded as the train took off. She closed her book and took out her journal, writing out plans for the year. The writing on her page disappeared as she wrote it down. Her journal was charmed and a gift from Unspeakable Bones, wishing her good luck on her educational journey. It was charmed to make the words disappear in the journal, they could only be activated by her magical signature.

Azula huffed in annoyance at the loud noises and threw a silencing spell at the door, engulfing the room in silence.

Children. So irksome.

She lost herself to reflective writing, she couldn't hear anything happening outside, ignoring the world around her.

She looked up when she noticed shadows enter her compartment. Someone had cancelled the spells she put on the door and entered. She surveyed the student, he was tall and lean, he had dark hair, perfectly styled with a curl falling gracefully onto his forehead. He had dark brown eyes and he gazed at her curiously, lips drawn into a small, amiable smile. He was very handsome, he reminded her of those overly attractive men Ty Lee gushed about. Azula noticed the green insignia on his robes, he was followed in by two other boys.

One was blond and pale, he was arguing, appearing vexed with the other boy who had dark, shaggy hair, and smirked at him lazily in response. They were also attractive but their leader certainly held the attention of the crowds, of that she was sure.

That or the people in this world were overly attractive.

"Hello, we usually occupy this compartment." The one who stepped in first spoke. His voice was soft but sure. He walked with purpose, exuding complete confidence and sophistication.

Azula stared back at him, amber eyes narrowing. She would not be kicked out of this compartment, if that was what he alluding too.

He took a seat confidently across from her and his two friends joined him, flanked on each side, looking at her curiously.

She stared back blankly. The blond assessed her up and down, his eyes narrowing.

"You have no house insignia." He noted, taking in her plain black robes.

Azula had already changed, not wanting to risk changing later when there was no guarantee she would have the compartment to herself.

"I'm new," she said.

"Certainly not a first year." The blond commented.

"Sixth." She said haughtily.

The blond sniffed at her, his nose in the air. Azula glared back at him. She wanted to roast him for his insolence. She is...well...was a princess. That disrespect. She sighed inwardly, she would have to get use to being treated like a normal human being.

How disgusting, she thought with an inward sneer. Normal was so revolting a concept and so...plebeian.

"What's your name?" The other asked.

Azula turned her gaze to him, he had shaggy black hair that fell into wavy, long curls that ended at his shoulders. He had steely grey eyes, he was assessing her to see if she was worth something. She recognized that look, she had the same look when she surveyed men she commanded on the battlefield. She was quick to weed out the cowards and weaklings.

She was pleased to see that the students did that here. They weren't as lax as she expected and she was appreciative. She didn't want to associate with good-for-nothings like her brother but people of ambition, of power and political ties. She wondered if any of the three teenagers in the room held power in society. She could tell the blond was raised like a prince. His arrogant air and the haughtiness he exuded as he stared down at her reminded him of the way her father always stared at her brother.

In utter disdain.

The one with the grey eyes appeared to be lounging lazily on the seat but she could assess a great intelligence behind his grey eyes, he was critical of everything in the room but his laid back nature showed a carelessness.

"Azula Eichiro," she responded after a quiet moment.

The blond's eyes widened. "Wait...Eichiro? As in the Japanese pure-bloods? No way!"

His eyes lit up in excitement and wonder. He suddenly appeared much more approachable.

And young.

"I see it," the raven hair spoke, grey eyes assessing her face.

"The golden eyes are a trait of theirs. I heard they died out though..." he trailed, looking at her curiously. He leaned forward. "That's...not a charm right?" He turned to the other boy who was watching the exchange curious but silent.

Azula scoffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. As if she would fake her eye color. They were the characteristic of Fire Nation royalty. She lifted her wand and waved at her face fluidly.

"Finite Incantatem."

Nothing happened to her eyes.

They remained unchanged. The blond nodded, appearing approving. He reached out a hand.

"Abraxas Malfoy," he introduced.

Azula shook his large hand, tucking her journal under her arm. The other boy waved lazily from where he lounged, receiving a scowl from the blond boy.

"Altair Lestrange," he greeted with a lazy drawl.

The boy in the center stood up, looking down at his watch briefly. He turned to her with a polite smile and gave her a nod.

"I hope you like Hogwarts Ms.Eichiro." He said, then proceeded to leave the compartment.

Silence followed for a few moments.

"That's Tom Riddle," Abraxas explained, clearing his throat. "He's a Prefect this year so he has the meeting."

Azula nodded and turned back to her journal, tucking it away in her trunk and taking out her History of Magic book. She proceeded to read for the rest of the ride, a few other students entered the compartment but she erected a silencing spell around her and ignored her surroundings, focused on the dry yet intriguing reading. History for her was always a fascinating subject.

xxx

Azula joined a carriage driven by strange skeletal horses. There were a few girls in her carriage wearing black robes with the yellow insignia. She noticed the house symbol and nodded in greeting as they smiled at her warm and welcoming.

She proceeded to look out the window, ignoring the chatter.

Azula stared up at the castle in wonder, it was truly magnificent. She had seen many sights in her life, she had seen the great impenetrable walls at Earth Kingdom, the elevated and mystical Air Temples of the Air nomads, the iron fortresses at the Fire Nation, and the icy strongholds of the Water Tribe but this was something else entirely.

The castle itself felt alive.

The ride was a short one and the students bustled out, making their way inside. She stopped as an older man approached her. She looked at the old man with the horribly colored robes. If she was a lesser person and not former royalty, she would’ve gagged at the sight.

"Ms.Eichiro. Welcome, I am Deputy Headmaster and Professor of Transfiguration Albus Dumbledore. The first years will be sorted but we will sort you first to save time." He explained, his blue eyes twinkling as he offered her a kind smile. 

xxx

Azula felt the curious gaze of the assembled students who did not know her, which contained most of the student body. She nodded and followed the Professor inside, along with the tiny first years who appeared nervous.

The other students were already seated in their respective houses. They eyed her curiously and whispered as they laid eyes on her. She had worn her long, silky black hair down, a strand tucked behind her ear. She remembered Ty Lee telling her that she looked much more attractive and approachable with her hair open, flowing beautifully down her back, long strands curling at the bottom. Her skin was fair and pale, free of blemishes and she always irked other girls by achieving that appearance naturally, without spending hours at the spa.

She was royalty, of course she was more bewitching than your plebeian commoner. She recalled when she was shopping around Diagon Alley with Bones that some people stopped and stared at her. She questioned the Unspeakable about that strange behaviour.

Was it a British thing to eye strangers so openly?

Bones had laughed and told her that they were admiring her oriental beauty. They were not accustomed to many Japanese wizards in Britain. He shared that her eye color was captivating and uncommon. No British wizard was known to have golden, amber eyes. But he reassured her despite her eye color being uncommon, people weren't staring in alarm but in awe and perhaps envy. It was a captivating color that couldn't be achieved by magical means.

Professor Dumbledore stepped foward, clapping his hands a few times as the noise died down.

“Welcome to another year of festivities and hard work,” the man began as the students quieted down, the Gryffindor listening to him with rapt attention as the snakes eyed him in concealed distaste, feigning interest.

“We have a transfer student to join us this year. We will carry out the sorting and I ask everyone to be respectful to the student regardless of the house they are sorted in.” The man paused and glanced meaningfully at the Slytherin table.

The deputy headmaster stepped aside, placing an old, frayed hat on a conjured chair at the front of Great Hall.

“Students, please welcome sixth year Ms. Azula Eichiro.”

The dark haired girl walked forward towards the ancient hat. Her back straight as she strolled in, like she owned the place, regal in posture and stance. She walked steadily to the chair, head lifted high- her movement speaking of years of pureblood training- and took a seat. Her eyes drifted as she surveyed the students, with calculating eyes. She almost scoffed at what she saw at some tables.

Children, the lot of them.

The professor placed the hat on her head. She stiffened when she heard a voice in her head.

What is this? You’re not from here.

No, and I cannot return.

Well, that is most intriguing. Interesting, royalty. It’s been years since I sorted legitimate royalty. A prodigy, you conquered nations at such a young age. You were at war for many years, with yourself and others.

I see ambition, endless ambition, and oh great darkness. You’re ruthless. 

Get this over with, hat.

The hat chuckled in mirth.

Now now, its been a while since I sorted another world traveler. I see many strange things as a sentient hat. Your magic is great, bending? Ah fire, very destructive.

Why are you here princess?

Azula heard the students shuffling, wondering why it was taking a while.

To live, to be free, she answered honestly.

Ah yes, to live. A feat not many achieve, many just exist, but to truly live, that's another thing entirely.

Let’s see... now you’re certainly not a Hufflepuff, you've been betrayed by those closest to you, you have loyalty only to yourself and you can longer put your trust in others.

Gryffindor would do you no good. You’re a strategist, I see a seasoned general who waits and plans carefully. That house would not cultivate your skills nor would you find suitable allies. I fear that you’d bring harm to the Lions if I send you there.

Now Ravenclaw seems good. You’re knowledgeable yes but you covet power above all else, you always have, young conqueror.

Yes, power, ambition and the need to prove yourself, you remind me greatly of another. Yes, you’ll do well there. There you’ll find allies and learn to harness your powers.

I welcome you to our world Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.

Now better be…SLYTHERIN!

XXX

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

First Week at Hogwarts

Everything was starkly different than Azula was accustomed too. The food was too oily and flavours were very strong. The pumpkin juice was too sweet and the desserts were subpar. She noticed that outside the Slytherin house, students operated differently. They were more lax and approachable. She noticed that the house of snakes kept among themselves, they did not intermingle with other houses and they had a hostile relationship with the house of Gryffindor.

The Gryffindor's were a rowdy, boisterous bunch. They were the type to be heard before they were seen. They seemed very uncouth to her, running amok the castle, tumbling and fumbling about. The Hufflepuffs were very approachable and friendly, they always seemed to be smiling, easily excitable and earnest. She wondered if Ty Lee would've been a Hufflepuff. She found that she quite liked the ravens. The Ravenclaws were studious, stern and disinterested in matters outside their own, their aloof manner reminded her of Mae. She could see the girl as a Raven, indifferent to everything around outside her own interests.

Azula held back a sigh, wondering how long it would take for her to acclimatize entirely. She peered down at the schedule in her hand as the female student next to her explained the rules and expectations of the great house of Slytherin, greatest of all Hogwarts four.

As Slytherins, they had to stick together and appear united, any issues had to solved within the walls of the common room. The student leading the way through the dungeons was friendly enough. Perhaps a little too friendly for a snake. She was a thin blonde girl with curly locks that fell to her waist and bright blue eyes. Her features were delicate and she was a dainty girl. She was introduced to the other girls in sixth year as they left to the dungeon. There were a total of six girls, they were all Pure-bloods, from old and ancient families.

"The password changes on a bi-weekly basis. It will be posted on the boards inside the common room," Lyra Greengrass explained as they entered the common room.

It was still early in the evening and they had the rest of the night to explain rules, professors and classes. Azula followed her into the common room, gazing around appreciatively. It was spacious and impeccably clean. The windows displayed the Black Lake and she could see strange sea creatures milling about, a large tentacle waving by. The engravings of the wall were serpentine, a mixture of silver and green. Some students were lounging around, catching up with each other on the the spacious couches. Greengrass showed her the bulletin board, explaining the announcements posted, professor notices, requests for studying groups and password updates.

The doors to the common room opened and the fire bender turned at the noise. The group of first years were ushered in by a male prefect, his face was somewhat familiar.

She noticed the boy from the train as he led the students inside with an amiable smile as they stared around in awe.

Azula turned away as the girls called to her, leading her up the stairs to their shared dormitory. Her trunk was at the foot of her bed, the room was neat and orderly. The girls each had their own space and the fire bender had her bed between Greengrass and Parkinson.

Her roommates were a very diverse bunch.

Walburga Black was a very beautiful woman, with high cheekbones and long black curls. She was curvy and looked every bit like the Pure-blood elitist, sneering at the little first years as she passed by them to the dormitory. She was very opinionated and had steely grey eyes that were critical and judgemental.

Halley Bulstrode was a tall quiet female, she had light hair and dark brown eyes. She was unpacking her books from her trunk as the girls chatted around her. She perched herself on the bed, studying her books, writing neatly in a journal and occasionally peering up to watch her friends around her, she was observant and studious.

Ascella Rosier was very beautiful, she was shapely and had icy blue eyes, she was found smirking and instigating arguments with Walburga. She shared that she had a twin brother their same year, a Cassius Rosier-equally as crafty and infuriating.

Lyra Greengrass was approachable, helpful and very diplomatic. She was mediating between Black and Rosier as they traded insults, acting as a buffer as Walburga went red in the face, beginning to screech as Ascella smirked back in response, undeterred by the yelling, appearing very pleased with herself.

Astra Parkinson had dark short hair, cropped to her chin and styled in a dignified way.  She had sharp features, a haughty eyebrow perpetually raised in condescension. She observed everything with great amusement, it appeared that everything entertained her. She was sociable and loved spreading gossip, she was quick to ask Azula a bunch of personal questions at dinner and wasn't easily deterred, eyes glinting wickedly, a thin smirk on her lips.

Azula found herself wanting to throttle Parkinson throughout the evening but she couldn't. It wouldn't do to hurt a roommate on her first day so she took to ignoring the girl's incessant questioning. The fire bender glared as the raven-haired girl took a seat on her bed, crossing her long legs, she picked up Azula's schedule and hummed.

"Oh!" She cried out, placing a manicured hand on her lips. "You're taking Defence?" She arched a dark eyebrow questioningly.

"What?! Why would you take that brutish class? No ladies takes that class." Walpurga said, coming over and looking at Azula's schedule.

The fire-bender proceeded to follow Bullstrode's example and set her books out, organizing them for her classes tomorrow.

"Some people would appreciate not having someone go through their stuff on their first day," Greengrass lectured as she crossed her arms, looking at both girls disapprovingly.

She turned to Azula with a smile. "Please excuse them, they don't know what privacy is."

Parkinson scoffed, leaving Azula's bed to lay lazily on hers.

Azula turned to Walburga with a frown. "What do you mean no ladies take defence?" She inquired. "How do you protect yourselves then?"

Walburga handed back her schedule, a hand on her hip. She twirled a dark lock in her finger and waved her other hand around airily. "You let the men do all fighting. I let Orion do all the labour work. As a lady, I refuse to move around sweating and heaving in a duel."

Ascella scoffed. "Orion? Sure, if he can stay awake long enough to cast a spell."

Walburga sneered at her. "He is a strong duelist! When he wants to get serious!" She hissed.

Azula looked on in confusion. Greengrass smiled at her, explaining that Orion was Walburga's betrothed, also another sixth year, a cousin of Walburga and Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. The fire bender took a seat on her bed and listened to the chatter around her.

She had so much to learn.

It was all new and a bit overwhelming. There was so much to information to absorb. She was somewhat glad she had Slytherin's resident gossiper as her roommate, that was an easy way to gather information about the student body.

It seemed that Wizarding Britain was a gendered society. Duelling as a female was not appreciated among respected Pure-bloods, it was perceived as shocking and hardly befitting a lady's position in society. But Azula refused to hide away and not engage in duels. She was a fighter and it was in her blood. She had spent years, long nights and days, sparing and bending trying to gain the approval of her father. She wouldn't allow the standards of this world to take that away from her.

She refused to allow herself to hide behind a man for protection. She would protect herself and rely on her own strength.

xxx

The sixth year girls walked to their shared class of charms. Azula shared that class with Ascella Rosier, Lyra Greengrass, and Halley Bulstrode.

Bulstrode had her nose in a large tome, ignoring the chatter around her. Azula was impressed at her ability to navigate the halls without removing her eyes from the text.

“We have this class with the ravens, they’re a tolerable bunch,” Ascella explained as they strode forward.

“They’re very academically well-rounded,” Lyra added with a smile as they joined the waiting students.

Azula gazed around at her surroundings. There were other Slytherin sixth years waiting around along with Ravenclaw students who debated academic topics in the week’s introductory readings. A few ravens saw them and called out to Bulstrode, an esteemed academic amoung her peers. She waved at them mutely without looking up from her book.

Ascella rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how you got sorted in Slytherin Halley.”

“As much as I enjoy academic debate, I also enjoy the quiet. I don’t have the patience to be in that house,” the blonde countered softly.

Ascella arched an eyebrow, smirking slowly. “I bet you didn’t anticipate Walburga happening.”

Bullstrode sighed heavily in grievance, shutting her book as the professor came along.

Professor Flitwick was a small man, he smiled brightly at the gathered students and walked inside. The students followed into the brightly lit classroom. 

The students divided themselves into two separate rows, the Ravens on one side and the Snakes on another.

The girls sat in the front of the class as the Slytherin boys took the seats in the back of the room. Azula sat with Ascella and Greengrass took her seat next to Bullstrode. They took out their books, quills and parchments.

The professor stood on a high stool, going through the attendance list.

He appeared delighted when he went over names of esteemed students like Malfoy and Riddle. Azula looked at Ascella when the professor called out another Rosier, a "Cassius Rosier".

Ascella inclined her head back. “My lovely twin,” she said, waving a hand at a boy with blonde locks and mischievous blue eyes who grinned back at her from a few seats back. He was sitting next to a dark haired boy who was sprawled out on his desk, face hidden in his arms.

“That’s Orion Black, he’s Walburga’s betrothed. Honestly he’s more asleep than he is awake.” The female Rosier explained with a smirk.

Azula raised an unimpressed eyebrow. She would’ve thought the future husband of Walburga would be a force to behold as the other girl’s mere presence commanded attention.

The fire bender recognized three others from the train.

The blond princely boy was sitting with the prefect student. He was sharing some grand summer tale, waving his hands around expressively, eyes bright in excitement. She recalled his name, he was Abraxas Malfoy.

The prefect had to be Tom Riddle. His hair was perfectly styled, that curl falling perfectly onto his smooth forehead. He was twirling his wand between long, pale fingers, listening to the blond’s tale, amusement present in the small tilt of his lips.

Lestrange was sitting behind the pair, his cheek resting on his palm, an expression of annoyance on his face. He was seated next to a dark brown haired boy with green eyes who was glaring at him vehemently, arms crossed in annoyance. Lestrange hissed something at him menacingly and the boy scowled meanly, opening his mouth to retort. She watched in amusement as Riddle gazed behind him inquisitively and they straightened up immediately, blinking innocently at the prefect as they pretended to sit together in perfect harmony.

She watched as Riddle spoke quietly, his voice a soft murmur, and the two boys nodded hesitantly, appearing chastised as Abraxas struggled to hold his laughter. As Riddle turned away from them, they resumed their scowling and rude gestures at one another.

Azula turned around at the sound of her name being called in attendance. She nodded politely at the professor who expressed his excitement in having her in his class. The students quieted down as class began, books opening and quills scratching on parchment.

XXX

Tom Riddle was seated in his designated spot at the Slytherin table. He was enjoying a nicely brewed cup of tea before the noise started to pick up in the Great Hall.  The first week of classes was reaching its end, and he was satisfied with his performance. Abraxas Malfoy was seated next to him, frowning at his runes homework, a quill twirling in his hand distractedly. The boy was ignoring his tea, as it began to cool down as he continued to frown at the large book.

He sighed heavily, closing his book and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "It's only the first week!" He cried out, throwing his arms up dramatically.

He took hold of his cup of tea and frowned. "Now my tea is cold."

Tom arched an unimpressed eyebrow at the boy, knowing he was fully capable of casting a simple heating charm. The boy muttered under his breath, frowning petulantly and heated his cup as the students began trickling in. 

Orion Black was sprawled out across from them, face hidden in his arms, sound asleep. Tom was impressed early on at the boy's ability to make any place a sleeping place. It was rare to see Orion with his eyes open attentively, he usually operated with one, silver eye opened lazily.

"Good evening friends!" A cheerful voice called as the owner of the voice took a seat next to Orion.

Cassius Rosier grinned at his friends, poking Black incessantly, trying to rouse him from his slumber. Rosier always enjoyed attempting to wake the slumbering teen but yet had to succeed. He pouted in annoyance, huffing at the raven-haired boy and turned to Riddle and Abraxas, blue eyes bright and shining, an easy grin taking over his youthful features.

"Guess what!" He said, voice gleeful.

"Why. Are. You." Abraxas hissed, eyebrows furrowed, jabbing a long finger at Cassius vindictively "So. Bloody. Happy?!" His voice raised a few octaves higher in frustration.

Cassius only grinned wider at the offended blond, swatting his hand away as the other hissed and held it to his chest with a glare.

"Lestrange has detention! And its only the first week!" Cassius shared excitedly.

Tom sighed heavily, rubbing his fingers into his temple wearily. Abraxas made a vague sound of distress as he glared at Rosier.

"But how?!" Abraxas cried out, slamming his tea cup down harshly. "That bloody moron lost us enough points last year!" He wailed.

Riddle lifted a hand. "Cease Abraxas."

Abraxas bit down on his lip and fumed silently as Cassius chuckled in utter delight. The blond made another noise as the offender- Altair Lestrange- strolled in lazily, entering the Great Hall with a satisfied smirk as Perseus Avery stormed after him, face livid.

"Hello ladies," Lestrange greeted, hopping into the vacant seat on Riddle's left side. He proceeded to grab the pumpkin juice pitcher and filled his goblet, lifting it up in a toast to the on-coming Avery.

Avery took a seat, cursing up a storm. He grabbed a plate of potatoes and filled his plate generously, hissing continuously under his breath, muttering death threats and bodily dismemberment.

"What happened?" Abraxas asked, filling his own plate, pushing his Runes book to the side.

"Oh you know, sending students to the infirmary, terrorizing Gryffindorks, the usual." Lestrange drawled.

"Although..." He paused, smirking up at the other boy. "Avery decided to display great heroism, sacrifice and chivalry all in one." He said, mockingly.

Avery slammed his goblet down, enraged. "I did not you dick!" He yelled. "You used me as your shield!" He hissed accusingly, aiming a harsh kick under the table.

Cassius shrieked in delighted laughter, his blonde curls falling into his eyes as his shoulders shook in wicked glee.

Orion groaned at all the noise, an arm reaching out and slapping Cassius on the arm. The boy proceeded to push the other in offence.

"Wake up, you git!" Cassius cried out, shaking Orion.

"Hey, it was self-defence," Lestrange said, blinking innocently at Avery who went red in the face, and he grabbed his fork threateningly.

"Defence?!" His voice cracked. "Defence is conjuring a shield, not grabbing the person next to you and using them as the shield!" He yelled, shaking the fork angrily, mashed potatoes dropping onto the table messily as he seethed.

"Hey! Professor Merrythought always told us to use our surroundings to our advantage." Lestrange argued, continuing to blink innocently as Avery began shaking in rage. "I was utilizing my surroundings."

"I will hex you!" Avery hissed. "I will hex you ugly Lestrange!"

Lestrange grinned shark-like. "Oh? Come at me princess."

Cassius yelped in shock as Orion whipped his head up in annoyance, one silver eye narrowed dangerously.

"Shut up!" He hissed, voice thick with disuse.

"Rude," Cassius sniffed, raising his nose, mimicking Abraxas.

"You guys are ridiculously loud," a voice cut in, sounding annoyed and vexed.

Riddle sipped his tea and smiled at the his taller friend.

"Good evening Calum," he greeted.

The other boy was taller than Riddle by a head, he was much broader than the rest of the boys and he was often scowling. He had a very intimidating appearance. He had dark black hair, falling straight into darker eyes. He was a seventh year but spent lots of time with the group of sixth years.

Calum Mulciber nodded at Riddle in greeting then turned a dark glare at the other boys occupying the table. "Avery." The dark haired boy began, voice dangerous and low.

"Shut. Up."

Avery whirled around, glaring at Calum.

"Put. The. Fork. Down." The boy seethed through gritted teeth.

Avery glared at him in disgust, stabbing his fork into his roasted steak vindictively.

"Black." Mulciber turned his glare to the other boy, arms crossed over his broad chest. He was a beater on the Quidditch team and it showed.

"Sleep."

The Black Heir conceded without complaint and Mulciber sighed in relief, taking a seat next to Cassius who was pouting, sad that the show ended.

"I was about to calm them down," Abraxas said petulantly, arms crossed over his chest, as he glared at Mulciber. Mulciber grunted in response, drinking from his goblet.

Riddle smiled in amusement as Abraxas huffed at being ignored and turned to the prefect leader, regaling him with tales of his summer endeavours. Lestrange groaned, having heard the story enough times.

"And then I almost fell off my broom!" Abraxas cried out, face and gestures animated.

"Too bad you didn't," Avery muttered under his breath. He did this thing where he muttered softly like he didn't want to be heard but made sure he was heard.

Abraxas glared at him in offence, opening his mouth to retort but freezing when he felt Mulciber's glare. He closed his mouth and sneered at the Quidditch player.

"Anyways," the blond continued dramatically, "My life was almost forfeited, I was so high up and-"

"One can dream," another voice muttered.

"Bloody hell! Can't a man finish a story here?!" Abraxas hissed.

"It was Avery." Lestrange pointed a finger accusingly.

"What?! I was eating!"

"Actually...the first time was Avery, the second time was Lestrange." Cassius noted helpfully.

"You beast!" Avery hissed.

"Avery. Do not start up again." Mulciber hissed angrily.

"No! Lestrange, first I get hexed because of this moron! And now this! You motherfu-"

"I'm innocent, why are you persecuting me like this?" Lestrange kept blinking innocently. He put a hand over his heart in shock. "You wound me, Avery. After all these years of friendship-"

"We're not friends you git!"

"Ouch," Cassius looked at Lestrange pityingly.

"Avery." Mulciber said warningly, exuding a dangerous aura, patience wearing thin.

"Tom, do something!" Abraxas whined, turning to his friend in helplessness.

Riddle placed his cup of tea down slowly, gazing at his friends. "Avery," he called out softly. Avery held back from hexing Lestrange and turned to Riddle, shrinking into himself like a chastised child.

"Lestrange, do not use Avery as a shield," Riddle ordered with a exasperated sigh, watching as Lestrange grumbled, arms crossed in annoyance. He stared at him steadily until he relented, uncrossing his arms as the silence stretched.

"Fine," the raven haired grumbled.

The boys settled down, Black slept on, he continued to ignore the incessant poking of Cassius.

"You need to regulate yourself more appropriately Avery," Riddle spoke. "And Lestrange, you need to stop provoking him every second my back is turned."

The boys grumbled their assent. Abraxas relaxed in his seat and continued to eat his dinner, now that the crisis was averted. Cassius continued pouting as the drama ended, he grinned as Riddle turned his gaze to him.

"How many points did we lose because of Lestrange?"

"Oh!" Cassius sounded so pleased. "We lost 20 points! He sent two Gryffs to the infirmary. Dumbles was not happy!" He laughed a bright laugh.

Lestrange grinned wickedly as Riddle smiled, pleased. The idea of an upset Dumbledore always pleased him immensely.

"By the way, the new student," Avery began as he took a sip of his drink.

He laid his tanned arms on the table and cocked his head the side, curly locks falling over his eyes. He was a handsome teen, he was tanner than the rest of the boys-spending lots of his time outdoors, playing Quidditch as Slytherin's seeker. He was tall with a lean frame. His hair was a light brown, thick and curled around his ears. He had long thick lashes that fell over deep meridian eyes. Riddle knew if Avery did not spend most of his time losing his mind over Lestrange's provocations, he would have more girls fanning over him. But his hot temper and scowling face scared the faint of the heart. As Avery sat there, appearing thoughtful, his attractive features were much more noticeable.

"Oh Eichiro! She's dorm mates with my Ascella!" Cassius shared happily, waving excitedly at his sister and her friends as the girls entered the Great Hall.

Riddle watched in amusement as Walburga's eyes sought out the other Black and narrowed in distaste at seeing him sleeping.

Avery inclined his head, looking over at the girls, his eyes falling on the transfer student. She was glaring haughtily in annoyance, amber eyes narrowed at Parkinson who was smirking at her, an eyebrow arched in challenge. The Slytherin prefect watched as Greengrass stepped forcibly between the girls, placing a hand on both their shoulders. She tucked her arm in each of their arms and dragged them to the Slytherin table. They were followed by Bulstrode who had her nose in a tome, her face obscured by the book.

The girls sat a few feet away from them.

Ascella made her way over to Cassius and grinned at him. He stood up excitedly.

"Dearest sister!" He greeted, giving her a big hug. "How's your new friend?" He asked as she took a seat next to him.

Ascella flipped her golden locks over her shoulder and smirked. "Oh? Interested already brother dearest? There's already a few morons in Gryffindor who tried talking to her in Divination."

"You're taking Divination this year?" Abraxas gasped in offence, grey eyes widening in horror. "Why?!"

Ascella shrugged. "Easy O." She grabbed a carrot off her brother's plate and popped it into her mouth. She stared at her twin with intelligent eyes. He grinned at her in response.

"I was asking for our dearest Avery here," Cassius said, blinking his big eyes oh-so-innocently.

Avery sputtered, a blush decorating his tan face. He waved his hands around in frantic denial as Lestrange wolf-whistled.

"Oh?" Ascella gasped, a manicured hand to her mouth in mock shock. "Dearest Avery, don't tell me your smitten, it's only been a few days."

"Dearest Avery is in love," Lestrange cooed, placing his chin in clasped hands, long lashes fluttering at him mockingly.

Avery turned an even brighter red. "N-no, I was just curious!" He hissed.

"A wise wizard once said it begins with curiosity and grows into more." Lestrange added thoughtfully.

"Oh? Which wizard are you quoting Altair?" Cassius inquired.

Riddle watched as the raven haired grinned. "Abraxas."

"What? I said that? Hmm, it does seem like I di-"

"Nah, I made that up."

"Altair! Why must you be so- Ah!" The blond threw his hands up in frustration as the others laughed.

Ascella rolled her eyes at the boys, they were always so much trouble, except Riddle and Mulciber and the sleeping Black. But then again, they were sixteen year old teenagers, one couldn't except them to be prim and proper at all times.

"All I can say about Azula Eichiro..." the female Rosier began, cutting off an argument she knew was about to start.

How Riddle dealt with these boys everyday was beyond her.

"She's Heir to her house, parents deceased. She's pretty proficient at spells and she is pretty tight lipped. She gets along with Greengrass and she can't stand Parkinson. Oh! And she's taking Defence!" She added with a clap.

Riddle looked at Ascella in interest. "Oh?"

There were no females in their defence class. Females preferred to take Household Studies where they learned how to be proper wives and ladies of the house.

Avery's meridian eyes widened at the news, leaning forward eagerly. Abraxas frowned, looking over at the transfer student as if he wanted to question her choices. Lestrange watched Ascella in muted interest.

Ascella nodded, brows furrowed. "Walburga tried to convince her to drop the course but she said her family valued strength and physical prowess above of all. Apparently they learned weapon-handling at young age and political manoeuvring too."

Riddle arched an eyebrow, impressed with the information he was presented. He looked over at the transfer student, his dark eyes curious. She was pretty- objectively speaking- he could admit that. Her black hairy was shiny and silky in the light, her eyes were an unusual colour but the anomaly of their colour made them more interesting. He wasn't interested in objectively beautiful women, the majority of his sixth year peers were attractive. Ascella was beautiful, so was Walburga and her sister Lucretia. Lyra Greengrass was pretty in a delicate, feminine way but she was too...kind. He sometimes wondered why she was in the House of Snakes but he could appreciate how she looked out for her fellow housemates. She was an interesting girl, she was fiercely loyal to her house, always tried to ensure peace-making in the common room and managed to curb down Walburga's anger which to him was a great accomplishment.

There were many interesting and attractive females in his year. Strong, level-headed and strong in magic.

But Riddle did not care much for beauty. He did not covet beautiful things unless they were ancient, magical artifacts. He was interested in power, in coveting knowledge and harnessing his magic.

Eichiro.

Riddle tapped a finger to his lips thoughtfully, chatter continuing around him. He could hear his peers begin to tease Avery but he ignored them.

Azula Eichiro.

He had checked the family genealogy books in Hogwarts library but he could not find much. They existed and they migrated from Japan centuries ago. There were speculations that they were known for reconnaissance and operated in the shadows. He would task Abraxas with investigating more.

He didn't want any surprises.

xxx

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

A lesson in duelling

Azula walked to her first class of the day. It was her first Defence class and she was hiding her feeling of apprehension under a blank look. She knew that as a Slytherin, weakness was to be hidden, but she learnt that lesson many years back in the Fire Nation.

You must never show weakness Azula, weakness is disgraceful.

It was a lesson her father told her at a young age, a lesson she held close to her heart. She was exceptional, there was no reason for her to doubt herself.

You were born lucky.

The sixth year student walked with a confident stride and neared her Defence class. Students waited outside.

All men.

She pursued her lips together in annoyance. There were no women learning how to duel. She held her head high as the Gryffindors looked at her in confusion. The Slytherins appeared as if they expected her. They didn’t seem bothered by her presence but the lions were staring in confusion and some amusement. She leaned against the wall and waited, arms crossed, an expression of indifference on her face.

“Are you lost?” An amused voice called out.

Azula looked at the tall, lanky Gryffindor. He had messy ginger locks, heavy freckles and big brown eyes. He was smiling in amusement as if he found her waiting in front of the class a result of her own confusion. She glared at him haughtily.

The nerve of that imbecile. She could easily wipe the floor with the him if she used her bending.

Azula grimaced at the thought.

If she could use her bending.

She couldn't freely use her bending among these children. Her bending would be labelled as strong wandless and wordless magic. And fire was a destructive element, it was too dangerous. Unspeakable Ackerman had warned her about using her bending abilities liberally.

He didn't forbid her from using it but cautioned her against it. It would draw unnecessary attention and it was dangerous. If she lost control and burnt a student drastically, she would face harsh inquiries, especially if the victims were from old Pure-blood Houses.

But Azula wasn't going to cower away from these children. If she had to use her bending, she would use it sparsely and strategically. Not too much to appear invincible. But enough to make a statement.

"I'm here for Defence," she said, glaring up at the boy who raised a thick brow in condescension. She could hear the murmurs among the lions and some of them muffled their laughs in disbelief.

A woman? Here, for defence?

To them, it was utterly laughable.

"Now now, this class is no place for a delicate lady like yourself," the ginger said grinning broadly as his friends laughed.

"Yeah, you might break a nail," another hollered as more laughter broke out.

Azula gritted her teeth. She had reign in her anger so she didn't incinerate the ginger in front of her in a fit of rage.

Where the hell was the Professor?

She continued glaring at him in annoyance. She opened her mouth to retort but stopped when someone stepped in front of the irritating ginger-head.

"I can think of a few things that'll break if you keep talking," a low voice hissed.

Azula watched in confusion as the raven-haired boy from the train sneered down at the Gryffindor menacingly.  The Gryffindor glared back, snarling.

"You want more detentions Lestrange?" He hissed back, tauntingly as his other friends joined him.

"I don't think you snakes can afford to lose more points. We'll be taking the cup away this year."

Lestrange grinned, all sharp teeth. "That sounds like a challenge to me."

"Is that so?" Another Slytherin spoke out, voice deceptively soft. "Good, I was getting bored waiting,"

The fire-bender watched as the male Rosier stepped forward, standing in front of Azula, an arm stretched out protectively, keeping the Gryffindors away from her, making the ginger take a few steps back warily.

Cassius Rosier’s voice was clipped, lacking its usual mirth. He wasn't smiling as he always appeared, his blue eyes cold and narrowed. A few Gryffindors stepped forward at the challenge, bristling and supporting their friend as the two Slytherins glared at them, wands out.

Azula was extremely confused. The other Slytherins were standing up for her and she barely even knew them. She wasn't even friends with them and barely exchanged words with Rosier and hadn't spoken to Lestrange since the train. Molten, amber eyes watched the exchange, frowning in annoyance as the Gryffindors crowded behind their ginger friend. It was an uneven match of eight lions and only the two Slytherins stepping forward.

She looked over at the remaining Slytherins, she noticed that the prefect-Riddle-was examining his cuticles in boredom, ignoring the entire display. The blond -Abraxas- was glaring in annoyance, silver eyes narrowed, watching the commotion with a haughty expression but keeping his distance, standing next to the prefect.

There was the other boy who was continuously sleeping, he was leaning against the wall lazily, eyes closed, a closed off expression on his face. It was her first time seeing his face that was usually obscured by his arms. He was really handsome and shared similar high cheek bones with Walburga. She could see the family resemblance. He appeared detached from the world.

"What is going on here?!" A stern voice called out.

The Gryffindors bristled and hurriedly tucked their wands away. Rosier remained standing protectively in front of Azula and Lestrange cursed quietly, annoyed at the interruption, he crossed his arms petulantly. He appeared to really want to hex the lions badly.

He looked like a child being denied his favourite candy.

"Tom?" The Professor turned to the prefect. She was an ancient woman, her face lined with age but she appeared fearsome, like a seasoned fighter.

The prefect looked at the Gryffindors as they looked away from him. "They were patronizing the new student ma'am. Cassius and Altair stepped up to stop them," he explained softly, as he levelled the lions with a disapproving gaze.

The Professor glared at the lions, she turned to Azula and looked at her thoughtfully. She turned back to the prefect and pursued her lips.

"Why didn't you stop them Tom?"

Riddle blinked at her slowly, cocking his head to the side, appearing confused. His brows furrowed slowly.

"But Professor...eight against...one? I couldn't have stopped them, I'm only one person."

He wore an expression of bafflement, brown eyes wide, as if he was wondering if he could really manage such a task.

Azula doubted his sincerity.

She knew from the minimal observing she did that Tom Riddle was the indisputable leader among the Slytherin crowds. There was way more to him than this image of perfect innocence that he was projecting towards the Defence Professor. The girls often gushed about him in the dormitory and she heard his name being whispered and regaled among the halls, through peers and faculty.

Tom Riddle.

The Prince of Slytherin.

He was a snake through and through.

"Malfoy and Black knew to stand aside peacefully, patiently waiting for you to arrive to resolve the problem ma'am." He continued, waving a hand towards the other two students who remained by his side.

The Professor sighed, seeing Black with his eyes closed. Was he asleep standing?!

"Just go in you lot, I'm removing ten points from the lions for their behaviour."

The lions protested and Riddle smiled slowly, eyes brightening considerably.

The Professor glared at them.

"Your behaviour was hardly welcoming and was incredible inappropriate. In you lot go." The boys went in, the lions grumbling under their breath.

The old woman turned to Azula and gave her a small smile.

"The Headmaster told me about you,” Professor Merrythought strolled forward as Gryffindors rushed in and the Slytherins walked in, slow and assured.

The Professor frowned sternly as a late Slytherin rushed in, apologizing for his tardiness.

The boy paused as he saw Azula and smiled at her. Azula took the vacant table and he joined her, running a hand through his wind-swept hair. He turned to her hesitantly and held out a hand.

Azula looked at him and saw that he was offering her a nice, friendly smile. She nodded at him and clasped his hand. It was warm and much larger than hers.

He grinned. "Perseus Avery," he spoke.

"Azula Eichiro."

He dropped her hand and took out his books. He eyed her for a moment, opening his mouth and closing it.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked carefully, looking over at the Gryffindors who were glaring at them. They appeared to be blaming her for their loss of points.

Avery's eyes narrowed, glaring fiercely at the lions.

Azula watched him for a few moments. He appeared to be offended on her behalf despite not knowing what happened. Slytherins really did protect their own.

It was...nice.

She really didn't expect it. She huffed at the stupid Gryffindors.

Ridiculous. She just stood there and they created the problem all of their own. She was not going to be held culpable for their childish behaviour.

"They think I shouldn't take this class," she explained, lips pressed together in annoyance. "They're under the impression ladies cannot fight."

Avery turned to her, brown locks falling over meridian eyes. He huffed in annoyance and blew at his long locks. His hair was long, it curled around his face and fell to his shoulders in unkempt waves. He pushed his bangs away and turned to her, frowning.

"That's ridiculous. Have you met Walburga? She can curse people unconscious if she really wanted. She's bloody vicious." He looked wearily at the boy in front of him, he was once again sleeping.

"Well, Blacks may be an exception to the rule but I wouldn't be stupid enough to underestimate someone based on the fact that they're female. Look at our Professor, she's a woman and she's terrifying and bloody brilliant!" He explained.

He grinned broadly at her. He had a nice smile.

"Ignore the Gryffindorks, especially bloody Septimus Weasley, he's not very bright."

Azula found herself returning the smile, a little hesitantly.

The Professor began the class, going through the attendance list. She paused at her name momentarily, appearing thoughtful.

"Well Ms.Eichiro, I have to say I am surprised. Not many Slytherin females take defence, they’d rather leave the duelling to the men. It's nice to see someone step outside the mould.” The Professor spoke, making the students look at her curiously. The older woman smiled at her.

Azula smirked slowly. “Yes, it seems so.”

The Professor hummed thoughtfully. “Today we will be going over the disarming spell but this year we will be focused on casting wordlessly. Ms.Eichiro, I'm aware you're new but I do not go easy. You will be expected to partake in all duels and demonstrations.” The woman looked at her, her eyes full of expectations.

Azula looked at the Professor challengingly. She never backed down from a battle, even if it was practice. “Yes Professor, I can take care of myself.”

There was a scoff from the Gryffindor table. Azula looked over and saw the freckled ginger smirking at her. She arched an eyebrow challengingly.

He sneered at her.

“Very well, I'd like two students for a demonstration.”

The ginger boy raised a hand, smirking at Azula mockingly. The girl bristled in annoyance and raised a hand to volunteer herself. The students murmured, the lions in shock.

The Professor paused for a moment and nodded.

"Very well. Weasley and Eichiro, to the front please."

The Professor moved back and the two students stepped forward.

"The goal is disarm. You can use attack spells to distract your opponent, keep the injuries down to a minimum."

The students quieted down, the snakes were attentive and some unsure. Cassius looked worried and had a hand clenched on the table, Abraxas was leaning forward, Altair lounged lazily but his eyes were on the students, Perseus bit his lip in concern and watched carefully. Riddle watched silently, his own wand twirling between his dexterous fingers.

Orion was...asleep.

The lions looked gleeful, eager to see a snake humiliated and defeated, even if it was a female snake. They would still gloat and celebrate their triumph. They knew the snakes were united, a loss was a loss, it didn't matter who. 

"It's not too late to forfeit," Weasley said, grinning down at Azula.

The fire-bender scoffed. This little child was still wet behind the ears. He was nothing like the seasoned Unspeakables who she trained under. Even if she did not know many spells, she was a seasoned fighter. She was agile, incredibly crafty, and fast. She was confident she wouldn't lose. They raised their wands and bowed. They turned around and took five steps back.

Azula turned around and Weasley turned at the same time, he fired a jelly-legs jinx. She side stepped easily and arched an unimpressed eyebrow. The boy sneered and fired a Bat-Bogey hex and Azula ducked easily, her face appearing bored.

"I'm getting bored here freckles," she drawled lazily.

Weasley turned red in the face, firing a succession of hexes and spells. Azula smirked as she jumped back, dodging all the spells, moving with great speed and agility, body bending at unnatural angles. She was fast on her feet, a whirlwind of movements, a condescending smirk on  her lips as Weasley began yelling his spells in anger as none of them hit their target.

"Confringo!" He yelled in rage.

Azula moved to the side, doing a body flip, supporting her entire body weight with her palm pressed onto the ground. She did another flip as he casted another blasting spell, moving easily out of the way. He started to sound more panicked as the fire bender moved around like she was toying with him.

And she was.

It was too easy.

This wasn't even worth a warm up.

She jumped back from a binding spell, Weasley was getting desperate. She frowned as she found her back to the wall. The silly boy grinned triumphantly, he was sure he had her cornered now.

Azula looked up at the boy and he sneered, lifting his wand.

"Incarcerous!" He yelled, the spell shooting from his wand and ricocheting towards her.

Azula leaned forward, taking a practiced fire-bending stance, pointing two fingers towards the red head and focused, channelling the call of fire within her and feeling it come forth, eagerly.

Like a warm embrace, longing and finally coming home.

She unleashed a small spring of blue flames towards the light, the flames enveloped the ricocheting spell and latched onto Weasley's robes. He screeched as the flames caught hold of his sleeves and he flailed his arms around helplessly.

Azula raised her wand. "Expelliarmus."

Weasley's wand flew into her open hand and she watched him with a raised brow as he flailed around. The boy was quickly drenched with an Aguamenti by Professor Merrythought.

Silence stretched.

Murmurs picked up quickly.

Weasley stared at Azula in shock, soaking wet and hair flat. "T-that..." He squeaked.

He cleared his throat as a deep flush took over his face, his eyes wide. "T-that was wandless f-fire, y-you didn't e-even s-speak," he croaked weakly.

Azula shrugged, appearing bored again.

"Well...that would certainly teach you boys not to underestimate your opponents, regardless of their appearance." Professor Merrythought spoke sternly, staring at Azula with a proud gleam in her eyes.

The duellers bowed to each other. Weasley was shaky and hurried back to his seat. Eyes followed the fire-bender as she went back to her seat, ignoring the stares burning into her skin.

All she cared about was the warmth she felt, the luring call of her fire and the feeling of being at home as it greeted her like an old friend.

xxx

"Eichiro wait!"

Tom watched as Avery hurried after the female student as she left the Defence class, she was distracted and lost in thought. His dark eyes followed them out as they made their way out of the classroom. The Slytherin prefect had watched the duel with nonchalance but narrowed his eyes thoughtfully when he saw how Eichiro dodged, movement agile and extremely practiced.

Her movements were not the movements of someone who had never duelled. Her form was perfect, her confidence spoke of years of hard and gruelling training. Weasley greatly underestimated her. He was impressed by how easily she moved but he was thrown off by the use of wordless and wandless magic.

Tom hated being thrown off.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the girl hurry away, Avery rushing after her to inquire about her schedule and weekend plans.

Tom didn't know the extent of her abilities and magic. He needed to know. He was the strongest and the idea of another, an outlier, challenging his power did not sit well with him. But he didn't think she wanted to challenge anyone. He noticed that she kept to the background, she hung out with the girls but stuck to the quiet company of Bulstrode and the harmless nature of Greengrass.

She was sometimes with Ascella but she appeared careful.

She was hiding something.

Tom was sure.

He turned his dark eyes to his friends and stopped walking, the boys stopped, falling silent.

"Find out everything you can about Eichiro." He ordered, voice low.

"I'll write to my father." Abraxas said.

Lestrange looked ahead, eyes falling on Azula as she nodded at Avery who brightened considerably at something she said.

"And Avery?" He grinned shark-like, appearing immensely amused. "He seems to be genuinely interested Tom." He cocked his head to the side, silver eyes sliding over to the prefect.

Tom looked over at him and smiled slowly. "Let him get close to her. It's a fast way to break down her defences.

Sentiment makes people vulnerable."

Cassius looked over at Avery with pity but did not object. None of them would ever object direct orders from Tom.

"Poor Avery," he said, pouting.

Lestrange eyes glinted vindictively, his sharp grin widening.

"Oh yes, poor Avery," Altair drawled.

He watched as the Avery waved at Azula, a blush decorating his cheeks. Lestrange chuckled.

"This will be fun."

Tom walked forward, watching as the raven haired girl disappeared after bidding Avery goodbye. A smile plastered itself onto Tom's face as the Slytherin seeker joined them again, blushing and rubbing the back of his neck in a shy manner, unbecoming of a Slytherin but he would excuse his behaviour.

Tom smiled at him.

Yes, he would use Avery's feelings to unravel the secrets of Eichiro.

xxx

Azula cursed under her breath as she hurried to her next class. She drew too much attention to herself in Defence class. She hurried away from Avery after agreeing to study together in the library this weekend.

He looked so happy when she agreed.

She sighed as she continued down the hall, looking down at her palm, recalling the familiar warmth of fire-bending.

The blue flames.

Her bending.

She pursed her lips and walked faster, her hand clenching into an angry fist as she felt a deep sense of longing and displacement simultaneously.

She needed to find a solution.

xxx

Lestrange walked lazily, like he had all the time in the world, hands shoved in his pocket in a manner unbefitting the Pure-blood Heir. He had a free period and was using his time productively, prowling the halls, searching for unsuspecting Gryffindorks to hex. He had a self-imposed reputation as the Hogwarts menace and he would be damned if he didn't uphold his role of being an "utter terror."

He huffed in annoyance, only seeing Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs walking to their classes. Ravens were decent, he respected their indifference, turning a blind eye wilfully and keeping to their studies and heavy tomes. Hufflepuffs were...too boring. They were quick to cry and always hurried away when they saw him.

Most Slytherins did not walk the halls alone but Altair Lestrange was the exception. No one ever targeted him, even if he was alone. The only Slytherins who would never be targeted when they were alone were three.

Altair Lestrange.

Orion Black and-

Tom Riddle.

Altair Lestrange was sadistic and terrifying when he was let loose. The Gryffindors learned quickly that hexing him from behind actually delighted him. They blanched when he turned around, grinning wildly, looking very elated to be challenged. They learned quickly to avoid him, they only tried to fight him when they were in big groups but even than he managed to send a good number to the infirmary. It would be too lonely if he went down there alone.

Orion Black was Heir to the the darkest and most powerful family in Wizarding Britain. To mess with him was suicide. Also, students steered clear of Orion, there were whispers of Black Madness, a quiet hushed rumour. There was something there. An underlying dark, sinister nature, known to the Black line. Only Riddle knew how badly Black's condition was. They were safer when he was asleep rather than awake. Lestrange frowned, he really needed to pull Cassius away from Orion, the hyper-active boy always tried to wake Black for entertainment purposes. He needed to talk to Riddle to have him speak to Cassius properly. Cassius would not listen to him but he would never disobey Tom Riddle.

He smirked to himself.

Tom Riddle was the darling of Hogwarts, the Gryffindors did not bother him, some liked him, others were wary of him. The Ravenclaws respected him and envied him. The Hufflepuffs admired him and flocked towards him. No one touched Riddle, he was every professors favourite, the star pupil, perfect in every way imaginable. Perfect looks, perfect grades, perfect manners. But Altair knew Riddle was a master manipulator, he played people like they were pieces on a chessboard. He had the uncanny ability to sniff out strength and potential, he cultivated everyone's strengths and tied their strange, unbalanced group together perfectly.

Altair knew without Riddle holding them together, they would destroy each other, in a very Slytherin manner. Riddle kept Black composed, allowed him to remain in the shadows, asleep, he knew things about Black that the rest of them did not know. Riddle knew things about all of them that no one else knew. Riddle had that uncanny ability to make them spill their guts to him, to trust him, he listened, he helped and-

he anchored them all together. 

The boys believed in him.

Altair didn't care how others perceived Riddle. He didn't care if Dumbledore was convinced that Riddle was untrustworthy. He trusted him and he would burn anyone that would harm their leader. He knew all the boys were loyal, in their own ways.

And Riddle took care of them.

Some of his actions were seen as morally wrong but Lestrange didn't care. He didn't even have a functioning moral compass. He only cared about a few things in his world and he wouldn't let Dumbledore and his Light philosophies ruin things for them.

The boy chuckled to himself, thinking of Riddle's latest instructions.

Poor Avery indeed, he thought with a smug grin.

He had known the Slytherin seeker since they were children and they could never get along. It may have had to due with the fact that Lestrange was guilty of the murder of Avery's toad when they were six years old. In his defence, he didn't think his engorgement spell would work that well. It did in fact work very well, the toad had exploded into bits. Six year old Avery was inconsolable, hysterically sobbing and traumatized for weeks and yes, that day marked the death of their friendship.

Lestrange smiled fondly at the happy memories.

Avery's involvement with Eichiro would bring him great amusement. Lestrange grinned as he saw the elusive new student heading to her next class. He hurried up and caught up with her. He grinned down at the shorter girl.

"Eichiro, what a delightful surprise," he drawled, smirking down at her.

The girl stared back at him unimpressed as she continued walking. He fell into step next to her easily.

Azula Eichiro.

He was eager to see if there was more to this mysterious Eichiro Heir.

“So,” he drawled, waiting to make sure he had the girl’s attention.

“There’s this fellow named Avery, Perseus Avery,” he began, voice lowered like he was sharing a big, great secret.

She looked up at him with an arched eyebrow. As if to say so what?

Altair smirked. “In his first year, he wet his bed. He spent every night for the first month crying for his mummy.”

Azula paused. “What? No.” She frowned deeply, lips drawn in a grimace.

Altair’s dark eyes lightened up in wicked glee. “Oh it gets better. When he was eight years old, he said his dream was to become a dragon.” He grinned, voice dropping as he shared another secret. “I think he secretly believes it’s his animagus form.”

Azula let out a surprised laugh. “That would never happen.”

Altair gasped, a hand pressed to his chest dramatically as he stared at Azula with wide eyes. “Oh no Eichiro! Don’t destroy the poor man’s dreams. He might cry for his mummy again!”

—-

Tom Riddle entered the Slytherin common room with an exasperated sigh. It was evening and the prefect had completed his hall duty rounds. He had been paired up with an overly excitable and gregarious Hufflepuff sixth year who would not stop sharing all the secrets of his life. Riddle had smiled tightly and counted to one thousand in five different languages to keep from hexing the poor boy. He looked up when he saw a crowd gathered at the bottom of the stairs, apprehensive first years and anxious second and third years. The fourth years, fifth years, remaining sixth years and seventh years lounged on the couches, ignoring the commotion upstairs.

It was a common occurrence for them.

Tom heard the cursing and yelling before he entered the dormitory. He took the stairs up to his shared rooms, waving away the younger years, as they hovered around, alarmed at the noise. He opened the door to his dorm to see spells flying back and forth. He watched with an arched eyebrow as Lestrange side stepped a curse, grinning wickedly as Avery screamed in frustration, casting hexes at an impressive speed.

Lestrange continued to evade his spells. He was the stronger dueller but that never stopped Avery from trying to usurp his position.

Tom surveyed the room. Orion was sleeping peacefully on his stomach, face obscured in his pillow. He looked at peace, ignoring the cacophony of chaotic noise around him. Abraxas stood nearby, frowning heavily, huffing in exasperation and Cassius, grinning and cheering excitedly stood over the Black Heir, a shield erected between them and the other two idiots casting at each other.

“You dare tarnish my impeccable, esteemed reputation with your slander Lestrange?!” Avery yelled, his face flushed in anger, blocking a hex aimed at his face.

Riddle closed the door behind him, erecting a few silencing spells to keep the commotion away from the rest of their House. He surveyed the damage in the room and saw Abraxas sagging in relief upon seeing him enter. The other two did not notice his quiet entry yet.

“I did not cry to my mummy nor did I wet my bloody bed!” Avery hissed, throwing a violent hex towards the Lestrange Heir.

Tom waved a hand, erecting a shield wandlessly between the two boys, raising his other hand and breathed an exasperated Expelliarmus. Both their wands flew towards him and they froze in shock as they were disarmed unexpectedly and unaware. They turned simultaneously, very slowly, in trepidation. Avery gulped upon seeing Riddle, the prefect’s face was thunderous, his lips were pressed together thinly in exasperation.

“Avery,” Tom hissed, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

The prefect held both wands in his hands. He twirled them around dangerously and Avery paled, Lestrange straightened up immediately, looking guilty.

“Lestrange.” Tom’s voice was sibilant, he exuded a dangerous aura, his eyes dark as he stepped forward.

“Clean this mess immediately.”

The two boys looked around the room, eyes widening at the damage. A few pillows had exploded during their duel, the floor was covered in a great amount of feathers. There were glass shards on the ground from an exploded vase, books and parchment were littered messily around the room.

“Uh Tom...you have our wands,” Avery spoke hesitantly.

He flinched when Tom turned towards him abruptly.

“You will clean without magic.”

Altair blanched.

“Immediately.” He hissed.

The boys rushed about, fluttering around like anxious baby birds, cleaning hurriedly, both feeling heavily chastised.

Avery hissed under his breath, muttering about being treated like a bloody house elf. Tom leaned against the dresser and watched them, twirling the wands slowly in his hand.

“Anything to say Perseus?”

Avery blanched and ducked his head.

“N-nothing!”

They cleaned carefully and quickly. They were quite efficient even without magic.

“You missed a feather!” Abraxas exclaimed haughtily.

Lestrange sneered at him. “I will throttle you! With my bare hands!” He snarled as Cassius laughed.

Abraxas yelped and ducked behind Tom.

“Y-you wouldn’t dare!” He hollered as Tom stared over his shoulder, completely unimpressed.

---

Chapter Text

CHAPTER FOUR

Amortentia

The wind was crisp and fresh, there was no sun or warmth in the air. It was early dusk and the fire-bender was running laps around the Quidditch pitch, the only sounds were her steady breathing and the rustles of leaves and grass. Azula made her tenth lap around the pitch, gait steady and comfortable. She reached the end of her running cycle and took to doing long stretches in the centre of the field, preparing herself for the second part of her morning regimen.

She stretched for a solid fifteen minutes, body poised at difficult, acrobatic angles, her long hair was tied up in a high ponytail. It fell in dark waves, cascading on her back. Her attire was entirely black. She wore black tights with loose knee-length shorts over strong legs. Her shirt was long-sleeved and hugged her athletic, lean figure perfectly, displaying her lithe form.

She wiped her sweaty brows and cracked her neck, looking down at the ground for a few moments in peace. She felt calm and collected in these early hours of quiet solitude. Everyone was asleep and she was alone under the grey sky. She removed her wand from her arm holster, pointing it at the grass and transfigured a thin exercise mat.

The Fire Nation Princess took a seat on the mat, crossing her lean legs and straightening her back. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, beginning her hour long meditation. The only sounds that accompanied her were the quiet voices of nature, the rustle of the wind, the tittering of the birds. She breathed deeply and cleared herself off all thoughts, her mind becoming a blank canvas.

Time stretched in silence.

The sun began to rise, the castle inhabitants began awakening and amber eyes opened at the far, distanced sounds.

Azula rose and vanished her mat, looking up at the magical castle. She felt clear and calm. She walked back towards the castle, making her way through the open grounds. She made her way back to the cold dungeons and into the common room. A few early risers waiting for their friends in the common room looked at her inquisitively as she made her way inside. She nodded at a few students who greeted her and made her way up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She heard the cacophony of noise as the girls got themselves ready. They bustled about, the only one sitting comfortably immune to the shuffle was Halley Bullstrode, her nose as usual buried in a large tome.

Azula ignored the girls bickering and chatting and made her way into the showers as she began to get ready for her day.

xxxx

Azula walked through the castle corridors exploring the vast and endless halls. She ascended the long stairs and waited as they moved, shifting and rising. She took the stairs up and continued down an unfamiliar path.

It was Sunday afternoon and she took the day to explore the crevices of the ancient castle. She wanted to learn the layout and become familiar with every nook and cranny. But it seemed an impossible feat to accomplish as the stairs kept shifting, rooms appearing and disappearing at random intervals. The unoccupied rooms were dusty, vacant and unused. They didn’t serve her purpose.

She was on a personal mission.

She wanted to find a place to practice her bending away from prying eyes.

And oh she was very aware of the prying eyes. She was aware of the eyes of the snakes that followed her as she stalked the halls, making her way to her classes. She was aware of the suspicious glances of the lions and the wary apprehension of the Deputy Headmaster. To them it appeared that she was unaware of their scrutiny but years being friends with Mae taught her to watch her surroundings conspicuously.

Mae herself operated from the shadows, she slipped in and out, unseen and silent. She effectively eliminated her targets before they even noticed her presence, poised knives hitting their targets in deadly accuracy. Azula admired Mae’s silent strength and stealth. Mae wasn’t a bender but she found her own craft, a skill set she harnessed and morphed into a deadly weapon. And she did it out of sheer boredom.

Azula learned her techniques young and she surpassed her, taking Mae’s own abilities and morphing them into her own, making them more lethal. She also carefully chose certain methods of Ty Lee’s approaches and adopted them into her persona. She used gullible, harmless facial expressions under the curious eyes, making herself appear only partially detached.

Not entirely so. But enough to appear uninterested and to be left alone.

She took a set of stairs up and up, following an unknown path as the castle led her through dimmed corridors. Azula thought of her bending and her desperate need to feel the warmth of her blue flames once again. She bit her lip in annoyance and looked around, it was a dead-end.

The castle led her nowhere. She huffed and began to pace in place, thinking longingly of the practice rooms in her homelands, the rooms in the Fire Nation's fortresses. She paused as a loud groan of wood, heavy with years of history, echoed behind her. She watched in shock as the doors opened to a brightly lit room.

Red.

The room's floors were carpeted in a deep red, walls painted a deep burgundy and adorned heavily in armoury. The room heavily mirrored the practice rooms from the Fire Nation fortresses. Azula stepped inside without a second thought and the door closed behind her. She looked around, a pleased smirk overtaking her youthful features.

This was perfect.

xxx

The week went relatively slow for the fire-bender, everything was peaceful and monotonous but all that changed when she entered her potions class with Professor Slughorn. The Fire-bender made her way to her potions class with her dorm-mates and peers, Ascella, Lyra, Astra, Halley and Walburga. The girls entered the class to a very eager potions professor waiting at the front as the class filled up with lions and snakes, each sitting on opposite sides of the classroom. He smiled at the girls eyes lingering on the Eichiro Heir. The girls sat together in pairs, Ascella and Lyra sitting together as Azula sat behind them with Walburga.

She took out her potions textbook and cauldron, setting them both on the table. Slughorn began lecturing, discussing a big assignment he planned for the year. Azula paused her note-taking as he exclaimed excitedly that they would do it in pairs. The room filled with murmurs as students grinned at their friends eagerly and Walburga mumbled that she hated group work.

Slughorn clapped his hands as the noise escalated. “Now now, I have selected the pairs you’ll be working with myself to ensure fair distribution of work so you won’t be picking your partners.”

There were protests among the lions and some Slytherins shifted in their seats. Azula waited until Slughorn called out the names of the pairings, telling them to go sit with their designated partners. He would deliver the details of the assignment after their reseating.

“Walburga Black and Cassius Rosier.”

Walburga huffed in annoyance and packed her bag, making her way over to the chirpy boy who smiled at her and pulled the adjacent chair back as the perfect gentleman.

“Halley Bulstrode and Abraxas Malfoy.”

Halley packed her books quickly and rushed to the Malfoy Heir, books clutched tightly to her chest in nerves. Malfoy raised a pale eyebrow in silent greeting and waved a hand at the seat next to him.

“Oh no...he’s assigning us with the other gender. Probably to force us to socialize more or something. Please please don’t give me Lestrange or Black,” Parkinson whispered, her manicured hands clasped tightly as her eyes widened in apprehension.

“Lyra Greengrass and Altair Lestrange.”

Azula watched as Lyra paled drastically, momentarily frozen as she was paired up with the Slytherin menace. The girl was too kind and never knew how to act around the antagonistic boy.

“Ascella Rosier and Perseus Avery.”

“Oh thank Merlin,” Ascella breathed as she picked up her bag and went to sit with the Slytherin seeker.

“Oh no!” Parkinson whirled around to stare at Azula. “That leaves Black and Riddle, I swear if I get Black I will-“

“Astra Parkinson and Orion Black.”

Azula smirked at the girl as she paled in horror. She groaned, throwing her hands in the air at the injustice of being paired up with the Black Heir.

Azula looked over at the remaining Slytherin. That would mean...

“Azula Eichiro and Tom Riddle.”

Damn it.  Just the one snake I wanted to avoid.

The Slytherin Prince!

Azula packed her bag, picking up her cauldron and made her way to the very back of the room where the Slytherin Prefect sat. She pulled out her chair and sat down, placing her cauldron on the table, ignoring Slughorn as he began listing off the Gryffindor pairings.

“Tom Riddle,” the Prefect spoke with a small smile as he extended a hand towards her.

Azula looked up at him and damn him, he was ridiculously handsome. Even more so up close now that he was right in front of her rather than seated rows away. His dark eyes were amused and his lips were held in a perfect smile. His dark eyebrows rose as she continued to stare at his handsome features. He was like a fairytale character, aristocratic in his face and lean, tall frame. He reminded her of fictional princes from those ridiculous romance novels Ty Lee gushed about. She took his offered hand and shook it.

It was warm in her hold, it was much larger than hers and soft in her grasp. She felt herself bristle in annoyance at the smooth skin that met hers. She knew her own hands had calluses from knife wielding and weight lifting.

“Azula Eichiro, a pleasure.”

Riddle dropped her hand and placed his own cauldron on the table, along with a brown journal.

“Is it common for Professor Slughorn to assign partners?” The Fire-bender asked.

Riddle looked over at the Professor and tapped a finger thoughtfully against his lips. “No, he’s never exhibited such uncommon behavior before.”

Azula frowned and looked over to her peers. Lyra was perched on the edge of her seat and she looked ready to bolt as Altair lounged comfortably in his seat next to her. Halley was cowering behind her book, refusing to make any sort of contact with Abraxas as the blond sniffed at her in disdain.

Astra was glaring at her sleeping partner, seething quietly in her seat as Orion remained unresponsive. Walburga was surprisingly laughing at something Cassius said as the blond boy waved his hands around animatedly. Ascella was smiling, nodding along politely as Avery spoke to her in a quiet voice.

It appeared that not all of them were lucky with their partners though.

Why oh why did I get the craftiest snake as my partner?

Azula slid her eyes over to Riddle to find him watching her with light amusement, a hand resting on his cheek as he surveyed her. She bit down on any insults she wanted to throw his way and looked forward to Slughorn who began clapping his hand again, signalling the beginning of class.

Xxx

In short, the project was to research a Newt level potion, one of the long ones that were to be brewed carefully over a period of three months, research its historical usage, origins, effects and discern changes made in the potion by changing certain variables like the amount of roots added or the number of stirs made, or whether clockwise or counterclockwise stirring were more effective and the effects of changing the number of stirs.

It was a time consuming project and it was to prepare them for their seventh year potions class. Azula looked over at Riddle who was making a list of potential potions they could brew, Slughorn gave them the rest of the class to discuss with their partners and made a list of suggestions on the board.

Azula flipped through her potions textbook and gazed at the more complex potions listed. She made a few suggestions to Tom and he nodded, jotting them down.

"Polyjuice potion looks like a promising one," Azula added.

"Oh, we can also try Draught of Peace."

"Those are good choices," Tom acquiesced, writing it down on their list of potential brews.

“Hmm...how about Amortentia?” Azula asked, staring down at the pink textbook illustration of the love potion. She felt Tom stiffen next to her and she looked over at him in puzzlement.

He was gripping his quill tightly, staring down at his writing with a tight face.

“No.” He spoke, his voice low and clipped.

Azula stared back at her book going over the ingredients, the time length of brewing and instructions. It was a perfect potion for this assignment.

“But it meets the requirements and it seems like a simple brew.”

She turned back to the Prefect to see him clench his jaw, turning to her with stormy dark eyes. Azula felt her breath hitch at the thunderous look of rage on the boy’s face.

“We are not brewing that potion,” he hissed, grabbing her book and slamming it shut.

Azula glared back at him. How dare he touch her things?! This...this commoner!

And what’s so wrong with a love potion?!

“What’s so wrong with a love potion?” She asked, glaring at him in annoyance. “It’s not even that bad.”

Riddle drew in a breath, reeling back away from her, perfect composure completely lost.

“Not that bad? It’s not that bad?” He breathed, staring at her like she was deranged or very stupid.

Azula hated that look. It was like he was insinuating that she was inferior. The audacity of this man!

“Amortentia removes all free will when it’s applied to the victim,” he spat, voice venomous.

“When it is applied, you cannot control your body, your voice, you’re in a haze, emotions that don’t exist surface and you’re made malleable, docile. Incapable of free will and choice.” He hissed at her.

His voice was a whisper of anger, of hate and...of colossal grief.

“If the castor administered the potion they can command the victim’s body as they wished. They can enslave them for many years. They can make them submit to their will in body and in mind. Some wizards romanticize this...this deplorable potion but it’s a potion that aids and condones rape.”

Azula’s eyes widened in horror, her amber eyes gazing at Tom as he shook with unadulterated rage. He closed his dark eyes and took a few breaths to calm himself. She watched as he commanded his body and mind back into his perfect, amiable persona. He opened his eyes and gazed at her, the anger receding back and leaving only desolate eyes, vacant of any feelings at all.

The Fire-bender drew her own breath and looked away from Tom’s empty gaze. She hated that look. It was...wrong.

Very wrong.

Moments passed by in long silence where neither of them spoke.

“Felix Felicis.” Tom spoke, voice quiet and lacking any emotion.

Azula looked up in shock. “What?”

“We’ll brew Felix Felicis,” Tom explained opening his book and flipping through pages, locating the luck potion.

Azula nodded mutely, still shocked at the previous events. She turned to her book and read the specified pages.

Tom was silent for the rest of the class.

Xxx

The girls sat silently at the dinner table, they chose to occupy a quiet corner in comparison to sitting in the of middle table near the other sixth year students. They were solemn minus a few members. The Great Hall was filled with chatter and noise, laughter and merriment but the Slytherin table was subdued.

“I genuinely do not know what to do,” Lyra whispered, sea-blue eyes staring solemnly into her dinner plate. She wasn’t feeling particularly hungry after potion class and finding out she’d have to deal closely with Lestrange for many months or risk getting a Troll in her potions left her with no appetite.

“Tell me about it,” huffed Astra. She looked over at Walburga and frowned. “I don’t know how you’re marrying Orion, Walley. I’ve resigned myself to doing the entire project by myself and just signing his name on it.” She shrugged as Walburga sighed, looking over at the sleeping Black Heir further down the table.

Astra groaned, laying her head in her arms. “Why would Slughorn do this to us?! Just thinking of managing this assignment alone...”

Ascella pursed her lips in thought. She looked over at Halley who was ignoring her books and food. The quiet girl was pushing her food around, a lost expression on her face. “How was working with Abraxas, Halley?”

Bullstrode continued to pick at her food lost in thought. She looked up in alarm as Walburga nudged her in her side.

“Sorry?”

“How was Malfoy?” Walburga questioned.

“Oh...he’s...” the quiet girl blinked her dark eyes quickly, looking down at her food. “He’s...not very nice.” She whispered quietly, eyes dampening in frustration.

“Oh Hall,” Lyra reached over and wrapped an arm around the other girl. “He can be such a prat!”

Halley rubbed at her eyes in frustration. “I don’t understand the choice of pairings. Our personalities are polar opposites! And he wouldn’t listen to any of my suggestions, kept telling me to stop being an insufferable know-it-all. I’m not a know-it-all!” She hissed quietly.

“Well...” Astra began hesitantly. She stopped as Lyra glared at her.

“The men in our year suck!” Halley grumbled, stabbing at her roasted chicken in anger.

Walburga twirled a dark lock between her fingers. “Well at least someone got Riddle.”

Lyra looked over at the quiet Eichiro Heir. Her friend was silent and deep in thought after potions class and Riddle himself had left the class immediately after it ended, not waiting for any of his friends which was unusual. She looked over at the group of boys and noticed that the Slytherin Prefect was missing from their table. She looked around, he wasn’t in the Great Hall.

“Did something happen Azula?” Lyra asked in concern.

Azula blinked at her slowly then frowned. “I...I don’t know.”

She appeared bothered by something but Lyra wouldn’t push. If Azula wanted to share, she would when she wanted too. Lyra looked over at her partner for potions and grimaced to herself. Altair Lestrange was lounging in his seat, grinning tauntingly at Abraxas who was going red in the face. There was no doubt that Lestrange was starting another conflict. She sighed heavily and looked down at her cold tea.

“Can we all stop acting like we’re attending a funeral?” Walburga drawled.

“It is a funeral!” Hissed Parkinson. “A funeral for our grades! You’re lucky you got Cassius. He’s a total sweetheart.”

Ascella grinned. “Thanks.”

Astra whirled in her seat, glaring at the girl.  “I wasn’t complimenting you!”

Ascella continued to grin. “Hey, you compliment my brother, you compliment me, naturally by extension.”

“That makes no sense!”

“The logic of twins.” Bullstrode noted, shaking her head. “It’s another world entirely.”

Xxx

Tom ran a frustrated hand through his dark locks, cursing up a storm in parseltongue as he paced the grounds at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He had opted out of going to dinner and decided to take a walk around Hogwarts grounds to calm himself, he was not in a mood to deal with any of his friends and he knew he would hex them ugly if he encountered their bickering right now.

He had walked further away from the castle and found himself at the edge of the forest, away from the prying eyes and gossip. He had not meant to lose control earlier but the ugly memories surfaced themselves as he thought of that bloody potion and it’s ruinous consequences.

He remembered the weak, pathetic ugly woman who had raped his father using the potion and lost his composure, hating her memory, hating her for using such despicable methods to gain his father’s affections and hating his father for being weak enough to fall victim to the potion, hating him for abandoning him and hating him for being a weak coward who ran away from his magical offspring.

The Prefect felt his anger build up again as he found himself back in the dark crevices of his mind.

All the pain he endured, all the taunts, all the kicks and punches, all the hunger, all the fear was because of them.

All because his mother was a rapist.

All because his father was a coward.

And the stupid stupid stupid girl had the audacity to say that Amortentia was not even that bad. In that moment he saw her ignorance, he saw that she was beneath him. He didn’t care that she could perform wandless magic, he didn’t care that she proved herself proficient in duelling, he found himself hating her.

It’s not even that bad.

He remembered shaking in his room as a small child, holding an itchy and holed blanket over his body wrapping it tightly, trying to gain a semblance of warmth as he suffered through the harsh winters in the orphanage.

It’s not even that bad.

He recalled being dragged kicking and screaming by the older boys as they dragged his small body behind the garbage dumpsters as they kicked him to the ground, jeering at him, calling him an abomination, a stain that should’ve never been born.

It’s not even that bad.

He hissed at the memory of the nuns as they forced him under the icy, cold holy water, holding his squirming body down with bruising, cruel hands as he choked, struggled and begged for air. He remembered the burn of the water as it filled his throat and the black spots covered his vision as they held him down for too long.

It’s not even that bad.

He remembered screaming himself hoarse and slamming his small hands against the locked doors and begging to be let out of the cold, dark basement floors as he was punished by the Matron of Wool’s Orphanage. He remembered looking at the darkness, so dark that he couldn’t make out his own hands, listening in terror to the ominous creaks of the wood and howl of the wind, and falling asleep crying, losing track of the days he remained locked up.

It’s not even that bad.

He recalled the horrible winters where the children began falling deathly ill, the coughs overtaking them, followed by the shaking tremors and fevers. He remembered their lips turning blue as they convulsed in meaningless struggle for a last time and fell quiet. He cried in horror, huddled on his bed, watching on as his own roommates died one by one, wondering if he would be the one to die next. If he would make it another night. If he would wake up alive to see the sun, or wake up in endless darkness under the ground.

It’s not even that bad.

He remembered making it to Hogwarts only to be fiercely rejected by his peers, for being a mudblood. He remembered the taunts, the pain continuing on, the orphanage pain being replaced by the Hogwarts pain. He remembered gritting his teeth and diving into books, desperately trying to prove himself superior, desperately trying to prove that he was good enough.

He remembered the years as they passed and felt his magic whirling to life, unshackled by his rage, as he recalled the bitter rejection of Dumbledore. His magic responded, lashing out at the strong, ancient trees in rage as they creaked and groaned, falling apart victim to his grief.

He remembered the day where he sought out the Professor and begged him to let him stay at Hogwarts, to not send him back to his own personal hell. He remembered the cold rejection and being sent away feeling ashamed. He remembered closing his heart and promising to never seek help from another again, vowing only to rely on himself. He recalled the start of the war, laying on his bed, feeling terror, clutching his wand helplessly as the echoes of screams and explosion debris sailed through the windows.

It’s not even that bad.

Tom sat heavily on the grass, placing his head in his hands. He sat in silence, listening to the sound of his laboured breathing. He felt a familiar cold settle on his skin as it inched deeper and closer, wrapping around his heart.

He looked up at the darkening skies and watched the sun disappear. He sat there quietly listening to himself breath, listening to the reassurance that he was still living, as night drew closer, the moon rising higher and stars shining brighter.

He sat there for a very long time.

Xxx

Chapter Text

Chapter Five

Study Sessions

The hallways were relatively empty as the Fire Nation Princess made her way to the library. The sounds of her steady and brisk footsteps echoed down the halls as she walked towards her destination. It was after her classes ended for the day and she planned to meet Tom Riddle to start their Potions assignment together.

She wasn’t looking forward to interacting with the Slytherin Prefect after their potions class debacle. But at lunch, he had came over and told her with an indifferent face that they needed to meet to start on their joint project, preferably this evening.

She knew her other classmates were having difficulties with their partners as well. Bullstrode was frowning to herself more these days, hiding further into her books when the other sixth year boys entered their joint classes. She knew Lyra was trying to make some headway with Lestrange, she’d seen the girl approach him hesitantly after their transfiguration class. She knew Parkinson had given up entirely on her partner right from the beginning, she’d seen the girl flipping through many books by herself in the library throughout the week. It was a heavy task for two but Astra was determined to complete it all by herself.

Riddle had kept away from Azula throughout the week. She gazed at him a few times in their shared classes still trying to discern what occurred in potions class. She didn’t know anyone who felt so strongly about a potion, to her it seemed personal.

The Eichiro Heir entered the library and looked for the Slytherin Prefect. The library had a few students from other houses occupying the tables, no doubt starting on their assignments and projects. She found the Prefect occupying a table at the far end of the rows, adjacent to the windows overlooking the grounds of Hogwarts.

Tom Riddle was taking steady notes in his brown journal. He lifted his gaze and nodded at her as she pulled out a chair, seating herself across from him.

“Good evening,” he spoke in a quiet voice.

Azula nodded and returned the greeting, setting her own books on the table. She looked over at his journal and selection of books stacked high on the table. She noted a few history books and other potions publications.

“I started on the historical origins of Felix Felicis,” Tom spoke, handing her one of the books. “This one has a few case studies, some from 18th century Salem witch hunts in North America and others of cases in Britain. Witches and wizards were known to administer the potion in desperate attempts to increase their luck in avoiding Muggles during the persecutions.”

The Fire Nation Princess took the book and noticed that Tom had attached a parchment to the front of the book, referencing page numbers and chapters. She found herself surprised at his work ethic. He had already completed quite a bit by himself.

“When do you want to start brewing the potion and changing its properties?” She asked, looking up at the Prefect.

Tom had his gaze on his book and was taking neat notes. He had really nice handwriting she noted.

“End of the week. Since we are changing properties, the first brew we will follow the instructions in the textbook and document it. But the second time we brew and after that, we will manipulate the properties to alter the outcome.” He explained, flipping through his book.

He still had to look at her. His entire demeanour was polite but detached. It was like he was keeping her at a distance. Azula frowned at this treatment. Sure, she didn’t want to be best buddies with Riddle but being treated like an utter stranger was irritating.

The Princess paused in her thoughts and gazed at the other boy.

They were strangers.

She really didn’t know much about him.

All she knew was a few labels here and there that were echoed among her peers.

Prefect.

Slytherin Prince.

Orphan.

She could discern a lot of information from the labels alone but they were not enough. She knew he was highly respected, revered for his great intelligence, his mind was his greatest weapon.

“The changes we make shouldn’t be too dramatic. We should keep the ingredients the same but just alter the amount, reduce or increase at times". He explained. "If we change the ingredients we wouldn’t be producing the same potion, also we could risk the potion festering or exploding.”

Azula nodded and looked down at the heavy tome placed in front of her. She would unpack the idiosyncrasies of his Tom Riddle's character another time, for now she had an assignment to complete.

She began reading the passages of documented cases of the luck potion. The time passed quietly as the fire-bender found herself intrigued by the contents of the readings.

Xxx

Tom looked over at his potions partner thoughtfully. The raven-haired girl had remained quiet, working through the tome with rapid speed, taking detailed notes with perfect penmanship. She had her hair styled differently today, instead of the open wavy flow she usually adorned, she had her hair artfully styled in a French side braid. It was a neat look that suited her.

Tom was glad she wasn’t feeling talkative today. He would have excused himself from the table if she proved to be one of those girls who giggled in his presence or gushed and fluttered their lashes at him, trying to oh-so-casually touch him.

He hated how Muggle-Borns or Half-bloods tried to flirt with him continuously. Sure, he carried himself as the perfect man, charming and the ideal Prefect, approachable and accommodating but that was no excuse for them to try and lay their hands on him. The Pure-bloods were respectful, they kept their hands to themselves and aimed to court him through the Old Ways. He appreciated the way they did things. The rules of courtship dictated that they could not touch him, even casually, they had to win his favour first.

Tom gazed at the Heir apparent across from him. She sat a respectful distance from him and he appreciated that. The last female student who he had to work with seated herself next to him and kept getting into his personal space, leaning in close to read his notes, tossing her hair constantly and fluttering her lashes at him. He felt nauseated by such uncouth behaviour. The female population always used studying as an excuse to try to lure him into their clutches, even in his earlier years. Contrary to popular belief, Tom had no interest in such affairs. He abhorred aimless conversation and courting seemed to entail lots of that, lots of meaningless chatter. There was also the fact that he despised physical contact, the only contact he had ever known growing up was violent. He never associated a human's touch with positive feelings but with disgust, distrust and pain. The only person who gotten away with casually touching him was Abraxas but he was his closest and most trusted friend, he still glared at him and shook him off but the blond was oblivious at times. If it was another person, Tom would've hexed them ugly but Abraxas was the closest member to him from his Knights.

After proving himself to be superior in magic and extremely intelligent, Abraxas was quick to befriend him. Tom doubted his intentions at first but the blond proved himself loyal and true, over and over again. He had his flaws but he preferred his company the most. They had a long history together and were nearing the end of their education together and created plans for the future together.

He viewed Abraxas as a constant in his life although he did not share everything with him, only what he deemed necessary to maintain their ties.

Tom gazed at Heir Eichiro thoughtfully. She held herself differently than the rest of her female peers, she did not giggle and socialize aimlessly. She was mostly quiet and held herself with dignity and honour.

Abraxas was unable to find any useful information on Eichiro. She remained a mystery to him. But he found himself uninterested. Even if she was powerful, she was in a gendered society and the role she’d ultimately play would be just another Pure-blood wife. After the potions debacle he found himself losing his curiosity, it was replaced by latent dislike.

He didn’t like her.

He found that he didn’t like most females in his year and she was just another female to be added to the group even if she was slightly more tolerable than the rest. But he could not forget her dismissal of the harmful nature of Amortentia.

He watched as the girl narrowed her golden eyes at the text, pausing in her notes, flipping through the book as she continued to frown. Her eyes assessed the pages she read and she frowned to herself.

“This is ridiculous,” she spoke with an annoyed tone.

She raised her golden eyes and looked at Tom. He arched a dark eyebrow inquisitively.

“These muggle witch hunts were driven by two reasons, one being religious persecutions and the other one was because magic itself was seen as something outside the norm.”

Her amber eyes were narrowed at the page.

“Here, it says the hunts in Britain were from the times of Salazar himself. But in America, they were slower on discovering the Wizarding communities but equally as brutal. They mostly caught women and children. Women because they tried to protect their children who exposed themselves with bouts of accidental magic. Instead of learning from Wizards, they hunted them down like animals.”

Tom saw disgust painted on her face, she seemed personally offended by what she read.

“Humans are naturally inclined to fear the unknown.” Tom spoke as amber eyes met his.

Her eyes were very unusual. Nothing like he'd ever seen before.

A rare molten gold.

“They fear change and difference was always condemned.”

Tom looked out the window, watching as the sun sank into the horizon. It was going to be dinner time soon. He thought back on how the priest that came to Wool's orphanage to deliver biblical lessons signalled him out for his difference, no doubt urged on by the matrons who considered him touched by demons, his eyes darkening at the unpleasant memories.

Difference was always a cause of fear, difference in ideology, in practices, in thoughts and even physical appearance and colour were causes of many Muggle wars.

He drew his gaze back to the silent girl who appeared to be lost in thought.

Xxx

Azula stared down at the book in utter disdain. The Muggles in this world through the course of history have been nothing but sources of pain, suffering and humiliation for Wizarding people. Families were torn apart as Wizards ran away as their communities were discovered, many murdered by mob mentality and others captured, and tried by an archaic system, never to be seen again.

What irked her the most was not the injustices, war was war and casualties happened. But what frustrated her was the Muggles attitude towards the magical community as inferior heathen pagans who were ruled by darkness. Magic itself was not dark, it was all about intent.

She pondered on the words she read.

Muggles carried misconceptions that all forms of magic were inherently evil and dark which led to many Muggle villages scouring the lands for wizards and witches and wizarding communities, hunting down many families and individuals for the slightest display of non-normative Muggle behaviour. Some executed were non-magicals but individuals who exhibited behaviour that marked them as Other, some were ill, displayed different-

“Muggles perceive magic as an evil force,” she muttered, glaring at the book. “There’s no such thing as good and evil. The world cannot be broken down into two neat binaries, there’s only power. Here the Muggles held more power in numbers and wizards and witches held less and were unprepared.

They never thought ahead to the day Muggles would discover them, they do not have military forces to subjugate the Muggles, only groups of Aurors and those are hardly sufficient enough in a full-on war. Consequently, they were driven off their lands and made to live in hiding, in secrecy because they were weaker.”

She flipped the page and kept frowning. “Also here, the Wizards complete dismissal of Muggle abilities because they are inferior non-magical is what caused their defeat in these hunts. Instead of shunning Muggles entirely, they should’ve learned about them.”

Azula lifted her gaze and saw Tom watching her with dark eyes, expression thoughtful.

“How so?” He inquired, gazing at her attentively. His attitude was different than the detached, uninterested approach he was projecting earlier. He appeared at the moment to be very assessing.

Azula closed her book and clasped her hands, gazing back steadily at the Slytherin Prefect.

“If Muggles are a threat to Wizarding society, we should learn more about them, learn their fears, their goals, their customs. Even infiltrate their own ranks and live among them to understand them. You cannot find your enemies weakness by living away in a fortified stronghold. That way wizards remain ignorant and unprepared. What happens if Muggles discover Wizarding society again? How would we hold out? We don’t even have an army or a structured military force.”

“What would you suggest, say if Muggles discovered us?” Tom asked. “That we all live together in perfect, gregarious harmony?” He arched an eyebrow challengingly.

Azula scoffed, rolling her golden eyes. “Please, we don’t need to hold hands with Muggles and run off into the sunset joyfully. We need to hold more power. They are greater in numbers. We need more trained forces, not just Aurors, we need reconnaissance teams-information gatherers and specialists, tactical teams, data analysts and even engineering teams.

Muggles have very advanced technology and they continue to advance. Think of the current Muggle war, we could learn about their technological advances, the nuclear warfare in some countries. We need to find out their weaknesses because right now, they hold more power with their strong military and weaponry.”

She stared at Tom with intelligent, experienced eyes. “Right now, if we fought Muggles, we would be annihilated.”

Tom leaned back into his chair and gazed at her thoughtfully. He twirled his quill in his hand and slid his dark eyes to the window. It was dark out, the sun having already set a while back as the two students lost themselves in the discussion.

He stared out at the expansion of Hogwarts ground, appearing pensive, going over his thoughts quietly. Azula let him have a moment to himself to order his thoughts. She knew the information she was passing was uncommon and hardly stated, although true. She knew Wizards thought themselves to be the superior beings in relation to all other creatures but she disagreed greatly with that notion. There was rightful superiority, like Fire-Lord Ozai ruling over his nation, executing his divine right to rule as a monarch from a longline of rulers and there was misplaced arrogance, like a Wizard underestimating a Muggle.

In what she perceived now, in the current state of the Muggle War, the Muggles held more power. Wizards were fools to look down on them and inaccurately perceive them as uncivilized savages who had not progressed or advanced since the Paleolithic era. She had studied both worlds when she spent her time in her hotel rooms, she found that Wizarding books presented an inaccurate portrayal of Muggles and that misinformation was very dangerous.

They were underestimating Muggles' ability to progress and advance while remaining stagnant themselves. She had read Muggle newspapers on the war, seen captured images of planes, bombed cities and desecrated lands and a significant amount of damage and high mortality caused by a few bombs. She read on the nuclear weapons-weaponry that did not exist in her previous world- and was blown away by the sheer power of it. One bomb can wipe off an entire nation off the map. Muggles were powerful, more so than Wizards and they were cunning, they had heavy surveillance and secret services that operated in the shadows. There was so much she did not know about them and she would be damned before she became like her ignorant peers.

She had to know her enemies and her friends, had to know the weaknesses and desires of both. 

Her ignorance had costed her greatly once. She had miscalculated.

She had miscalculated how strongly Mae loved her brother, she loved him enough to betray her-the Princess of the Fire Nation and align herself with her outlawed traitor brother, turning herself against her own Nation, family and people.

She still pontificated on that moment that cemented the end of their friendship, even now as she inhabited another world and left that life behind her. She found that she still did not understand Mae's motivations.

“I never expected this from you. The thing I don’t understand is why. Why would you do it? You know the consequences.”

“I guess you just don’t know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated.  I love Zuko more than I fear you."

Love.

All for love.

Azula did not understand.

She wondered if she ever would.

xxx

Albus Dumbledore gazed down at the Slytherin table thoughtfully. He noted the gregarious group of sixth years were missing their leader, Prefect Tom Riddle was absent from dinner. He noted that all the boys were present, some seated together and others mingling with the other sixth year girls-no doubt discussing their shared projects. Slughorn had joyfully shared his new innovative approach in pairing both groups together, to have them mingle more often. He had heard the complaints from his lions when they grieved not being partnered up with their close friends but Slughorn was adamant in his unconventional ways.

He surveyed the group of sixth years. Abraxas was sitting in the middle, on his side was Cassius and Orion. Abraxas was waving around a parchment, glaring in annoyance at Orion who continued ignoring him as Cassius watched the exchange in amusement.

Lestrange was leaning back in his chair, seated with the girls, he was rolling his eyes at Lyra who sat next to him, bent over a book with a concentrated look. She kept looking up and speaking to the silver eyed teen but he kept shrugging as she frowned deeply at him. Dumbledore wondered how that unusual pairing was faring, having to work together. He had expressed his concern when Slughorn shared with him the pairings for the term project.

He did not like the idea of Lyra Greengrass working with Altair Lestrange.

He was worried for Lyra, she was a sweet girl who was very kind and approachable. She was one of the few Slytherins who showed respect and care in his presence. Most Slytherins were wary around him but she remained the same.

Halley and Astra were both whispering together, comparing parchments of work, appearing very concentrated. He knew those two girls did not get along with either of their partners- Malfoy and Black. He knew that the Bullstrode family did not hold any power in comparison to the Ancient House of Malfoy. The same could be said about Parkinson and Black, Black and Malfoy were both ancient and powerful houses with lots of sway and wealth in comparison to the girls. He wondered if Slughorn chose everyone randomly or strategically.

The man was after all a Slytherin.

He noticed that Eichiro was also missing from the dinner table. He sipped his tea quietly. This was another pairing that caused him concern.

Azula Eichiro and Tom Riddle.

He wondered if they were with each other at the moment.

What could they be up too?

xxx

Tom gazed out the window, surveying the empty, dark grounds of a quiet Hogwarts. It was late  in the evening and they had missed dinner, caught up in their studying and conversations. He found that Eichiro was greatly intelligent. Tom had spent years hearing his peers ignorantly discuss Muggles like they were living in the Stone Age but they were unaware of the atrocities Muggles were capable of.

He knew from firsthand experiences how vicious Muggles were, how terrible their history was, how easy it was for them to become the monsters they feared. They kill over things such as skin color, language, religion and wage entire wars on other people because they spoke a different tongue or looked a different way or believed in different ideologies. Muggles were very dangerous but Tom never allowed these thoughts to be heard, thoughts like that would not be well met amoung Slytherins, he knew how backwards they were in their beliefs. He agreed with their notion of superiority only in magic but not in blood. Tom himself was the perfect example of the falsity of the unquestionable power of Pure-blood.

He was a half-blood and yet he was the strongest sorcerer in his house, even among all his peers in Hogwarts. It was an indisputable fact and his blood was not Pure, his father was Muggle- a non-magical and yet he was stronger than those from old, ancient lines like Malfoy, Lestrange and Black. He did not voice these thoughts however because to do so would turn all his peers against him.

He twirled his quill with his deft fingers, thinking deeply to himself.

Eichiro was right.

Wizards did truly underestimate Muggles.

He had firsthand experience with the war, experiencing the Blitz attacks from his time at Wool's Orphanage. It still continued on and that was why he never wanted to go back over the summer. The war was still on-going and growing rapidly worse in the Muggle War and he feared for his own life. Tom drew his eyes over to the Eichiro Heir, the girl had packed her books and was going over her notes quietly. He studied her concentrated expression and found himself intrigued. When she spoke of war and subjugation tactics, she sounded so sure, so confident and so experienced. It was like she had first hand experience with orchestrating and participating in a militia but that was impossible, right? She was sixteen, just like him.

It didn't add up.

He wasn't sure where to go from here. He began the session with concealed annoyance, irked at having to deal with the girl who thought Amortentia was not a big deal but yet as they sat and worked together, he found himself appreciating how quick she was to finish her work, with no complaints. He found her quiet company tolerable, he did not once find himself getting annoyed or impatient as he often did when forced to deal with the other gender. He also found her ideologies and worldview aligning with his greatly.

“There’s no such thing as good and evil. The world cannot be broken down into two neat binaries, there’s only power."

Tom found himself thinking similar thoughts over the years.

There is no such thing as good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.

He found that she mirrored his thoughts exactly, she shared with him similar beliefs he carried for years. Beliefs he held close to his heart as he gritted his teeth and endured the many trials thrown his way as he entered the Wizarding World as an unknown orphan, with no name, no worth. He held those beliefs as he was doubted by those around him, as he was treated as an outsider, sneered at and shoved away, he clung desperately, clenched his fists angrily, and clawed his way to the top because all he needed was power, power, power and more power.

And yet, at the top, he found that he could not share his real thoughts with his peers because they would never understand. They were misinformed and judged Muggles based on outdated books and inaccurate narratives.

We need to hold more power, Heir Eichiro had said.

Tom agreed with her sentiments. Wizards needed to hold more power to ensure their continued survival and the way the Wizengamot was going, they were weakening themselves and making their world vulnerable to Muggle attacks. Tom had started the evening disliking this Heir apparent but now he found himself intrigued and interested in conversing with her more. He wanted to know her thoughts on other topics and what she thought of the current Ministry of Magic and how they ran things. He wanted to see where else their beliefs further aligned and where else their beliefs differed. He valued intelligence greatly, being an extremely intelligent man himself and he could sense it in her. And yet she only showed him a minuscule piece. He was sure there was so much more.

The Slytherin Prefect made up his mind. He usually did not entertain the company of others outside his circle. He hated small talk and abhorred socializing without a purpose outside his Knights. Most socializing was frivolous but he found their conversation enriching and intellectually stimulating, it allowed him to think and reflect and conversations with other people seldom had such a result. Although he chose to keep his thoughts to himself tonight, he was satisfied to just sit back and assess Heir Eichiro. To hear her thoughts and deem her unworthy or worthy of his company.

He found himself leaning towards the latter.

xxx

The two made their way out of the library quietly. Azula found herself shocked at how much time quickly flew in the company of Tom Riddle. His company was not horrible, she found that she did not get agitated with him as she did with her other peers, mostly Parkinson and Lestrange, they were both exhaustive individuals.

She usually found herself annoyed at meaningless conversation but today's discussion was interesting. She knew Riddle held back from voicing his own opinions on the matter but she did not mind. Some people required more time before they showed an authentic side of themselves. She found herself slowly intrigued on the multiple layers of her potions partner.

There had to be more to him than Prefect, Slytherin Prince and Orphan.

"Dinner ended fifteen minutes ago," Tom spoke quietly, peering down at his watch. It was an expensive watch, its black leather strap shining mutedly and the roman numerals were carved in gold. It suited him greatly, he was always neat and proper. She gazed at it for a moment wondering if Tom received it as a gift. She knew from her dorm-mates that he was an orphan and that he was self-sufficient. She wondered if he could afford it, if he bought it or if it had been gifted to him by someone he cared about. It seemed like a thoughtful gift and if he wore it regularly, maybe it held sentimental value.

Curious and curiouser.

"I can show you the kitchens," he spoke, peering down at her thoughtfully as his watch disappeared under his sleeve.

Azula raised her head and looked up at the taller Slytherin. "The kitchens? As in where the peasants prepare food?" She gaped at him, golden eyes wide.

"You want us to eat there like commoners?" She hissed at him, glaring up at him.

She had never entered a kitchen in her life! It was beneath her! She always had food served to her in her hotel at a designated time period. Even when she was stationed on the Fire Nation ships, dinner was always brought to her private quarters by the cooks.

Riddle chuckled quietly, appearing entirely amused at her look of horror.

"Well...yes, but its either that or... starve." His lips quirked into a small smirk.

Azula huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine, lead the way Riddle."

Riddle nodded and she huffed one final time to express her great displeasure as they made their way through the quiet halls.

xxx

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

Transfiguration

The sounds of screams and agonizing pain echoed faintly from the distance, appearing to come from all sides. The smell of burning homes wafted through air and black ash fell from the darkened sky like soft petals into her pale palms. Azula stared up in the darkness, as the ashes fell onto her hands, light in touch but yet heavy with anger, despair and loss. A whisper dominated the distant screams, appearing to call to her from everywhere.

You have failed me Azula.

The whispers echoed all around the vacant space. It was dark. Very dark. The darkness was oppressive and Azula found herself standing in the wide open space, she couldn't tell where it began and where it ended. It reminded her of the sea at night when she was on her war ship, the waters stretched out before her, in encompassing darkness and she could not see any land. Standing under the moon during those nights always filled her with peace and calmness. She would go over her tactics and military objectives in her mind as she stared off into the night.

This place however was different, there were no crashing waves or comforting sounds of metal clanking and whines of the engines of her warship, it was all absent.

Whispers echoed all around her and the voice was familiar.

You are a failure.

Azula looked around searchingly, amber eyes wide and horrified. The voice was so familiar but she couldn't place where she heard it. The voice was drawing closer and closer. It was no longer an oppressive whisper but a daunting overpowering presence.

Failure.

The whispered word was familiar but it was never used to refer to her. Azula stumbled back and drew her arms forward, bending her legs into a defensive stance with practiced ease. She let out a blast of blue flames towards the voice as soft, sinister laughter echoed around her.

Azula.

"Show yourself!" She demanded.

Failure.

It taunted her.

Azula narrowed her golden eyes in anger and blasted more fire but to no effect. She drew back as a shape began morphing out of the whispers, a large and tall imposing figure appeared, features slowly shaping into a very familiar face.

Azula gasped as the dark, molten eyes of Ozai glared down at her.

"F-father," she croaked.

It was Lord Ozai as she remembered before her defeat, adorned in his crown and regal red robes. He stepped out of the shadows and the whispers stopped, an eerie silence taking its place. The distant screams of pain, agony and despair fell into a silenced hush.

The silence was deafening.

It was too quiet and too loud all at once.

Azula watched in frozen fear as her father lifted his arms, a large wall of imposing flames erecting under his command. The fire leered closer and closer, encircling itself around her form. Azula tried to release her own bending but found that she was unable to produce a single flame. The flames rushed at her and she raised her arms to cover her face, screaming as the flames engulfed her body.

xxx

Azula woke up with a sharp, terrified scream, arms raised above her head as she struggled against the flames engulfing her body. She continued to scream and thrashed in her bedsheets against the echo of flames against her skin, the smell of decay, burning flesh and ash around her. She heard the distant sounds of startled noises and calls echoed around her, she felt hands grab her and tether her as she tried to roll away from the flames.

She heard her name being shouted frantically and she opened her eyes in horror. She sat up in her bed, body drenched in sweat and perspiration. Her blearily eyes made out vague shapes of people hovering around her, calling out to her in concerned and puzzled voices.

She blinked rapidly, looking down at her arms. She tensed as she saw that they were pale and unburnt. There were no burning flames searing into her skin, marring her skin and branding her as another failure just like her brother. Another shame to be banished away from the family. She breathed heavily gazing around her with unfocused eyes, making out the puzzled and concerned faces of her dorm-mates as they hovered by closely.

A dream.

It was a dream.

She grit her teeth in anger and pushed away the concerned hands of her Lyra Greengrass and made her way out of bed. She stood on unsteady legs and grabbed her wand, summoning her clothes to her, she rushed out of the room, ignoring the calls of her name.

Azula stalked to the showers, determined to gain control of herself under the running water. She shed her clothes and stepped under the hot water, bracing herself against the wall. She ran a hand through her dark locks, closing her eyes and listening to the steady sound of the water, using it to anchor herself back, ignoring the echo of her father's whispers. Failure, failure, failure.

You're a failure Azula.

She hissed and raised the temperature of the water till it was hotter, much hotter, turning her skin red under the steady flow of the shower.

It was a dream.

Just a dream.

"A dream," she whispered, closing her eyes tightly and trying to erase the seared image of her father's disapproving and spiteful gaze. He gazed at her like she was a shameful, disgraceful presence that he wanted to remove forcefully.

She hissed in sharp pain and turned off the water with shaky hands, staring down at her reddened skin. She shivered as she still felt the lick of the flames against her skin. Her father wanted to mark her just like her brother. She recalled his own words when he sent her out on her first mission to remove the shameful stain from their family.

Iroh is a traitor and your brother Zuko is a failure. I have a task for you.

A task she had failed in greatly. Not only did she fail her father in apprehending Zuko but she also lost the Fire Nation throne to him. She was complicit in Ozai's loss of power and bending. Had she disposed of her brother and uncle successfully, neither would have joined the resistance and strengthened their enemies. Azula opened her eyes and stared down at her open palms and gazed at the pellets of water on her skin, recalling the petals of ash that fell onto her, covering her skin ominously.

She breathed deeply, pushing back her deprecating thoughts and grabbed the bottle of shampoo with steadier hands and proceeded to wash her hair, the sweet smell of peaches overtaking her senses and creating a sense of calm. The Fire Nation Princess sighed and readied herself for the day, ignoring the inquiries of the peers as she entered her dorm. She dressed quickly, pulling on her black tights under her knee-length skirt. She tied her hair into a high ponytail and steeled herself for another day.

The Fire Nation Princess took a steadying breath and made her way to the Great Hall.

xxx

Lyra Greengrass eyed her friend in concern as Azula continued to ignore her inquiries throughout the day. The Eichiro Heir had remained quiet during breakfast, a blank mask on her face as she drank her tea, refusing to engage in the chatter of her peers and dorm-mates. The girls walked ahead to their class of Transfiguration with Professor Dumbledore. The Eichiro Heir walked ahead next to Walburga Black. Black did not accost her with questions, remaining silent and observing after their room-mate woke them up with terrified screams. The girls made their way to the classroom and waited outside for the other students of the previous class to make their way out.

Lyra looked over at the lounging sixth year boys standing off to the side. She counted their heads and frowned, looking around for her project partner. The boys saw the girls approach and some nodded while Cassius and Avery made their way over, greeting and chatting with their group with matching grins. Lyra watched as Avery tried to engage the Eichiro Heir in a conversation but she nodded absently, clearly uninterested. Walburga made her way to the Black Heir who was resting against the wall, the girl grabbed his arm and hauled him to the side, whispering frantically to the other boy who gazed at her with unfocused eyes. He was clearly not there entirely.

Lyra watched in astonishment as Tom Riddle made his way towards them, dark eyes on Azula. He stopped in front of the other girl and the Eichiro Heir stared up at him, eyes becoming more focused and attentive.

"Riddle," Azula spoke, her golden eyes lightening up a small fraction.

Tom nodded at her. "Eichiro." There was a small smile playing on his lips. "Would you join me today in Transfiguration?"

The girls quieted down watching the exchange in shock. Since when did they get along?! Lyra exchanged glances with Astra who was trying to suppress a delighted smirk but was struggling. Ascella watched the two with a raised brow, nudging her twin with an elbow, as he shrugged his shoulders. Avery watched in resigned acceptance, stepping back from the two and joining Abraxas who was leaning against the wall, silver eyes watching the scene in silence.

Azula slipped a small smile on her lips. "Alright."

Lyra watched the two smile at each other like they were both amused with the situation. In a way, they both appeared to be judging one another but yet there was an air of eagerness present as if they wanted to be in each other's presence. She frowned deeply, she did not know how to feel about this.

xxx

Albus Dumbledore watched in silent judgement as the Slytherins arranged themselves differently in their seating arrangement. In his classes over the years, Riddle always sat in the back seat with Malfoy yet today was different. Malfoy was seated with Avery a few seats forward, that was unprecedented. But they weren't the only ones who decided to sit with their other peers. He watched as Walburga Black entered the class with her hand clasped tightly onto the Black Heir's arm, dragging him to the Slytherin side of the room and sitting him down next to her. She turned to her betrothed with dark eyes and hissed a few words at him, as Orion sighed heavily at her, slouching in his chair in resigned acceptance.

Lestrange sat with Cassius while the rest of the girls paired themselves up together. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes in apprehension as the final two Slytherins made their way to their seats, he watched in dismay as Azula Eichiro and Tom Riddle sat together in the very back row, both speaking quietly among themselves.

The Deputy Headmaster released a sharp breath. This was a pair of students he did not want getting along or spending time with each other. He had carried out inquiries on the Eichiro family but found very little information, that alone made him very suspicious of the new student.

He was only able to grasp onto small strings, she was Heir to a very old bloodline, her family was deceased, and her information was protected by the Ministry Unspeakable department. He had hired his private contacts to dig out information but they expressed the difficultly and impossibility of gaining more information as it was heavily protected and guarded. He was aware that the Eichiro Heir was strong, he knew from Professor Merrythought that the Heir was able to use non-verbal magic and without using her wand.

He knew another student capable of such power. Another Heir to an ancient and noble line, Heir Slytherin. Dumbledore's twinkling eyes dimmed significantly as his gaze fell on the Slytherin Prefect.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, he thought sourly.

The Eichiro Heir could be persuaded to his side, to his ideologies but as long as she spent time with the Slytherin snake, she was at risk of being corrupted. She was new to Britain and she still had time to acclimatize and choose sides. There were many good Pure-bloods who followed him, such as Septimus Weasley and many other lions. He knew that Eichiro spent time with Lyra  Greengrass and Halley Bullstrode, two Slytherins he really approved of. They were studious and calm girls. Lyra was the kinder Slytherin while Halley was observant, respectful and quiet. Both were a good influence on the new student.

But Riddle, the perfect, amiable Prefect would be a poisonous presence to the Eichiro Heir. He would fill her mind with dark ideologies and corrupt her with evil acts of violence, sweet words of domination and lure her in with promises of power.

Dumbledore would not allow it. The Gryffindor Professor turned back to his desk, mind made up, he began to teach his class.

xxx

Azula eyed Riddle's work of perfect, impeccable transfiguration. Dumbledore began the class with a quick review session and introduced them to live, animal transfiguration, they were each presented with a rat and were to transfigure the animal into a goblet. The Eichiro Heir looked around at her peers and watched as they struggled, some managing only a partial success. Their goblets had tails or whiskers or had the layers of fur on them.

Pathetic, she thought with a sneer. These were children from ancient and noble families and this is what they're capable of?

She sighed in heavy disappointment, her own transfiguration was better and she had only wielded magic for a few months. Sure, she was a prodigy in the Fire Nation but it seemed her status and superior abilities followed her here as well, that or most wizards and witches were truly incompetent.

So incompetent, she thought in dismay, her eyes gazed away from the lions and looked towards her seatmate.

Hmm, not all though.

Riddle's goblet was a rich gold with spirals of silver wisps intertwining into an intricate pattern of runes. The Prefect waved his wand in boredom and transfigured red rubies onto his goblet and continued to play around with the colours, transfiguring more detailed patterns on the outer surface. She watched as he transfigured an image of silver snake that wrapped itself around the chalice, patterns of blue and gold on its thin scales.

Riddle sat back, twirling his wand in boredom, his dark gaze shifting to the lions who were being praised for their pathetic and failed work of transfiguration. Septimus Weasley's goblet had both a tail and small paws that the boy failed to remove.

"Is there a reason the Professor was watching you like a hawk the second we entered class?" Azula inquired, waving her wand around, carefully cementing the shape of her goblet, making it more sturdy.

Riddle turned to her and watched her work in a few moments of silence. "You noticed?"

Azula scoffed as she lowered her hand, satisfied with her red and gold goblet. She turned to him with amused golden eyes.

"Please, the second we walked in he would not look away. He's as subtle as a komodo rhino."

"A what?" Riddle furrowed his brows.

Oh no! Those don't exist here, she thought with slight panic.

Azula waved her hand, acting dismissive. She sighed inwardly as Riddle narrowed his eyes, distracted by blatant disrespect of her behaviour. She turned her gaze to the Professor with horrendous robes.

"Is there a reason he continues to ignore your work?" She asked, peering at his perfect finished product.

Riddle had the best finished goblet among all their peers and was clearly finished his task. She watched as the Professor continued to ignore their table, nodding at their fellow classmates and praising Lyra and Halley's work, yet he continued to ignore their table although Azula continued to stare at him, waiting.

And waiting.

xxx

Tom rested his cheek against his palm, gazing thoughtfully at the Eichiro Heir. He trailed his eyes down to her golden and red goblet.

He frowned, Gryffindor colors.

Her transfiguration work was impressive, not as good as his but much better than the rest of his peers. He gazed at the rest of the snakes, they were doing much better than the lions. Abraxas had a beautifully crafted goblet on display, it was similar to the ones he used in Malfoy manor. Altair was struggling, his strengths were in curses and duelling, he did not have the patience for transfiguration. Cassius and Perseus both displayed mediocre works, both passable and still better than most of the lions.

Tom slid his eyes back to the girl seated next to him. He had approached her and asked her to sit next to him, finding himself eager to spend more time with her to assess her abilities and performance in other classes. He found himself impressed that she was able to pick on Dumbledore's intensive spying, the man thought himself subtle but she picked up on it immediately after setting one foot into the classroom.

He wondered about her quick dismissal of the strange animal she spoke of.  What in the world is a komodo rhino? Were they a magical breed native to Japan?

Riddle tapped his fingers against his chin thoughtfully, he didn't think so. The Asian Rhino, the non-magical breed, was native to India, Nepal, Bhutan and Indonesia. He turned his dark eyes to the girl and watched her as she watched their Transfiguration Professor.

She appeared to be waiting.

"He's not going to acknowledge your work," Tom spoke softly.

She snapped her eyes to him, narrowed and critical.

"Why ever not?"

Tom smiled, waving a hand towards their esteemed Professor nonchalantly. "Well, he mostly rewards points to his lions, never to the snakes. And..." he hesitated, unsure if he should share this part.

"He's biased towards me, I'm afraid." He explained, sighing.

The girl furrowed her brows. "Why? You're clearly the most advanced," she said waving a hand at his goblet. "In comparison to those gorillas." She inclined her head towards the lions. "And you seem like the perfect student."

Tom titled his head in interest, watching her glare in offence at their Professor.

Seem.

You seem like the perfect student. Not you are the perfect student but you appear as such. Tom chuckled quietly in amusement, shaking his head in wonder. How was she, in a matter of a few weeks, only a month, able to see past his perfectly constructed persona and discern that there was more to him that.

She was truly an enigma. He was starting to enjoy her company.

xxx

Azula fumed silently in her seat, she was not used to being ignored by anyone. She was royalty and this darn old plebe was ignoring her work and not awarding her due House points for her transfiguration work. She knew Riddle deserved points as well, his work was remarkable as well as Malfoy, his work was also very well crafted and yet he continued to award points to the hippo cows in red.

Azula raised a hand, waiting for the Professor to acknowledge her. She would get her damn house points. "Professor, if you would take a moment to look over my work," she spoke.

"Confronting him head on, Eichiro?" Riddle whispered next to her, sounding utterly amused.

The lions looked over at her and Riddle's finished work, some glaring and others appreciative. Professor Dumbledoor stood by Weasley and his friend, Longbottom, who were both glaring at her as she glared back at them in disdain.

"You probably had Riddle help you," Weasley said with a smirk.

Azula bristled.

Agni, is this imbecile accusing me of cheating?!

"You dare accuse me of cheating?" She hissed, golden eyes sharping and promising pain.

Weasley cowered in fear but glared back, probably feeling safer next to his most beloved, biased, prejudice Professor.

"Yea, you probably failed to do it on your own so you had Riddle do it for you." Weasley spat.

Azula clenched her fists, lowering them from the table onto her lap as a fiery, simmering rage surfaced. She felt the warm call of her bending coaxing her, telling her to call forth her flames and put this imbecile in his place. Clearly last time wasn't enough.

How dare he accuse her of failure? How dare he blemish her reputation that way? How dare he dishonour her that way?

Failure.

Azula.

Azula.

She heard the whispers come forth, the calling of her father's damning voice, condemning her, banishing her just like her brother. She felt the simmering heat draw closer and closer, threatening and oppressive. She smelt the burning scent of flesh under her nose and her arms shook in suppressed rage, a feeling of anxiety fluttering in her stomach, angry thumps and a whirlwind of fluttering making her feel sick and choked with the need to prove herself, that this was her own work, that she was not a cheater, that she was not a failure. 

"I'm not a failure," she whispered very quietly, her own claim silent to her peers. She glared at the occupants of the room, digging her nails into her palms roughly, trying to center herself, to reign her anger in but the whispers were getting louder, louder, louder.

Azula.

Azula.

You're a failure Azula.

Azula felt her skin open under the sharp pressure of her nails digging into the calloused skin of her palms.

I cannot bend, I cannot bend, I cannot bend, she repeated in her mind as her fire drew forth in her core, feeling like an insistent itch wanting, begging, screaming to be released. It was painful, suppressing her bending was becoming painful. She felt a searing pain in her core, spreading from her solar plexus and stretching to her lower back. She held back a gasp at the sharp pains.

Azula.

I cannot bend, I cannot bend, I cannot be-

Azula felt a soft touch on her clenched fists, grounding and steadying her.

"Accusing Eichiro of cheating because you continue to perform pathetically is inexcusable Weasley," Riddle’s voice cut through the murmurs in the class, commanding everyone into silence.

Weasley spluttered and the lions bristled, some appeared fearful and others indignant on behalf of their friend. Riddle's voice was like ice, his eyes hard and dark. Azula looked up at the Slytherin Prefect in shock, his face was in a perfect emotionless mask but she could see the tension in his jaw.

"That's right, you're just jealous she wiped the floor with you in Defence," Avery spoke, glaring at the red-haired teen.

"Yup!" Cassius chirped from his seat.

"I mean, you are as skilled as a flobberworm Weasley so...no surprise there," Altair drawled.

"Jealously is an unbecoming trait." Abraxas sniffed.

"How dare you?! You bloody slimy snakes!" Weasley screeched, face burning as red as his hair.

Altair laughed, throwing his head back. "He thinks snakes is an insult! Oh you poor sod. We're Slytherins"

He grinned at him, teeth sharp and menacing. "We are proud to be snakes, it is our legacy."

Dumbledore glared at the Slytherins and raised his voice to call order. His blue eyes fell on Riddle and he gazed at him, disdain and disapproval clear on his ageing face. The Slytherin Prefect stared back at him, chin lifted high in defiance and eyes darkening with suppressed hatred.

"Ten points from Slytherin for insulting their peers." The Professor spoke.

The snakes hissed, bristling at the injustice while the lions preened at their loss of points.

Azula grit her teeth, she wanted to blast the bloody man for his actions. She felt Riddle tighten his hold on her clenched fists and she looked down in shock. She had forgot that he grabbed her earlier, stopping her from using her bending and anchoring her back.

"Don't argue, he'll only take away more house points," he said to her quietly, drawing his hand away.

She gazed over at him and the rest of the seething Slytherins. "Is he always this biased?" She whispered back.

Riddle turned to her with a hollow smile and tired eyes. He shrugged, trying to appear casual but she saw through it.

"Sometimes, he's worse."

Azula drew in a sharp breath. What could that mean?

The fire bender turned her gaze back to the Professor who was wrapping up his lecture, she pursed her lips in annoyance, gazing down at her fists. She opened her palms slowly and gazed down at the bloodied dents in her hands, she had broken through her skin by holding back. She sighed heavily, flexing her fingers in contemplation. Her inability to bend freely was problematic, she did not expect the sharp pain through her core when she suppressed her fire. She had never felt that pain before and it was alarming. She sighed, it was one thing after another. Her nightmares were encroaching onto her daily life and that was deeply concerning and troubling.

"If you'll allow me," Riddle spoke quietly.

Azula looked up at him in shock. He was gazing down at her palms, spinning his wand between his fingers expertly.

She nodded hesitantly. She didn't expect any of the snakes to know healing magic, it just seemed like they were mostly offensive and not defensive. Riddle pointed his wand at her palms and casted a non-verbal healing spell. Azula watched fascinated as her wounds closed, leaving behind only flecks of dried blood. Riddle tucked his wand away and nodded at her, giving her a dim smile.

She watched as he packed his books, transfiguring his goblet back into a rat with a wave of his hand. She wondered how efficient Riddle was in healing spells, was there a reason for him to learn them or did he covet all types of knowledge? She packed her books and aimed her wand, expelling her transfiguration. She cast a levitation spell and floated the rat back into the cages at the front of the class. She watched in contemplative silence as Riddle's rat crawled to the cage on its own. The Prefect had not cast any spells on it, only merely staring into the eyes of the animal and it acquiesced immediately.

The students made their way out of the class, the snakes angry and subdued. Riddle stalked forward and disappeared down the hall with Abraxas calling after him, the rest of his friends trailing behind.

Azula watched in silence, contemplating the extent of Riddle's magic. She witnessed high non-verbal magic casting, advanced transfiguration and his manipulation of the animal's will silently.

Can he control animals? She furrowed her brows. How does one even do that? Is it a spell?

She gazed down at her healed palms, thinking of the warmth of healing magic as it closed up her cuts. Riddle was efficient and he moved quickly and with practiced ease. It was like he casted healing spells regularly, he wasn't a novice.

Is it because of Lestrange?

Was he accustomed to regular healing because he had to heal the Slytherin menace day after day? But the Slytherin menace was often in the infirmary after his duels so it couldn't be all Riddle.

She sighed heavily to herself, continuing to gaze at her healed palms. The more she learned about the Prefect the more questions she had.

xxx

Tom made his way to his next class, his friends falling behind closely but keeping quiet. They knew he was most dangerous after crossing Dumbledore so they kept quiet but close in case he needed them. He could hear Abraxas whispering angrily to Altair who was swearing up a storm, albeit doing so in whispers, they were still quite loud.

Tom gazed at his own hand, he had reflexively grabbed Eichiro as he watched her shake in suppressed rage. He was familiar with that rage, he knew it simmered and simmered until it manifested into an uncontainable explosion. And in that moment, he felt a need to anchor her and bring her back. He remembered seeing the strange callouses on her palms after he healed her cuts. He had never seen a Pure-blood lady with calloused hands.

What caused that? Did she have a different upbringing?

He frowned to himself, dropping his hand to his side. He did not know why he did that. Eichiro getting into trouble had nothing to do with him but he didn't like the idea of Dumbledore winning or getting his way. If he let Dumbledore draw her into detention, who knew what stupid things the old coot would spew at her? He doubted she'd be swayed anyways, there was something about her that signified otherwise. She did not appear very...Light.

He wondered what caused her trigger, he had heard her whisper. Only him.

I'm not a failure.

It sounded agonized and desperate.

What was that about?

xxx

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

A Boggart

Azula found that sleep did not come easy to her as the days continued on. Her nightmares perpetuated in a continuous cycle, more frantic and regular, always the same black room, with no beginning or end. The ashes falling, the screams echoing and the smell of burnt flesh and decay permeating through the air. Ozai did not appear after the first time but she felt his disapproval in the back of her conscience.

She abhorred sleeping now, allowing herself just a few hours each night. Instead, she chose to take up space in the common room at odd hours, allowing herself to mostly read further into the school curriculum and test different spells. Some nights she merely just sat there staring into the flames in the fireplace, anxious about her own bending. Tonight, she sat up reading through her Defence Against Dark Arts book, going over different content, pausing as she flipped through the pages listlessly.

She paused, peering down at the page in silence.

Boggart.

She drew in a sharp breath as she recalled Professor Merrythought informing them of her desire to review previous material. The Professor intended to conduct a boggart demonstration.

Azula frowned deeply, reading the page with intense concentration. She read on how boggarts drew on people's greatest fears and the only way to defeat them was through humour.

Fears.

Azula leaned back into the couch and stared into the fire with dark molten eyes, feeling exhausted and drained all at once. She knew she was acclimatizing to this new world but she still felt adrift. She had no palace maids waiting on her every need, she had to attend to herself for everything and at times she felt a sense of displacement. She missed the meetings in the War Chambers where she would strategize and make plans to subdue her enemies. She missed the bustle and shuffle in the great city of Caldera. She missed commanding her people and how her presence alone commanded respect and fear.

Here, she was a nobody.

Sure, she had an ancient name and bloodline in this world but she couldn't even find any traces or history of her own people. They existed but they had died out, she was the last of her kind. Her...friends...well she didn't really have friends, especially not after the betrayal of Mae and Ty Lee. Her acquaintances, Lyra and Halley were just so...boring. They did not understand her, their interests were all so different. All her dormmates were interested in their future marriages and were mostly intrigued in topics of gossip that revolved around a bunch of teenagers. They weren't interested in discussing politics or different forms of magic or history or anything really of substance and value.

They were all so...plebeian.

Well, most of them anyways, Tom Riddle was somehow an exception.

She found that she couldn't connect or relate to the majority of her peers. Especially her female peers. Why do their entire lives seem to revolve around topics of romance and marriage? Sure, at her prime and youth, she wouldn't mind meeting another man but someone who would meet her standards just seemed impossible. She remembered the brief encounter of her first romantic fumbles with Chan on Ember Island and how she had been jealous of Ty Lee being surrounded by many admirers, while she-the Fire Nation princess- was standing alone because she was too...challenging.

Ty Lee had been shocked by Azula's own insecurities because how could she be unpopular.

You're the most beautiful, smartest perfect girl in the world.

Azula knew she was beautiful and intelligent and very much close to perfect. She use to think herself perfect before, with her prodigious bending, her ability to concur and concur and rise on top of the ashes of shame and humiliation of her victims. But now after her defeat by the Southern Water Bender, she knew she was not perfect. She wasn't always going to be the winner but she would always try. But even in the Fire Nation, when she always won, she always found herself alone.

Mae had Zuko, she always did, since they were all small children running around the turtleduck pond. Ty Lee had many admirers and she had seamlessly joined and befriended the Avatar and his gang of misfits. But Azula had no place after the war. She had no one there or here, no one to share her fears with, or successes or anything really.

For some reason when I meet boys they act like I'm going to do something horrible to them.

I'm sure they're just intimidated by you.

Azula thought on her peers, scowling as she thought of Weasley. He was definitely intimidated by her. He always cowered when he saw her walking down the hall but yet he continued to gaze her way in their shared classes and in the Great Hall. She still owed him for accusing her of cheating. She sighed heavily, wondering if she should resign herself to a life all alone.

Ty Lee had advised her to just laugh and giggle and pretend to be enamoured by everything boys said to her, like she was an utter airhead with no substance, intelligence or character of her own. Now in hindsight, that was terrible advice because she could only hide her true self for so long before she slipped. She recalled how Chan was interested in her as a giggling airhead but the second she slipped into her true self, he ran away.

Pathetic.

The firebender gazed into the lit fire with a heavy heart. She felt so conflicted, tired and lost. Men here were not drawn to powerful women, they were seen as oddities, outliers that did not fit the norm. Men here did not want their women to be powerful but they wanted them to be docile, to encompass the rigid roles of good wives and mothers, to raise their children and ensure the continuation of their bloodline, that seemed to be the only purpose of women here.

Azula thought of her Defence Professor. She wondered if the woman married or chosen a career of teaching over family duties. Or had she done both, had power and family? The Princess did not know many powerful females in Wizarding Britain, which was sad. She had known many powerful females in the elemental nations. There was the blind Earth bender who was a master in her own craft, her own lack of sight never hindering her abilities. There was the Water Tribe Southerner who had been complicit in her defeat in her final Agni Kai. Even the Kiyoshi Warriors, although she had defeated them, were still remarkably strong in their own craft. Mae and Ty Lee, experts in their own way, even without bending, they were still formidable allies. And yet, here in Wizarding Britain, she did not know or see many powerful females.

She knew Walburga Black was powerful, the girl was ruthless and almost as cruel as Lestrange but yet she did not want to pursue a career or powerful position. She scoffed at the idea and flipped her hair, stating that her duty and honour was to her bloodline and to the Black family as the future wife of Orion Black.

Duty.

Honour.

Family.

Bloodline.

Azula tapped her fingers against her Defence textbook, closing her eyes tightly. What was her duty? What was her role in this world? The Face Stealer had said she had a destiny, etched into the stones, a role to be fulfilled. Was it to continue the Eichiro bloodline when she did not even know who the Eichiros' were and what their values are?

She was an Eichiro here, but what did that entail?

Did she have to marry? But she was an orphan, who would arrange all that? Did she even want that?

She would never subject herself to a rigid marriage where her only role would be to be a child-bearer. That was incredibly stifling. She just wanted to be Azula. But here she was Azula Eichiro, there was already an identity inscribed onto her.

She was the last of her line.

In the Fire Nation, she was a Princess and honour bond to her nation, to her father's wishes, to her peoples glory, she had the divine right to rule. But here, no family, no duty, no friends, no divine right, a strange bloodline, what did she have?

"What do I have?" She whispered, staring tiredly at the flickering flames.

If only she had someone to speak too, a friend, a confidant. Mae and Ty Lee were her confidants, they were her friends. Even if she was stronger, even if she was the royal princess, she still trusted in her friends, spoke to them of her concerns and worries, more so Ty Lee than Mae but she still cared for them both deeply. But now, she was on her own.

She sighed, dropping her head into her heads.

Time stretched on in silence.

xxx

"Eichiro?"

Azula lifted her head from her hands and her golden eyes fell onto the form of Tom Riddle. He wasn't wearing his robes but was wearing thin, silk pyjamas that were a light blue with white stripes. His hair wasn't perfectly styled and his bangs were falling over his eyes, eyes that stared at her inquisitively.

He appeared much younger like this, more rumpled and it was somewhat endearing.

She knew that he was attractive, objectively speaking but like this...this was something else entirely!

"Isn't it too early to be up?" He inquired softly, casting a non-verbal tempus. Azula eyed the time, it was 4:07 in the morning. Time had fled by again as she lost herself in her thoughts. The sky was still dark out and here was Tom Riddle, in silk pyjamas, holding a book in his hand and appearing right at home, like this was normal behaviour for him.

How curious.

He smiled at her, a small amused smile that actually seemed to be genuine and not masterfully executed as he often did with other people. She drew her eyes away from his soft appearance and eyed his book. He noticed her gaze and lifted the book and made his way towards her.

"Its a political treatise." He spoke softly, keeping the cover away from her.

Azula turned her gaze back to his comfortable outfit and mussed hair.

He chuckled softly, still appearing amused. "I didn't expect anyone to be awake really. I sometimes like doing quiet reading when I can't sleep." He explained as he stepped forward.

"May I?" He inquired, gesturing to the empty space next to her on the couch. Azula nodded, shifting her Defence book into her lap to make room for the boy.

Riddle took a seat next to her but kept a respectful distance between them. He was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body but far enough that they did not touch. It was strange, the distance and gesture, them sitting together side by side in the strange hour of the night, occupying one couch was almost friendly and she wasn't sure that was how she'd define their relationship.

Friendly.

They had been spending more time together recently these past few weeks. They now permanently sat together in transfiguration, swapping ideas and ignoring Dumbledore while he ignored them in return. They were always the first to finish their work in Transfiguration and at times they worked on their Potions project in the library, upgrading their notes and at other times they discussed magical theory, the current state of politics in both Muggle and Magical worlds and the war. They were definitely closer than before but she did not know how to define her relationship with the Slytherin Prefect.

He wasn't exactly her friend but he wasn't an acquaintance or a stranger either. She's never had any male friends before. It was all strange and new. 

Was Tom Riddle her friend? 

Hmm...she did not know.

Riddle remained quiet, opening his book and beginning to read. Azula eyed the title, eyes widening briefly, it wasn't in English.

The Prefect turned to her with a small smile, tilting the book towards her.

"Il primo metodo per stimare l'intelligenza di un sovrano è guardare gli uomini che ha intorno a sé." He spoke quietly, his amused tilt of the lip turning into a full smile as Azula narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

She frowned deeply. "What does that mean?"

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him." Tom translated.

Wise words, she thought. Very wise.

"You can speak Italian? Wait, you're reading in Italian?"

Riddle chuckled quietly. "Yes," he said in a light tone, refusing to add any more details.

Azula's eyes widened. "How many languages can you speak?"

Riddle shrugged nonchalantly, turning back to his book. "A few."

She stared at him, utterly impressed. A few? A few. That definitely meant a lot.

What else did he know? The more she learned, the more she wanted to know. It was like a chasm was opened wide in her chest and she wouldn't stop yearning for more until she figured him out. She watched him as he read, his dark eyes moved quickly over the text and he turned the pages with careful fingers, treating the book with respect and care.

She looked at the cover of the book.

Niccolo Machiavelli.

"I never heard of him." She spoke.

Riddle paused, eyeing her with a guarded expression. He gazed at her face, appearing to think something over. "He was a Muggle. This is a political treatise on being an effective ruler, a prince. He's famously known amoung Muggles for his teachings that a monarch should be feared more than he is loved."

Azula hummed thoughtfully. He sounded very interesting. So these are the kind of texts Riddle reads at night alone for leisure? Muggle political treatise on how they ran and viewed governments, although historically outdated, still important as it represented a history, it signified a time period.

"Do you have a copy in English?" She asked as Riddle's eyes widened, guarded expression receding to one of curiosity and intrigue.

"I'm afraid I'm not fluent in Italian." She spoke dryly at his amused look. She noticed his eyes were lighter like this, an earthly brown softer than the darker shades he displayed to the world.

"I'll lend you mine," he said with a pleased smile that had Azula looking away from him.

Too handsome, he was too handsome!

In fact in the light of the flames and quiet of the night, he appeared beautiful. Especially with him appearing ruffled and more approachable in loose sleepwear and relaxing on the couch in odd hours of the morning. His dark locks looked very soft in the light, falling over his forehead messily, he appeared more youthful and less guarded. His pale complexion, long dark lashes that fell over dark eyes and sharp jaw all accentuated his features greatly, it was like he was sculpted by masters.

It was strange, she had felt awful earlier but in the company of Tom she felt her loneliness recede. Azula paused in her thoughts, when did she start referring to him as Tom?

She frowned to herself. Riddle! She chastised, he is Riddle.

Using his first name indicated a familiarity and a level of closeness she wasn't sure they had...yet. The Prefect continued to read quietly, he was not intimidated by her but actually appeared quite comfortable sitting next to her reading an Italian Muggle philosophy book.

Was this her life now?

She found that she didn't dislike his company, he was quiet, respectful, thoughtful and incredibly smart. He was also strong, and he did not shy away from her or hesitate around her as the other boys did. She remembered the party at Chan's place on Ember Island and Ty Lee's soft assurances.

I’m sure they're just intimidated by you.

She gazed at Tom Riddle thoughtfully, he wasn't intimidated and she did not need to giggle or laugh or pretend to be enamoured by what he said for him to seek out her company. He seemed completely fine around her even after she used her fire bending in Defence, he did not probe or pry at her sitting in front of the fireplace at the oddest hour of the night like Lyra and Astra would definitely do if they saw her. Azula felt comforted for the first time since she set foot in this world. She relaxed into the couch, picking up Defence book and doing her own quiet reading.

xxx

Azula watched in apprehension as Professor Merrythought prepared the class for their review session on boggarts. She had the class move the desks away to clear the room. In the front of the room she displayed a closeted space that shook as if something was moving and rattling the insides.

"Boggarts like to inhabit old places, dusty forgotten spaces and they will prey on your fears. Now remember, the enchantment is Riddikulus and this is all review from fifth year so I expect you all to be able to perform well."

Agni, I did not practice this! Azula cursed under her breath.

Boggarts were not something she covered on her own or practiced with the Unspeakables. The Unspeakable department was impeccably clean and orderly, she highly doubted she'd ever encounter a boggart there. Even in her hotel room, everything was perfectly kept and sanitized regularly, no boggarts would inhabit the space.

She paused, thinking of her hotel accommodations. I really need to look into permanent accommodations, I cannot live in a hotel forever.

She shook her head. Now is not the time for this.

She watched as the students divided themselves into two lines, the snakes on one end and lions on the other. The Gryffindors rushed forward because it was very brave to face your fears, especially airing your greatest fears out to everyone carelessly in the room was the highest point of courage. The Slytherins withdrew back strategically- in one swift synchronized motion- because it was not smart to air out yours fears among allies and enemies alike. Azula watched her peers critically, eyeing Riddle and his friends. They appeared too relaxed for people about to display their greatest fears in front all these people.

Why was this even part of the curriculum? Exposing one's greatest fear to a group of people was not right. It was damning. She was definitely making mental notes of the fears of the lions as they stepped forward bravely one after the other.

She gritted her teeth. She would not display her greatest fear to a bunch of strangers. She wasn't even sure who or what would show up. Fire Lord Ozai? Ursa? Zuko? Uncle Iroh? Mae? Ty Lee? Heck, even the Avatar was a viable possibility. Or would it be like her dreams?

It was too risky, it would lead to many questions, questions she could not answer. She wondered if her Unspeakable vow would keep her fears hidden because they would draw on memories from the elemental world. But she wasn't sure. She had accidentally mentioned a komodo rhino in front of Riddle in Transfiguration and the Vow did not block that slip. She wasn't sure how it operated but she was not going to gamble on it. If Ozai appeared, how would he appear? Like in her dreams, with his crown and regal robes, or on his throne with the wall of fire erected in front of him? Would she witness an Agni Kai between her and Zuko? Would she see herself failing again, even while she used her lightening bending, she still lost.

Every single memory was incriminating.

She could not risk it.

She looked around the room in desperation. She needed something, anything to cause a distraction. She slipped seamlessly between her peers, years of evasion and stealth honed into her body. She fell back undetected as the students were gazing at the front of the class. She moved to the very back of the room where she found the students had discarded their bags and books, she lit a small blue flame and set the Gryffindor bags on fire.

She looked at the Slytherin bags and pursued her lips, not wanting them to appear as the culprits by having their bags untarnished. She found that she wasn't too fond of the idea of Tom Riddle getting in trouble for something she did. She produced a few smaller flames on their bags and books, decreasing the damage and moved to the other side of the room. She released a few more flames, smaller and silent and watched as they turned red in color as they burned through the chairs. She slipped back into the crowds and eyed Weasley, standing a few steps ahead of her.

Hmm...I shouldn't, she thought, pursing her lips.

I really shouldn't.

She smirked to herself.

But I will.

She set a small flame on the lower hem of the boy's robes and slipped away, standing behind Lestrange who she knew would work as a lovely shield and deterrence. She wiped the smirk from her lips and maintained an innocent, shocked expression as chaos erupted around her.

Azula left the class with a vindictive, satisfied smirk as they were dismissed early.

xxx

"You know, there are other methods you could use instead of setting all our stuff on fire." An amused voice spoke as Azula looked up from her notes.

She was in the library, it was after dinner and she was working on one of her essays for her Charms class. She was sitting in the far corner, adjacent to the window displaying the grounds of Hogwarts. She looked up from parchment on different types of household charms and saw Altair Lestrange smirking at her, waving his scorched bag in the air as evidence.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she sniffed.

Lestrange grinned at her, his smile very wicked as he took a seat across from her.

"Of course not, you're completely innocent." He drawled mockingly, eyes wide and innocent.

Azula huffed and turned back to her essay ignoring the boy in front of her. She wrote a few sentences and felt his gaze still on her. She lifted her eyes and glared at him.

"What?"

Lestrange rested his chin in his palm and gazed at her looking very content and pleased. "I have something for you," he said with a grin. He reached down into his scorched bag and pulled out a very large tome.

He passed it to her and she gazed at it.

Mind Arts.

"If you don't want to reveal your fear to a boggart, you have to trick it." He explained, reaching over and opening the book to the table of contents. He tapped a section labelled The Art of Occluding.

"You occlude your inner deepest fears, you hide them away and you trick the boggart, you show it a smaller fear, a much simpler one that cannot be used against you."

Azula's eyes widened. She hadn't known that. No wonder Riddle and all his friends appeared so relaxed as they waited their turn. She eyed the heavy book in shock. She did not have access to this tome, it was not in the library and she knew that it was only accessible to Ancient and wealthy families. She had seen it momentarily in Unspeakable Ackerman's office but only eyed it curiously before finding herself occupied with more pressing matters.

"Is this your own copy?" She asked.

Lestrange smiled and nodded. "Its from the Lestrange library. I figured you'd need it more than me."

Azula felt shocked and...strangely touched. She would never associate the feeling of gratitude with someone as diabolical as Altair Lestrange but here they were, him lending her his own personal tome and helping her out.

"Why would you help me?" She asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

He grinned at her, placing his own books on the table. Azula winced in sympathy, some of them were really damaged. The raven-haired noticed her expression and waved it away with a shrug and an easy smile.

"I was impressed by what you did and well...I'm not impressed that often. You best start soon, Mind Arts are a bitch to master. I suck at Legilimency but I can give you tips on occluding. Merrythought will carry out the review session a second time at some point." He confessed waving his wand at his books, delivering non-verbal restorative spells easily as the books began to slowly shift back into their full, mended forms.

"Also setting that Weasel on fire, that's an instant guarantee for my friendship." He expressed with a grin, putting his wand down and opening his restored books, nodding to himself.

Azula let out a surprised chuckle. "So setting someone on fire is a way to cement a friendship with you?"

Lestrange shrugged easily. "Yea," he looked at her, a grin on his face. "Call me Altair."

Azula allowed a real smile of her own. "Only if you'll call me Azula."

xxx

Tom stared down at the pile of scorched books and bags piled on the ground of their dormitory floor. His friends stood around in a loose circle, eyeing the carnage of their personal belongings, some in amusement and some in annoyance. Abraxas was waving his wand around, restoring the books carefully and slowly while huffing and sniffing in distaste at the smell.

Tom knelt down next to the pile. He had instructed his friends to not fix their belongings immediately but to join him in the dormitory as they studied the extent of the damage. Altair had opted out of joining them, rushing to their rooms to grab a tome and disappearing right after. Tom knew immediately who was behind the fire but he wanted to study the spellwork. There definitely would be residue of magical spells used on their bags and books.

The Prefect waved his wand and casted a series of detection charms, frowning heavily as they failed to reveal the spells used. He had expected an incendio or other spells but nothing showed up.

It was untraceable.

Tom stared in silence at his burnt bag, the damage was not too horrible but he could not use it anymore without restoring it first.

"Well? What did she use?" Abraxas spoke as he knelt down next to Tom. The blond was aware that the culprit was the Eichiro Heir.

They all were.

Tom smiled. "Interestingly, I cannot find anything."

He stood up and watched as Abraxas frowned and began casting his own detection charms, ones he was taught as Heir Malfoy. His grey eyes widened and he stood up in shock.

"Nothing," he whispered. "But how?"

Cassius whistled. "Another Eichiro mystery to unravel."

Perseus sighed, running a hand through his brown locks, meridian eyes eyeing the mess in exasperation.

"Well, I guess we can fix everything now." The Slytherin seeker pulled out his wand and began helping his friends restore their books.

Orion grunted his agreement from his bed but refused to move a muscle. 

Tom watched as they mended their belongings, staring thoughtfully at the damage. Untraceable magic. He had never heard of such a thing. All magic left a trace.

Interesting, very very interesting.

He smiled to himself, waving a hand at his own belongings watching as they mended much quicker than his friends who sighed at the injustice of Tom's genius. He smiled innocently at his friends as Cassius and Perseus both glared at him in response. He blinked his eyes all slow and innocent for a moment before bending down to pick up his perfectly restored books and stepped away from the circle chuckling softly to himself. Abraxas rolled his eyes at his behaviour and stepped in to help fix Orion's belongings, the other being completely happy with leaving them how they were. 

xxx

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

The Attack

Tom Riddle allowed a small, genuine smile to overtake his features but he hid it expertly behind his raised tea cup. He sipped the hot liquid of peppermint tea contently and listened to the groans of Why?! and It’s too early! Can I AK myself please? followed by a I’ll gladly assist courtesy of Altair responding to the sleepy grouchy Perseus who was not lucid enough to warrant a response.

“Ladies, it’s a lovely day to be alive!” Cassius chirped as he joined the fray of sleepy souls at the Slytherin breakfast table in the Great Hall.

The blond hopped into his seat with a cheery grin and was met with various scowls and groans - and a Shut the fuck up, it’s too early! - courtesy of Orion Black.

It was Saturday morning and instead of allowing his friends a generous hour of extra sleep on the weekend, Tom Riddle demanded they be up earlier to prepare themselves for their Hogsmeade outing. Altair had muffled his indignant screeches into his pillow while the other boys whined and groaned as Tom smirked at them.

He loved being up earlier than everyone else and it was paramount that all his friends be fully prepared for their outing. He hated when Cassius always forgot something last minute and had to rush back to their dorms, delaying them further. Or at times they forgot Orion by accidentally leaving him fast asleep in some corner. Or at other times Altair would wander off before their departure and hex a few Gryffindorks and delay them further as he got himself into a full-out duel.

Sometimes Tom questioned why he even tried. His friends were such a handful at times. But even with all their exhaustive behaviour, Tom knew they had their good moments too.

Today he would make sure it was a good day. Today there would be no duels or forgotten friends or visits to the infirmary.

Today would be a day where they could all relax and enjoy themselves.

This year he put his foot down, forcing them all to be up earlier than they were accustomed. Plus it was nice having the Great Hall to themselves mostly. There was Professor Slughorn at the staff table, always the early bird, and a few stray Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs but it was still very empty.

“You’re all being ridiculous. It’s a perfect time to be awake.” Abraxas said, happily smearing jam on his toast, appearing very pleased with himself.

He, aside from Tom, was the only one who enjoyed mornings and was perfectly assembled. His long blond locks were tied into a short ponytail, his clothes and robes were perfectly ironed and immaculate.

Everyone else looked like they had just rolled out of bed, all scruffy and a few hairs sticking out randomly. Perseus especially had a very impressive case of bed hair. Cassius looked very cheerful but that was his usual approach towards most things in life, in great bouts of laughter and amusement.

“Tommm,” Perseus whined. “I think I’m gonna dieee.” He drew out the last word dramatically, his face obscured by his messy brown locks. They were usually styled artfully but today they resembled a messy curtain that hung over his face.

“I will do the honours,” Altair hissed behind his hands. He had his eyes clenched shut tightly, trying to keep the light away.

Tom chuckled quietly as Altair’s face fell on the table, a loud splat echoing through the Great Hall as he fell into a plate of scrambled eggs. Cassius guffawed in glee as Altair cursed up a storm, whipping out his wand and muttering cleaning spells like they were his lifeline.

Perseus watched the scene with a serene expression on his face, looking like he achieved nirvana.

“Oh you lot of ingrates, today is going to be fun. Stop being such grouches.” Abraxas said, frowning at his friends.

“Fun he says, like we’re bloody five,” Altair hissed angrily.

Abraxas sniffed haughtily and turned to their other friend. “And Orion! You-never mind,” the blond shook his head, sighing to himself in resignation.

Tom looked over to the Heir of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Orion had his eyes squeezed tightly shut, his hands in front of him patting the table as he felt around for the pot of strong coffee. He grabbed the pitcher of pumpkin juice and pulled it towards him, pouring expertly into his mug, not a single drop falling out, all while keeping his eyes shut tightly. Perseus made an impressed noise as he surveyed the scene with a sleepy gaze. Orion paused in his pouring, frowning momentarily. He lifted his cup to drink, sniffing its content.

“Fuck,” he hissed in annoyance, vanishing the contents of his mug with a wave of his hand. He reached out and patted the table blindly in search for the caffeine.

Cassius grinned and placed a pitcher of apple juice in front of his searching hands. Abraxas elbowed the other boy who snickered and shrugged as if to say What? I’m just trying to help!

Tom took mercy on the Black Heir and grabbed the pitcher of coffee, leaning over and pouring his friend a significant amount in his mug. Orion grunted his thanks and gulped down his drink eagerly.

“Drinking it black like your soul Orion?” Altair sneered, still annoyed at the audacity of the eggs making a home on his face.

Orion grunted and poured another cup, chugging it down like he was a parched man in a desert. He needed the whole pitcher to get through the day.

Tom clapped Altair on his shoulder, pressing his hand down firmly. “Now, let’s have a peaceful breakfast before we head out, alright Altair?”

Altair slouched in his seat, glaring at the plate of offensive eggs. He grabbed his wand and vanished the plate, reaching over vindictively and grabbing a perfectly buttered piece of toast off of Abraxas’s plate.

The blond squawked. “Give that back!”

Tom sighed, dropping his hand as Altair shoved the whole piece into his mouth, chewing angrily while glaring at the blond who was glaring right back, a red flush overtaking his pale features.

“Here, take mine,” Perseus offered in a tired voice as he placed a perfectly buttered toast on Malfoy’s plate. “I’m too tired for your drama. Please, just eat my toast.”

“Drama?! Me?! Why I’ve never-”

“I’m giving you all ten more minutes before we depart.” Tom spoke quietly, a harmless smile playing on his lips, a smile that did not quite reach his dark eyes.

The boys hurriedly stuffed their faces, forgoing years of pureblood table manners, minus Abraxas who would never stoop so low. The blond watched aghast as his friends fought like savages over toast and sausages, Perseus letting out an enraged battle cry as he used his Slytherin seeker skills to grab the food away from Altair's reaching hands. Abraxas cringed at the uncultured, animalistic display and turned to Tom with a pointed expression as if to say control your boys Tom! The Prefect arched a perfect eyebrow in silence and continued to sip his tea with a calm, serene expression as mayhem exploded around him.

xxx

In a brightly lit room a tall and imposing man with great stature stood overlooking the expansion of the city. His blue eyes watched the city inhabitants come to life as the sun began to rise, marking the start of a new day. 

The doors to the grand room opened and the man turned around, eyeing one of his most trusted subordinates.

The younger man stood straight, before falling into a low respectful bow.

"My lord, everything has been prepared." He spoke, eyes casted onto the ground.

The man hummed and gazed back to the city as the inhabitants came to life, ready to start their day. 

The younger wizard stood up, his eyes hard and determined. The man gazed at him in the reflection of the expansive glass windows.

"My lord, may we proceed?"

The blond man walked to his desk, grabbing his tumbler of fire whiskey, pouring a generous amount into his glass. He gazed at the glass as the ice clinked as the chalice was filled.

"Very well." He raised his glass to his subordinate, his cerulean eyes gleaming wickedly.

"Make sure to give them an unforgettable greeting." 

His subordinate grinned sharply, his teal eyes sharpening in anticipation. Bowing low at the waist, he bid his lord well. 

"We will not disappoint, my Lord."

xxx

The Eichiro Heir kept a shaky hand on her upper abdomen to steady herself against the searing pain spreading from her solar plexus to her lower-back. Azula grit her teeth and shifted in her bedsheets, trying to find comfort in the small movement as she lay listening to the sounds of her dormmates getting ready for their weekend outing. She wasn't sure she was up to join any of them today. She was so exhausted, running on very little sleep and a feeling of discomfort was overtaking all her senses.

The firebender released a long breath, ignoring the incessant tugging she felt in her core and rolled onto her stomach, pressing her face against her pillow. Lately, she had been feeling the overwhelming urge to firebend but she was unable too. After starting a fire in her Defence classroom during the Boggart review lesson, Azula found herself under the constant watch and scrutiny of one persistent Albus Dumbledore. The man sought her out to chat, inviting her to tea numerous times but she kept declining, insisting that she was adjusting fine and would not like to join him for tea.

Aside from consistent flow of invitations, the Deputy Headmaster kept a watchful gaze on her, especially when she interacted with Tom Riddle. He always appeared to be disapproving of her choice of company, which made no sense to her because it was really not any of his business who she spent her time with. After the fire incident, the man took to following her around Hogwarts discreetly. He thought himself to be discreet but it was no coincidence that he appeared in the same corridors, hovered around in the library when she worked with Riddle on their potions project, and kept his twinkling eyes on her when she was in the Great Hall.

That twinkling bastard! She thought sourly.

She was unable to access the training room on the seventh floor corridor because it was too risky. She did not want him to know that she used it lest he block her access to it. Hence, she was unable to bend in many many days and she was feeling the strain of not bending on her body and health.

It was strange. She never had to suppress her bending before so she did not know that doing so had dire consequences. She found herself more flushed and unsteady as the days passed on but she grit her teeth and kept going.

It wouldn't do to appear vulnerable.

To show weakness was a sign of failure.

She felt terrible. She hated how her bending would become something that would alienate her here when back in the elemental nations it was normative. She never had to hide it before. She did for a brief period when she, Mae and Ty Lee pretended to be Kiyoshi Warriors when they infiltrated Ba Sing Se. But even then she did not struggle like she did here. After taking over the Dai Lee discreetly, she was able to use her bending but used it in secrecy in the Crystal Catatombs beneath the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace, away from the prying eyes of Earth Kingdom soldiers.

Time continued to push forward and it had been four weeks since she had last used her bending and strange symptoms were beginning to show. It was now nearing the end of October for her and the weather was becoming colder. Usually her inner fire kept her warm even in cold temperatures. She did not feel as cold as most people who were not children of Agni. But as October drew to a close, the weather grew chillier and Azula felt a cold like no other beginning to seep into her bones and core.

"Are you okay Azula?" Lyra spoke, pausing next to her bed.

"I'm fine," Azula snapped sharply, forcing herself to sit up.

The last thing she needed was someone hovering over her. She could take care of herself just fine.

Lyra made a noise of protest and eyed her friend critically in silence.

The girl sighed heavily. "At least go to the infirmary and get a pain-relieving potion."

Azula closed her golden eyes and breathed deeply. If only this could be solved with just taking a potion. She forced her mind to clear from the dissonance of stress, anxiety and pain as she occluding her mind, drawing on the lessons from the Mind Arts tome. She was able to pick up occluding quickly as it focused on meditative techniques and as a firebender, meditation and clearing her mind was something she did as a daily exercise after practicing her katas. She felt her pain ease a small fraction as she focused her mind on the shuffle of her dormmates.

The loud noise drifted through the packed dormitories as students got themselves ready for their first Hogsmeade of the year. The sixth year girls rushed about, styling their hair and putting on thin layers of cosmetics to compliment their pureblood features. Azula watched passively from her bed as Parkinson stood with a mirror in her hand, gazing at her reflection in careful concentration as she expertly waved her wand around, the bottom of her hair folding into dark, luscious curls.

Walburga was painting her lips a fierce red that complimented her pale complexion. Halley was seated on her bed, a large stack of books spread out in front of her, she was flipping through them studiously, dark eyes sharpening as she took in the information on the page. 

Ascella rushed into the room, her long locks perfectly styled and grinned at her friends. She tucked a golden lock behind her ear and walked to the dresser, grabbing one of Walburga's expensive perfumes. She expertly dabbed the perfume onto her wrists and neck, turning her blue eyes curiously towards Azula.

"Will you not be joining us?" The blonde inquired, frowning slightly.

Azula shrugged. It was her first Hogsmeade outing and she was feeling neutral about the whole event.

"It'll be nice to enjoy a change of scenery Azula," Lyra spoke softly, still hovering by her bed.

Halley made a noise of protest, her eyes gazing longingly at her books. She clearly did not want to go on the outing, preferring to spend her weekend inside reading peacefully.

"Let's head to breakfast!" Ascella called out as she grabbed her satchel, waving to the girls as she rushed ahead.

Lyra waited by Azula's bed, turning big pleading eyes towards the firebender. The firebender sighed and stood up carefully, stretching her arms above her head. She could use a change of scenery, it beat laying in bed all day in pain and discomfort. At least going out would offer a distraction.

Lyra smiled brightly as Azula marched to the bathrooms, eager to get the entire day over with. Maybe she could find an apothecary in Hogsmeade and get some potions for herself. She didn't like the idea of getting some from the infirmary with the twinkling bastard hovering around.

"Halley, books away!" Walburga snapped as the girls hurriedly packed their bags, eager to get to breakfast and start their day.

xxx

The Great Hall was filled with a cacophony of noise as the students from all four Houses discussed their outing plans eagerly. Azula had her head in her hands, eyes shut tightly, ignoring the loud chatter around her. She was developing a strong migraine and there was a dull ache pulsating behind her eyelids. She felt someone reach over and place a careful hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe you should go to the infirmary, Azula," Lyra spoke softly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Azula lifted her head and blinked against the discomfort. She peered around at her peers. The sixth year boys were missing from the table, appearing to have left earlier than the rest of the students. Tom Riddle was the Slytherin Prefect so he was given certain liberties and did not need to wait to go along with the rest of the student body.

"Is it that time of the month?" Ascella questioned, her cerulean gaze thoughtful.

Walburga rummaged through her satchel and pulled out a small vial. She passed it to Azula with a pointed look. "This will reduce your discomfort."

Azula wanted to reject the vial but Walburga pressed it into her hands.

This wasn't regular menstrual cycle pain. This was pain caused by her inability to use her element. She remembered a story Uncle Iroh told her and Zuko when they were small children. A story about a fire-bender who burnt his own wife in an fit of rage and in his grief and despair, he began rejecting his fire, refusing to bend again. The man became very sick overtime and eventually his body weakened to the point where he couldn't leave his bed, fevers and tremors keeping him bedridden. By denying his own bending, the man slowly began to fade away.

He began to die.

In the story, the man only survived when his wife came back and forgave him for his mistakes. He accepted his fire again and was able to restore his health and strength. She remembered Uncle Iroh saying that it was the love of his wife that saved him. She had scoffed at the story at the time, thinking the man stupid and pathetic, allowing sentiment to make him weak. But now she felt real fear as she remembered the tale from her distant childhood.

Is that what was happening to her? Was any of it true? Do those who reject the gift of Agni and deny their fire truly start to die?

Azula opened the vial with shaky hands and drank the bitter potion quickly, grimacing at its awful taste. She ran a cold hand across her perspiring forehead and breathed deeply, feeling a slight improvement. It wasn't much and it was only a temporary solution but she would be able to get through the day.

"Thank you," she said to Walburga who nodded at her.

The girls finished their breakfast and made their out of the Great Hall, ready to join the rest of the Slytherins on their walk to Hogsmeade.

xxx

Hogsmeade was a lively place with a number of shops with colorful displays. The Slytherin students split up into small groups, each going to different shops. The older male students went to The Three Broomsticks to enjoy a few rounds of mead. The younger students headed towards Zonko's Joke Shop and HoneyDukes Sweet Shop. Most of the female students congregated in Madam Puddifoot's teashop to gossip and catchup with students from other houses. Ravenclaws met up with fellow Slytherins and Gryffindors hung out with fellow Hufflepuffs.

Azula split up from her group, deciding to explore the space by herself. Lyra had protested greatly in concern but Azula told her she needed time alone to breathe and relax. The firebender had glared at the blond girl in annoyance. She didn't need a sitter to watch over her. She was fully capable of taking care of herself.

The girls relented after a short argument and they headed down to the tea shop. Azula was not very interested in tea. It reminded her too much of Uncle Iroh and it made her quite bitter when she remembered the man who only loved her brother and never cared much for her although she was his niece. She also didn't care to join the girls in their gossip. It was all meaningless chatter she did not have the patience for. She was still feeling quite rattled from remembering the cautionary tale from her childhood.

She was a firebender. She was a child of Agni and she couldn't deny Agni's gift forever or there would be dire consequences. A firebender's fire was part of their very being, their very own essence. It was the only form of bending that is drawn from the bender's own core.

Other benders needed to draw on the elements to bend. Air benders drew the winds to their call, water benders commanded the seas and needed water to channel their element. Earth benders commanded the land, they needed the earth- solid rocks, the soil from the grounds, the trees rooted into the dirt, to channel their ability but fire was from the core. Fire benders did not need to locate fire or be directly under the sun to command it. They conjured it from themselves. It was an extension of their own being, it was a part of themselves they could not deny.

The firebender walked around, listening to the excited chatter of the students around her. Time passed by as she explored the unfamiliar place, checking out each shop in passive boredom. She was not making any purchases. Nothing really appealed to her. She already had everything she needed. After spending a long time on her war ship, sailing across the seas in search of the Avatar and her traitor brother, she became accustomed to keeping less possessions. She only needed things that had a practical use.

Azula walked into Scivenshaft's Quill Shop, eyeing the assortment of writing materials and selection of journals curiously. She picked up a brown leather journal and inspected the quality of it, nodding to herself in approval. It was a nice, expensive journal. She placed it in under her arm and looked around at the more expensive quills and array of different vials of coloured ink. She eyed the bright colours with a confused gaze. Some colours did not seem like very practical colours.

Who would write with yellow ink?

Azula picked up the florescent colour curiously, eyeing it with small amusement. She reached down to place the vial down but dropped it in shock as a massive explosion erupted close by. Azula felt the tremors of the explosion as the ground shook, the windows of the shop breaking against the impact and a rain of sharp glass shards fell around the shop occupants.

The students screamed in terror and began running out of the shop but the firebender crouched down, stepping away from the falling glass, her golden eyes narrowed and taking in the extent of the damage. She rushed to the windows and saw students running around in terror, screaming and being ushered by older prefects from other houses who tried to keep order in the exploding mayhem.

More explosions sounded out, this time drawing closer and blasting other shops nearby. Azula stepped out the shop and watched with narrowed eyes as it began to collapse on itself from the resounding explosions and ground tremors. The firebender hurried away from the unsteady grounds and slipped away from the crowds that were pushing and shoving each other, students screaming and crying and trampling over each other as they ran away. She saw the students being herded away and saw her classmates amoung them.

Azula felt a chill run down her body. Years of fighting and war instincts honed into her body told her something worse was coming. She quickly slipped behind the destroyed shop and away from prying eyes and panicked students. She heard the sound of loud pops resonate around the vicinity, louder than the screams of terror. Azula quickly scaled the walls of another store and crept onto the rooftop, surveying the scene with hard assessing eyes.

She looked down and saw wizards in dark robes and white masks apparate into the vicinity, their wands drawn out menacingly. The students ran away from the sight, running towards the pathway to the castle as the wizards began attacking the shop keepers and began breaking into the stores one by one.

Azula watched as her classmates were herded into safety. She bit her lip as she saw three of the masked wizards step forward in unison, aiming their wands towards the sky, spells shooting from their wands simultaneously as they erected a barrier onto the space of Hogsmeade. She cursed under her breath, knowing what they casted.

It was an anti-apparition charm. No one could leave and no one could enter.

She was trapped.

More masked wizards apparated into Hogsmeade and began breaking down the doors of shops, throwing spells, curses and yelling in an unfamiliar language. Azula slipped into the shadows and jumped onto the rooftop of another shop, running quickly and stealthily on the top of the stores. The wizards were unaware of her presence.

She ducked onto another rooftop, bending down to hide as she saw a group of masked wizards enter an alleyway searchingly. A blast boomed from down the street followed by angry, indignant yells. The masked group of wizards paused their search and turned to the noise. Azula watched in silence as they exchanged silent hands signs and pointed down the street. They nodded to each other and drew out their wands, turning back from the alley. They took off running hurriedly to the commotion as Azula remained in the shadows. She held her breath and eyed the empty alleyway in relief.

She was safe.

She was left alone in this space. She began to debate her options. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, knowing she couldn't firebend in broad daylight in front of many witnesses. She could wait here until the Aurors made it through the barrier or at least until the Professors from Hogwarts came to investigate. The yells and screams continued from down the street where the masked wizards disappeared and more explosions followed.

Azula gazed down the street with furrowed brows. She couldn't make out anything from her current distance. There was so much smoke. Someone was clearly fighting the masked wizards. It couldn't be the Aurors though because the anti-apparition barrier was still in place.The firebender shook her head, she would not get involved. All that mattered was her own safety, she was not a hero like her brother.

She did not save people.

The sounds of the battle continued and she felt an insistent itch under her skin, her fire whispering to be released, to join the fight. Azula clenched her fists and took a few steadying breaths. She wasn't the best at magic yet and putting herself directly into the path of danger was reckless and foolish.

She gazed down the streets, watching as the masked wizards were gathering the shopkeepers down into the Joke Shop, shoving them in and yelling angrily as they waved their wands around threateningly.

Azula furrowed her brows in thought. If only she understood their language, she could figure out what they were saying. Another explosion followed down the street and the sound of pained screams followed. Azula narrowed her eyes at the smoke. She didn't have to get directly involved with the fight but she could just go see what was happening. The heavy smoke would mask her presence. By watching, she could gauge the strength of the masked wizards and assess the ability of their offensive magic for herself without becoming directly involved.

Azula hopped onto another rooftop silently, making her way to the battle. She rushed quickly, keeping to the shadows and reached one of the buildings that remained upright. She slipped into the shadows and crouched down, looking at the duel taking place on the ground. She inhaled sharply as she made out a few familiar figures fighting desperately, moving quickly, dodging and throwing counter spells and curses in retaliation against the masked wizards.

"Agni," she breathed in shock and horror, her golden eyes wide.

It was Tom Riddle, Altair Lestrange and...Orion Black.

xxx

The three Slytherins were all heavily injured and surrounded by six masked wizards. Two masked wizards were on the ground, blood seeping through their robes as they lay motionlessly, their forms not moving, their eyes unseeing. Orion Black was laughing hysterically, his pupils blown wide as he threw a strong severing curse at one of the wizards at the front. He was heavily injured, bleeding from his forearms and chest but kept moving like he was in a trance, cackling madly as he sent curses flying at a terrifying speed, decapitating a wizard's head off with a vicious severing curse. Two wizards stepped towards the Black Heir in rage and he engaged them in a vicious duel off to the side. 

Altair Lestrange was heavily injured, his robes torn and bleeding but he was smirking at the other wizards tauntingly, wiping the blood from his lips as he stood up on unsteady legs, facing the remaining four wizards. Tom Riddle stood next to Lestrange, his hair windswept and wild, his eyes dark and angry, expression livid as he raised his wand in rage. He snarled a curse in rage and aimed at one of the wizards, the green light omitting from his wand at a terrifying speed and hitting one of the masked wizards in the chest. The wizard hit the ground, lying motionless with unseeing, dead eyes.

Azula gaped at the sight. The Killing Curse.

Tom Riddle had just casted the darkest form of magic. 

The masked wizards snarled and retaliated in rage, throwing curses and spells angrily as they pushed forward against the Slytherin students. Azula watched in muted horror as the boys were pushed back into the alley, cornered against the wall. She let out a shaky breath. She promised herself she would not get involved. She would not firebend publicly.

She watched in horror as Altair dropped to the ground as a cutting curse caught his shoulders, slicing through his collarbones as he fell to his knees with a pained cry. His wand flying out of his hand and into the hand of a masked wizard. The raven haired teen glared at his assailant and hissed in pain, putting a shaky hand over his shoulder as blood seeped through the wound at an alarmingly fast rate. He was bleeding out fast.

I won't get involved. Azula thought to herself. This has nothing to do with me. I won't get involved.

They have nothing to do with me. I won't risk my life for strangers.

Azula felt a pain in her chest at her own words of denial.

"Setting that Weasel on fire, that's an instant guarantee for my friendship." Altair said with a grin.

Azula released a shaky breath, feeling her fire protest at her inaction.

He looked at her, a grin on his face. "Call me Altair."

Azula watched as Tom stepped forward in front of Altair, conjuring a shield around them as the wizards stepped forward, sending offensive spells towards the Prefect's shield. Tom grimaced as his shield began to crack against the pressure. The masked wizards all stepped forward in a synchronized motion, their bodies poised and wands ready to deliver the final blow.

Tom chuckled softly, still appearing amused. "I didn't expect anyone to be awake really. I sometimes like doing quiet reading when I can't sleep."

Can she really say these boys were strangers to her? Would she really feel nothing if they died? Her fire grew hotter in her core, begging to be released, screaming at her to enact vengeance on the masked wizards. She thought of Altair and his annoying tendency to find her as she walked to her classes, making rude remarks at other students passing by as they walked through the halls and engaging her in idle chatter, mostly sharing embarrassing stories about Perseus Avery. She thought of how he leant her his personal Mind Arts tome and called her his friend.

She thought of her late night talks with Tom Riddle. Their moments spent together in the library as they discussed politics, history, magical theory and so much more. She thought of their complex conversations and the intrigue in his eyes as they debated ideas back and forth. She thought of the boy who spoke many languages, who commanded animals to his will, who was an orphan, who was the Slytherin Prefect, who had a personal grudge against Amortentia, who was so brilliant in Transfiguration but never got any recognition for his efforts, who hated Albus Dumbledore as much as she did.

She thought of her Potions partner and their time spent together in Professor Slughorn's class, she thought of his dark amused gazed, the small quirk of his lips and the soft reassuring sound of his voice as he anchored her back from her dark dreams of failure. She thought of how there were so many hidden complexities of Tom Riddle she had yet to unravel. She couldn't just lose him right when she was beginning to find his company enjoyable. She knew with all the sureness of her heart that she would feel his absence greatly. There was no one else in Hogwarts she connected with like Tom Riddle.

She would feel all their absences greatly. Tom Riddle, Altair Lestrange, maybe not so much Orion Black but still, she did not want them to die here. It wasn't right. They were all so young and they would do so many great things, their lives couldn't end here.

They were not just strangers to her. They were so much more than that.

"I'm afraid I'm not fluent in Italian." Azula spoke dryly as Tom gazed at her with an amused look. She noticed his eyes were lighter like this, an earthly brown softer than the darker shades he displayed to the world.

"I'll lend you mine," he said with a pleased smile that had her looking away from him.

Her eyes glinted into a fierce molten gold.

No.

She wouldn't allow her time with Tom Riddle to be cut short. The people fighting below were not strangers to her. They were much more than that. She wouldn't let them die.

She would fire bend.

Tom Riddle's shield cracked and he hissed angrily as the wizards began cackling ominously. Azula felt her fire spread on every surface of her body. The weeks of suppressing her fire made her feel so incredibly angry. Her anger was like never before. She felt angry at feeling like an outsider, angry at being so confused of her role in this world, at being lost and feeling adrift in a world so different than her own.

She felt colossal anger at these masked wizards. She felt angry at seeing the painful wounds on the Slytherins' bodies, angry at seeing Altair's fatal injury as he continued to bleed out on the ground. She was terribly enraged at the wizards for trying to kill Tom, angry at them for having the audacity to touch those she cared about, angry at them for trying to kill Walburga's betrothed.

She hadn't felt anger this great since her final Agni Kai with her brother and her final fight with the Southern Water Bender. Yet her anger was greater than that day. It continued to grow more and more with each passing second.

She was going to kill them. They dared to hurt her allies.

Her fire spread from every part of her body as an inferno of flames lit up on the rooftop, a massive enraged cry of angry flames rising like a vengeful phoenix eager to burn everything to ashes. Her entire body was alit with blue flames, a sight so terrifying and unprecedented. The masked wizards froze in place, looking up at the rooftop in horror and fear at the sight. They saw a figure on fire leap towards them with a fierce cry. The boys all froze, looking up in alarm and apprehension as the flames erupted around them in chaos, mayhem and oppressive heat.

Azula leaped forward off the roof and dropped in front of Tom Riddle and the others protectively, her entire being burning with blue raging flames.

"I will eviscerate all of you." She snarled in rage as she charged forward.

xxx

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine

Ash Maker

Tom Riddle hissed in anger as his shield cracked, shattering under the impact of the number of offensive spells flying towards him and Altair Lestrange. Altair was on the ground, on his knees, breathing heavily as he pressed his hand onto his collarbone. Tom could see the blood seeping rapidly from his wound. The dark-haired boy's complexion was paling drastically by the second. Tom backed away as the three wizards began circling them, drawing them further and further into the obscured alleyway.

The Prefect slid his eyes over to Orion Black and saw him still miraculously standing but he wouldn't be upright for much longer. Tom could see the exhaustion etched onto the Black Heir's face but his eyes were still gleaming wickedly, a mad grin on his face as he continued duelling viciously, throwing one dark curse after another at a neck-breaking speed, cackling in madness and utter glee. His black curls were matted to his face from the physical exertion and he was heavily wounded but he remained standing through sheer-will and ferocity.

Tom held his arm out, blocking the masked German wizards from reaching Altair. His friend was done for. There was absolutely no more fight left in his body. He watched with clenched teeth as Altair lost his wand to one of the masked wizard's who began laughing in glee as he disarmed the Lestrange Heir. The wizards spoke crudely to the Slytherin teenagers, telling them that they would have their fun with them, tarring them apart, limb by limb slowly. Tom cursed his fluency in German. He really did not like knowing what they planned for them. It sounded awful and extremely painful. But he wouldn't falter even in his last moments; he would do everything in his power to stop them.

Was this it?

Was this the end?

Did I survive the blitz to die here in a grimy, deserted alleyway like a dog?

Tom's eyes flashed a dark crimson at the thought and he willed his magic forward one final time. He felt drained from his tireless duels and casting the Killing Curse had taken a toll on him. He wasn't accustomed to casting it, it was the first time he casted it on a living person and not an animal and he could feel the tremors coarse through his body as he willed himself to stop shaking from the aftermath of using too much dark magic. He tightened his hold on his wand, clenching his teeth as he drew forth his last burst of magic, a dark and powerful surge of energy raced through his body for his final stand.

He wouldn't die without a fight. He would at least take down one more wizard. Tom clenched his fists and straightened his posture, standing strong, refusing to die on his knees.

He raised his wand and willed his magic to come forth. In a split moment, a searing heat began to fill the alley and he froze as did the masked wizards who looked up at the rooftop in horror and fear illuminated in their eyes. They began murmuring in hurried German, terrified and confused at the sight on the rooftop. Tom raised his dark eyes to the rooftop and blinked at the sight, his eyes widening at the scene. He couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. It was a person but they were...on fire?

The fire was spreading from every inch of their body and he couldn't make out any familiar features but the flames...they were blue! The colour of the flames were so familiar. Was it possibly Eichiro?

The figure leaped from the rooftop and stood in front of him and Altair, their arms widespread like the wings of a vengeful phoenix about to wreck havoc and destruction upon its prey. Tom drew in a startled breath at the magnificent and powerful sight, his heart racing in fear and anticipation.

Her entire body was alit with blue flames. It was such a terrifying and mesmerizing sight, like nothing he'd ever seen before.

"I will eviscerate all of you."

There was no mistaking that voice.

It was Azula Eichiro.

xxx

Azula raised her arms into a practiced fire-bending stance and leaped towards the frozen masked wizards. She clasped her hands together and shot large bouts of blue flames towards the startled wizards. One caught fire immediately, dropping to the ground in loud pained screeches as he rolled and rolled on the ground in agony, trying to get the flames off his robes in vain. She watched with darkened eyes, not feeling satisfied enough.

She would burn them all to ashes.

She bent her body backwards as another wizard sent a quick succession of spells towards her. She flipped backwards and conjured fire daggers in each of her hands and clasped firmly onto the handles. She pivoted on her foot and sent the fire daggers flying towards one of the masked wizards', watching in satisfaction as they struck through his robes, penetrating the wizard's heart in precise aim. She watched as he fell to the ground, his blood seeping through his mask and dribbling down to his neck. She whirled around to the remaining wizard that was cornering her allies and felt her anger spike.

It wasn't enough.

She wanted to tare them apart for daring to touch and hurt those she cared for. She watched as the two wizards duelling Orion Black tried fleeing along with the third masked wizard closest to her. They turned on their heels, yelling in an unfamiliar language in fear as they raced out of the alleyway.

"Nobody leaves alive," she hissed, her amber eyes lighting in a vengeful gold.

She took a deep breath and remembered the lessons from her firebending masters. She needed to erect an impenetrable wall, she needed to cage the wizards in. She bent her knees and rolled her shoulders, feeling her flames grow hotter and hotter, begging to be fully released. She took a long breath centering her core, calling forth the blessings and power of Agni, channeling her rage and anger at everything. She channeled her anger at this world, at these men, at Albus Dumbledore, at her near-losses of Tom Riddle and Altair Lestrange and dug her heels into the dirt to steady herself.

It was a move of the firebending masters and she was a master of her element.

She rolled her arms one more time in a circular motion and spread them up to the sky, watching as a large wall of flames erected at the end of the alley, high and impenetrable. It trapped everyone in the alley, the heat of the screeching flames were strong and oppressive. The masked wizards cried out in alarm and terror as they almost ran into the firewall.

They were now trapped.

No one would leave alive.

She raced towards her enemies and created a whirling storm of rapid flames, sending the storm of fiery flames hurtling towards the masked wizards. The fire circled around them in the form of a vengeful dragon, flames of red, orange and blue mixing together as the dragon screeched a monstrous screech as it engulfed the wizards' forms in one predatory sweep.

Azula watched with burning molten eyes as the screams of agony tore from the throats of her prey as they were burnt alive. Her golden eyes gleamed in satisfaction as her enemies fell to the ground, screeching and begging for mercy as they clawed at their burning flesh in agony. They thrashed on the dirt as they screamed in excruciating pain as they were burnt alive. The smell of burnt flesh began filling the vicinity, permeating through the air.

The firebender looked up at the sky in alarm and gazed at the black ashes that fell down ceremoniously like snowy petals around her.

She stretched a pale hand out, catching the black ashes in her hand. She recalled what the elemental nations called her people. She remembered what the other benders of air, earth and water called her.

Ash Maker.

It was true.

She was an Ash Maker.

It was like her dream was coming true. She had dreamt of the agonized screams resonating around her and black ashes falling from the sky. In her dream, she had failed to protect herself. But here, standing in this moment, she knew she hadn't failed. Her allies were still alive and her enemies were at her feet, screeching in pain and agony. She was victorious.

She was not a failure anymore.

She was Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation, daughter of Ursa and Ozai, a firebending Master, a renowned and notorious and feared woman in the elemental nations. She was Azula Eichiro, Heir to the Eichiro bloodline, a powerful witch and a master of her fire affinity. She was not a failure anymore. She had surpassed her old self. She had grown in both power and wisdom, she had fought today not for herself but to protect those dear to her. She had fought to protect for the first time ever.

She was not a failure anymore.

Azula felt her anger recede at her acceptance of her change and a sense of calm settled on her body. Her own core was quiet, her fire was satisfied now that she quenched its thirst, she had released it onto her enemies. 

She watched quietly as her flames turned from blue to a searing angry red as the bodies continued to burn. The screams had died down. The men were now dead. The fire continued to burn at their flesh until they were unrecognizable, deformed pieces of blackened skin. They were  now unidentifiable. Azula withdrew her flames, spreading her arms out and dissipating the walls of fire.

She watched as her blue flames receded into her skin slowly, she was no longer alit but her pale skin began to show as she satisfied her rage and desire for vengeance. The blue flames dissipated from her form, revealing her body donned in black tights, a grey cotton skirt, black robes and dragon hide boots.

She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear with a frown. She didn't look too unassembled even with the current battle. Only one hair lock was out of place but it was a small price to pay to ensure the safety of her allies. She turned to her frozen Slytherin peers who were all gazing at her with wide eyes. Orion Black was grinning wide, his silver eyes alit in glee and approval as he gazed at the blackened bodies.

"Eichiro," Tom Riddle spoke quietly. He was bleeding from his shoulder and forehead. His blood was seeping from his forehead wound, dribbling down over his dark eyes. He had dirt, dust and debris clinging to his black robes and his clothes were torn in a number of spots. His hair was a mess of dishevelled dark locks that fell over his pale face, it was matted to his forehead and dirtied with dust and blood. His expression was unreadable but his eyes looked oddly crimson in the light. Even with the dirt, debris and blood on his face, he still looked ridiculously attractive.

Azula nodded at the Prefect, her face concerned as she eyed him up and down.

"Riddle," she spoke in a quiet tone, releasing a long breath.

She was glad she made it in time. Any longer and they would have...died. She couldn't bare that thought. 

Azula stepped forward quickly, surveying the havoc and destruction. There were a few other bodies which were not burnt to the crisp but were taken down by her classmates in their duels. She was pleasantly surprised at their physical and magical prowess in duelling and fighting. This was no doubt their first life-and-death battle and they held their ground and took down a number of seasoned, adult wizards. She was quite impressed with Tom Riddle and his group of misfits. They had lots and lots of potential.

On the other hand, this battle was easy for her. She had spent years and years on the battlefield, firebending and fighting in combat as a military leader of her army and nation. This wasn't a new scene for her, it was in fact where she shined best. On the battlefield. Be it in the Elemental Nations or the Wizarding World of Britain, fighting life-and-death situations was her birth right, it was her legacy. But she knew this was probably a first-time encounter for her Slytherin classmates and they did very well for first-time fighters. At least none of them perished like amateurs. They were in fact not amateurs, she recalled the bright green light of the Killing Curse and surveyed Tom curiously.

There was so much going on with the perfect Prefect that she didn't know. For one, she knew now that there was no way he was the perfect person he acted as. He had casted the darkest and most powerful spell in magic without any hesitation whatsoever. She knew the Killing Curse was an incredibly difficult spell to cast. She had read many books and had long, drawn-out discussions with Unspeakable Bones. In order to cast the Killing Curse successfully, one must have the desire to kill ingrained into them. Many lived their entire lives never having that desire but Tom Riddle had it.

He was a killer.

He had the ability to kill, he had no issue with having blood on his hands. She knew others much older than Tom who would breakdown at the burden of having taken another life but the Prefect stood there, unbothered and completely calm even though they were surrounded by a number of dead corpses, half taken down by him.

She felt herself drawn in by this new knowledge. There was great power and hidden darkness in Tom Riddle and she found himself drawn into his orbit, eager to be in his presence. She was really starting to like this Tom Riddle. The firebender cleared her throat, pushing her unexpected thoughts  away and focused on the issue at hand. Now was definitely not the time to explore her feelings. They were not completely out of the woods yet.

Azula eyed the bodies on the ground with furrowed brows. She knew the boys casted a number of dark spells on them and the magic could be traced back to them if someone found them. She stepped towards the bodies, eyeing the body with the severed head curiously. That was the work of Orion Black and he looked very proud of it.

The firebender knelt down by the bodies and lit up her hands, shooting a few bouts of blue flames towards the dormant bodies.

"We must remove any traces of magic," she explained as she gazed down at the bodies as they began to burn rapidly.

Her blue flames were the hottest flames in the Fire Nation. The bodies burnt faster with her flames than any other fire-bender flames. Tom turned to Altair quickly, casting a stasis spell onto his friend's injury. He did the same to himself and Orion Black.

"We need to move, they can't find us here. There are too many bodies." the Slytherin Prefect spoke quietly.

Azula nodded, moving away from the bodies as they began to blacken and wither away.

"Cast a number of spells from your wands, so if they check our wands, they can't see what we casted." Tom ordered his friends as they heard the pop of apparition and shouts of the Aurors in the near vicinity.

The Aurors were finally here.

The Slytherin Prefect knelt down and wrapped an arm around Altair's shoulders and lifted his friend up. Altair groaned and his eyes slid to the back as his head. His gaze was unclear. He wasn't going to remain conscious for long. Tom lifted his wand and casted a number of successive spells, mostly shields and Light defensive spells. Orion mimicked his actions and casted a number of Light spells with a disgusted scowl. Azula looked around and grimaced.

"Altair's wand became ash," she spoke.

The Lestrange Heir released a choked laugh as they began to move away from the carnage slowly. They slipped through the narrow paths and ducked behind desecrated shops, avoiding the Aurors and the fleeing masked wizards. The masked wizards apparated away as the Aurors began shooting spells towards them, trying in vain to apprehend them. The Slytherin students slipped through the shadows and corners, making their way towards the castle of Hogwarts.

Azula gazed worriedly at the Lestrange Heir. He needed help and fast. The students drew  forward towards the castle and the shouts of professors and other lingering Slytherin students altered others to their presence. The professors rushed forward to the battered group, Professor Merrythought and Deputy Headmaster Dumbledore at the forefront of the crowd. They ushered the students inside and it was a quick series of movements, shouts and the students were all rushed into the infirmary as Altair finally lost consciousness.

xxx

As the Aurors moved through the desecrated buildings, shouting and helping locate survivors and collecting the fallen bodies, a black crow flew through an alleyway that was littered with burnt corpses. The crow flew through the debris and corners of the alleyways, slipping away from Hogsmeade unnoticed. The crow's black eyes gleamed as it moved away from Hogsmeade and it slipped away into the woods.

The crow went deeper into the woods and made sure no one was around before it began shifting. The crow's form shifted and grew, turning into the shape of a man with dark robes. The man looked over his shoulder at the smoking place behind him. He smirked to himself and apparated away, eager to share what he learned to his leader.

The man apparated into a large Manor, many witches and wizards were hurrying through the halls, some injured and others were still wearing their white masks. The man slipped through the crowds and walked with a purpose.

His eyes glinted wickedly. The attack may have seemed as a failure at first but he changed his mind as he slipped into an alley where he watched his men battle three teenagers from Hogwarts. At first he was uninterested in the battle and was about to continue on his way since they were very young and did not appear powerful. But then he paused when he felt the shift in the air, his  bird-like eyes locked onto the form of a young wizard whose eyes began flashing a deep crimson in his rage. He could taste the raw power in the air around him and he watched fascinated at the use of non-verbal and wandless magic He surveyed the battle in his animagus form and waited in the dark corners and watched everything unfold in awe and silence.

The raw power he witnessed took away his breath, the ruthlessness of the young wizards made his eyes ignite in anticipation and want. The dark rich palpable magic that surrounded them, the burning fire that ignited from the witch.

Avada Kedavra!

I will eviscerate all of you!

Nobody leaves alive!

He grinned wickedly to himself. He was going to submit his memory in a pensieve and watch it again and again, as many times as he liked. Even though it was his own men falling, even though it was his very own people and subordinates being killed, the scene brought him great joy and glee. He had underestimated the wizards when he saw them at first, he dismissed them as children who would fall dead to their but he was delightfully mistaken. They were so much more than that. His leader would be so pleased. He had literally found gold in those Hogwarts students and he managed to get names before he slipped away.

Riddle.

Eichiro.

That would narrow his search down greatly. Both names were very uncommon and he had a feeling he wouldn't have a hard time getting the information he wanted. He would track them down. His grin widened, it was terrifying and predatory. He was excited for the first time in a long time.

The man stepped forward, walking into his leader's grand room, watching as the German wizard stood exactly where he stood this morning, in front of the expansive window, surveying the setting sun and colourful skies.

"My lord, I bring you great news." The wizard spoke, his eyes bright and smile predatory.

Gellert Grindelwald turned away from the window and arched a blond eyebrow in question.

"I heard the operation was not successful." He spoke in his deep voice.

His operator grinned wickedly. "Yes, that is true. But I have found something even more worthwhile."

"Oh?" Grindelwald inquired.

"I found raw power."

xxx

Albus Dumbledore was not happy.

He was not happy at all.

The Mediwitch was unable to address the injuries of the Lestrange Heir on her own so Headmaster Dippet had called in the healers from St.Mungos. Albus Dumbledore had hovered around, watching the Slytherin students with suspicious and scrutinizing eyes. The Deputy Headmaster was itching to question the Slytherin students on what occurred in Hogsmeade but the healers from St.Mungos did not allow him to begin his questioning. They were adamant on letting the students rest first. The Deputy Headmaster was escorted out of the infirmary with Headmaster Dippet. The healers closed the doors behind them, shooting him disapproving and stern glares as they slammed the door in his face.

Albus Dumbledore glared at the closed door. He wanted answers. He wanted them now. But he couldn't go back in as the healers literally kicked him out. Letting the students have time together would give them the opportunity to fabric lies and falsify a tale. But there was nothing he could do as Headmaster Dippet was in agreement with the healers. He stepped away with a dark scowl knowing that something sinister had occurred.

After all, Tom Riddle was in the center of everything and that guaranteed something foul at play here.

xxx

Tom Riddle was seated in his bed, a thoughtful expression on his youthful face. His chest, arm and forehead were heavily bandaged and he rested his back against the wall of his infirmary bed. They were all in the infirmary. Altair, Orion and even Eichiro was kept overnight in the infirmary as a precaution. It was late in the evening but Tom was not going to fall asleep anytime soon. He had seen Albus Dumbledore hovering around them earlier, trying to get answers. They needed to create a story they all agreed on. The last thing he needed was for them to make different statements and give Albus Dumbledore a reason to breathe down their necks.

"Is everyone awake?" He spoke in the darkness of the infirmary.

The healers had returned to St. Mungos after making sure all the students were stable. They had informed the mediwitch that they needed bedrest and could not deal with the stress of being interviewed by anyone until they were cleared. The Aurors and Headmaster Dippet had agreed with the healers assessments since the students were all still minors and therefore their health and healing should be the first priority.

"I'm awake," Eichiro spoke from her bed.

The curtains around her bed were closed but she slid them back and sat on the edge of her bed, her legs swinging in front of her as she looked around the infirmary.

"We need to create a story that we all agree on so there are no loopholes or anything suspicious in our narrative," she began quietly.

The Aurors had confiscated their wands earlier when they stopped by to take down their names to check them for spells. But Tom didn't need a wand to conjure his magic. He waved his hand and erected strong secrecy and silencing spells around the infirmary, ensuring that no one but the occupants in the room were privy to their conversation.

Tom found himself admiring Eichiro despite the gravity of their situation. Eichiro thought exactly like him, straight to the point and ready for the next move. He could admire her ability to keep moving forward because he was the same.

"Exactly," Tom spoke as he stood up from his bed. He pulled back the curtains from Orion and Altair's bed.

Orion grunted at the noise and turned on his uninjured side, hiding his face into his pillows, refusing to speak. Altair made a noise of agreement but kept his eyes closed. The Lestrange Heir was listening but he was too exhausted to contribute to the conversation. Tom looked over at the Eichiro Heir in consideration. Well, it was up to the both of them then. He walked forward and sat on the edge of Altair's bed carefully, avoiding his injured friend.

"Very well, Orion and Altair, you both can just listen." Tom spoke quietly. 

"Alright, here is what we should all go with. We were hiding away during the attacks and trying to make our way back to the castle but got caught in the crossfire with two masked wizards. Altair was able to disarm one of them wizard and in that moment, we were able to flee but in the battle we were injured." Tom spoke quietly.

"Altair is the best option because his wand is gone so they cannot verify if he used the disarming spell or not." Eichiro added thoughtfully.

"I happened upon you three when I was fleeing on my own when I saw your group and we made it back to the castle without encountering anyone else. I didn't cast a single spell with my wand in an entire day so they will believe my part to be true. I wasn't caught in any crossfire and made it safely back to the castle without meeting any of the masked wizards." The Eichiro Heir added her part in their story.

Tom gazed at the Eichiro Heir, despite fighting an entire battle and being alit in flames and incinerating a number of bodies, she was sitting completely at ease at the edge of her infirmary bed. She didn't seem unsettled or even concerned that she killed a bunch of wizards earlier. That made Tom even more interested. The power he seen earlier was bewildering and tantalizing.

It was entirely new and nothing like he had ever seen before. Great walls of fire and searing flames and the black ash that followed... It was all so terrifyingly beautiful in its destruction. It drew him closer and closer, his desire stronger and stronger to unravel the mystery of this Eichiro Heir.

Loath he is to admit it, she had saved them. She had protected them. She had used her strange and extremely powerful fire affinity and had saved their lives. She had shown her hidden abilities, showing them what she could do and she didn't hold back in her destruction and bloodlust. He had never met anyone like her, especially for a woman, she did not hesitate. She was a fighter. She was a seasoned fighter. Her movements, her agility, her raw and terrifying power, it all spoke of years and years of arduous training. It wasn't something she had tapped into recently but it was something she had honed over the years.

Tom remembered the calluses on her palms. It was evident to him now that Eichiro had trained for years. It was all so strange and unfamiliar to him. He had never met anyone like her. All the women he knew were so delicate and soft and gentle but she...she was terrifyingly powerful. She didn't hesitate and shy away from killing. She burnt those wizards to the crisp without flinching. Their agonized screams did not deter her and she had moved on like a vengeful dragon, cutting her prey down one by one ruthlessly. And her usage of those fire daggers...she had created a dagger out of the flames and sent it hurtling through the wizard's heart in one swift, precise motion. In one incredibly fast move she had pierced his heart and took his life. She wasn't only strong with fire alone, she was a strategist and could use weapons expertly. There was never any panic in her eyes, she appeared calm and collected as she removed all the evidence of their magic.

Tom didn't know what to think. It was all too much. He felt mind-blown watching her move and  flip her body around, bending her form at impossible angles. She had conjured a dragon out of the flames and erected a massive, looming wall of fire and she had not once touched her wand. She drew her power from herself, she did not rely on a wand to channel her abilities. She did not need a wand.

Azula Eichiro was invulnerable.

She was invincible.

Tom had felt like he couldn't breathe properly as he watched her move and battle fiercely, her entire form alit in flames. It was strangely a beautiful sight. Her raw power was so beautiful and he wanted it. He coveted it. He wanted to know what it was. He had never seen anything like it. When he first laid eyes on her, she struck him as another delicate pureblood woman who never worked a day in her life or experienced any real life difficulties like he had as an orphan and as a non-pureblood. But the more he learned, the more he observed, the more time he spent with her, his views were dismantled.

The calluses and scars on her palms, they spoke of painful years of training and training. Her fluid movements and unflinching ruthlessness as she battled today spoke of years and years of fighting, of duelling, of battling, of killing. Her calm, collected demeanour in the face of utter chaos and bloodshed spoke of a past he couldn't fathom. Even he wasn't one-hundred percent calm in the face of battle, it was his first battle but Eichiro was entirely at peace, in and out of battle.

Who are you?

He desperately wanted to ask her.

What are you?

Tom released a breath at his innumerable thoughts and looked towards her only to find her already watching him, her golden eyes were assessing and curious as she regarded him. She gave him a small smile and he reciprocated in an amiable manner.

Whatever she was, whoever she was, he knew one thing for sure. He wanted her by his side now. He wanted her to join his cause, he wanted her as a member of his knights. The Knights of Walpurgis. Tom stood up and made his way towards her with slow strides. She continued sitting at the edge of the bed watching him approach calmly, her expression betraying nothing. She was frustratingly hard to read. Tom really never had any issue reading any other person. But Azula Eichiro presented a challenge. She was a challenge in everything.

It was a good thing he enjoyed challenges.

"May I join you?" He asked in a quiet tone.

Eichiro inclined her head in agreement. Tom took a seat next to her, clasping his hands neatly in his lap.

"Thank you for your aid earlier," he began quietly, his gaze locked on the sleeping form of Altair.

It was really miraculous that Altair had lived through tonight and Tom was very grateful. Altair was one of his greatest and most powerful knights and it would have been such a great, tragic loss for him to die so young.

"You're welcome Riddle, I'm glad Altair is okay." She spoke softly gazing at the sleeping form of the Lestrange Heir.

Tom arched an eyebrow questioningly. Altair? Since when were they on first name basis? He was still referred to as Riddle. That wouldn't do. He turned his body towards her and outstretched a pale hand.

"Please, after what happened today I think its only fair for you to call me Tom." He spoke with a small smile.

Eichiro turned to him with bright eyes, eyes that were so gold and molten. He would never find those eyes boring. They were so mesmerizing and they really suited her. They were such a fascinating colour, so different and rare, just like everything about else her. She, Azula Eichiro, was a rarity.

She reached forward without hesitation and clasped his hand firmly in hers. Her hold wasn't gentle, demure or subservient like her female peers but it was strong and firm like her entire being. She wasn't positioning herself below him but strangely on an equal ground. She smiled an honest smile that reached her molten eyes.

"Only if you'll call me Azula, Tom."

xxx