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My eyes immediately flicked over to where the voice had come from. To be honest, it had kind of shocked me. After all, who would want to wait for a little, lost first-year student like me? However, despite my doubts, none other than Walden Macnair was standing against the wall, leaning out of the shadows with a little smile on his face.

I hadn't really thought much about the people I had met yesterday. Walden seemed nice, but he seemed almost a little too interested in me. But again, was it really me he was interested in or was he interested in someone else? I couldn't help but wonder about that as I watched his eyes travel down every curve of my body. For some reason, this kind of scrutiny made me embarrassed and so I looked at the floor and blushed as usual. Sometimes it feels like everything in life is some kind of embarrassment.

I went ahead and approached Walden, stopping a few feet away from him to keep a safe distance. Putting a smile on my face, I greeted him, "Hey. How are you? And if you don't mind me asking, why were you waiting for me?" I had to know the answer to that question. I just still didn't get why he would wait for me. Not even my own sister would wait for me.

Walden's eyes continue to roam over me as his smile widened and he answered my question, "Well, I thought you might need some help finding your way around since it's your first day at Hogwarts and all. Plus, by the looks of things, you're running pretty late. Would you like me to show you the way to the Great Hall?" Walden held out an opened hand for me to take.

I only had a moment of hesitation before I took his hand. I didn't particularly like holding stranger's hands, but Walden wasn't really a stranger anymore...right? Besides, he was going to help me find my way around today and that was what mattered most. Without Walden, I could be wandering the endless corridors for hours and hours.

Walden's clammy hand closed over my fingertips tightly and he started walking in big strides towards the doorway of the Slytherin common room. I had to practically run to keep up with his long strides. That was a downside to being so small. Feeling like I should say something to Walden, I cleared my throat and said, "Thanks for waiting for me and stuff. You didn't have to do that."

The two of us clamored out of the Slytherin common room and out into a noisy corridor. People were walking in all different directions and chit chatting merrily. Walden practically had to yell to be heard over all the commotion, "Don't mention it, Cissy. Why wouldn't I want to wait for such a beautiful girl like you?"

Walden's works struck me by surprise. I was silent for a moment as I thought about what Walden had said. He had actually called me beautiful. That was something not many people did. Certainly not my parents anyways. Like I said earlier, Bella was the main beauty in the family. She took after our mother with her long, dark locks and deep brown eyes. So why in the world would Walden call me beautiful? Maybe he was faking it? I had to know.

As we stepped into a large room that I noticed moments later was the Great Hall, I turned to Walden and asked rather shyly, "Um...did you really mean what you just said?" Walden, who had been looking straight ahead of him, turned his gaze back in my direction and raised an eyebrow as he replied, "Wait, what did I just say?"

I gulped and blushed as I repeated what he had told me earlier, "You know, the part about me being beautiful? Did you really mean that or were you just trying to be nice?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Walden chuckled. For some reason, his chuckle made me uncomfortable. Was he laughing at me? Had I said something wrong?

"Of course I meant what I said," Walden reassured me, placing a large hand on my shoulder. "Why would you doubt me? You're one of the prettiest Slytherin girls here." Walden's sentence made absolutely no sense to me. Out of all the Slytherin girls, I was sure I was the ugliest. After all, Bella and Natasha were ten times prettier than me.

As Walden directed me over to the table where all the other Slytherins were sitting and eating breakfast, I asked him quietly, "You really think so? What about Bella and Natasha though? They're way prettier than me. Especially Natasha. She looks like a goddess or something."

Walden contemplated my question for a few minutes before answering me, "Well, it depends on who you're talking to, I guess. Every guy out there has different tastes in girls. Personally though, I think you're the prettiest. Bellatrix, your sister, is pretty but she's really just a big tease. She messes around with all the Slytherin guys even though we know her heart belongs to Tom."

That statement was no surprise to me. We all knew just how in love Bellatrix was with Tom. I still didn't understand her infatuation, but I guess everyone's heart works differently. Walden continued onwards, "And Natasha...well, she's a whole different story." Walden sighed and his shoulders slumped as he said her name.

From his body language, I could tell that there was more to Walden and Natasha than Walden was letting onto. I knew it was none of my business, but I wanted to know more about it. So despite my usual shyness, I pursued the subject and asked, "What do you mean about Natasha being a whole different story? Does she not have a boyfriend or something?"

Walden frowned and sighed again before answering my question, "Natasha is a strange one. She's gorgeous - there's really no denying that. The thing is, her heart is as cold as stone though. Nobody ever gets along with her. I don't think she has a single friend here. Tom accepted her into our group, but I don't know if that was such a wise idea..."

Group? What group? My mind immediately started spinning at the words. Had Tom and Bella formed their own group or something? Curiosity spurring me on, I questioned, "Wait, what did you mean by 'group'? I haven't heard anything about a group before. Am I invited to join the group or do you have to be invited to join or something?"

At my words, Walden immediately jerked out of his reverie and flushed. He shot a nervous glance at the Slytherin table before he replied to me hurriedly in a low voice, "Oops, I wasn't suppose to tell you that. Forget everything I said about the group. I could get in serious trouble with Tom for telling you that, okay?"

Something about Walden's urgency made me keep my mouth shut and not ask any questions. Instead, I just nodded obediently. Walden seemed happy about that and he immediately relaxed. Going back to his normal demeanor, he looked over at me and said, "So do you know where your school schedule is?"

I thought about Walden's question and found that my mind was blank. I didn't ever remember getting a school schedule or anything. I didn't even know that I was suppose to have one. Just when I was giving up hope, I felt a tap on my back and turned around to see Bellatrix standing behind me. She had one hand on her hip and she was holding out a piece of paper with the other hand. Jerking the paper towards me, Bellatrix stated, "Here's your schedule. Your first class is Transfiguration. I'd take you there, but I don't have time. You're going to have to find it yourself unless Macnair's going to be a gentleman and show you to your class."

I took the paper from Bellatrix and started to thank her, but she had already tossed her hair over her shoulder and was stalking off to her first class. Walden rolled his eyes at Bella's retreating back and said, "Your sister sure has an attitude problem, doesn't she? Anyways, let me see your schedule. That way I can figure out where I'm going to have to take you."

I wordlessly handed the paper over to him and glanced over at the Slytherin table while Walden looked over the paper carefully. Sitting at the table were several Slytherins I didn't know and a few that did actually look familiar. I recognized the handsome Lestrange twins; Rodolphus and Rabastan. I noticed the red-headed Avery and as my gaze wandered down the table, I found myself staring at none other than Natasha and Lucius.

Lucius was sitting up rigidly straight in his chair with his mouth in a thin line. Natasha was sitting next to him and was obviously trying to get his attention. She had drawn her chair ridiculously close to his and was staring at him with a pout on her full lips. Even though she was staring at him intently, Lucius refused to look at her. I couldn't help but smile.

I continued to watch the scene as Walden read through my entire schedule. A moment later, Natasha made another move and rested her hand on Lucius' thigh. Lucius stiffened, but continued ignoring her. I could literally see the fury in Natasha's eyes. She wanted Lucius' attention more than anything and yet he wouldn't acknowledge her. I watched as Natasha crept her hand up Lucius' leg to forbidden places. I wondered what Lucius was going to do...

"Hey Cissy, what are you staring at?" Walden was suddenly in front of my face, obscuring the view of Natasha and Lucius. My first emotion was anger. I wanted Walden to step aside because I wanted to see what Lucius was going to do. I wasn't the kind of girl to get angry though and I certainly wasn't going to tell Walden what I was looking at.

"Oh...uh...nothing," I murmured, taking an uneasy step backwards. As usual, my cheeks were flushing and I felt hot. Walden, apparently still curious about what I had been looking at, turned to look behind him and caught a glimpse of Natasha and Lucius. Now, the two of them were sitting close together and were whispering in furious voices. I didn't like the way they were sitting so close to each other. It looked like they were a couple or something.

"Oh, I see," Walden announced, not bothering to keep his voice down, "You're looking at Lucius and Nat, aren't you?" Not seeing any reason to deny it, I just kind of shrugged my shoulders. Walden nodded as if it was a completely natural thing to do and then he went on, "Those two were dating last year. They're probably still dating for all I know. I don't pay much attention to that kind of thing. School gossip and rumors were something I never gave a shit about. Come on, let's go find your Transfiguration class."

With that, Walden motioned a hand towards me, turned, and started off towards the Great Hall. Reluctantly, I turned and started to follow him. What I really wanted to do was stick around and eavesdrop on what Lucius and Natasha were discussing. That probably wouldn't be such a smart idea though. Natasha would probably kill me for that.

Just before I exited the Great Hall, I turned and snuck an inconspicuous look back at where Lucius and Natasha were sitting. I was so off guard when I met clear, cold gray eyes that I froze where I was standing. Lucius was staring directly at me. It was just like the first time we had met, but this time, he wasn't smiling. A chill ran through my blood and I turned quickly and followed Walden out of the room.