"his mind is a diamond.
cold, hard, and brilliant."

The days passed with speed and soon Eleanor was waiting for the rest of the students to arrive. She stood beside Professor Dumbledore, she was to be announced before the first years were sorted.

She was rather nervous. The thought of standing in front of all those curious eyes made her uncomfortable.

She needed to be able to hide. She couldn't allow a single one of them to be able to figure her out.

She wanted them to. She wanted to be punished for what she did, but the rational side of her told her to hide, to lie.

The side her father taught her to be. Never let your emotions show if you don't trust the people you are with. Be an observer, know who you're talking to. Those were a few things she remembered.

She spent her time deciphering more of her books. It took some time, German and French were complicated languages, ones she was not fluent in.

To her luck, the Latin mixed in with the German and French helped her understand the context better. She was thankful she chose Latin to learn instead of another language, as most of the books were in Latin.

"Eleanor," Dumbledore called causing her to look at the professor, "the first years have arrived. Follow me," he said.

Eleanor nodded and followed the professor to the fetch the first years. They all looked up at her with beady, curious eyes.

Dumbledore spoke to them but she zoned him out. Soon he beckoned then forward and Eleanor walked by his side as he led them to the Great Hall.

The doors opened and the first years' jaws dropped at the sight of the beautiful hall. Even Eleanor had to admire it, she had never seen it so full of people.

"This year," Headmaster Dippet began, "we have a student joining our Seventh Years. Please welcome Eleanor King, who was sorted beforehand and placed in Slytherin," the Slytherin table clapped for their new member. "You may join the rest of the Slytherins, Miss King."

Eleanor nodded her head with a polite smile and made her way to the table. She held her head up high, remembering one thing Rose had always told her, "if you have no confidence, fake it. No one can tell the difference."

So, that's what she did. She sat down at the edge of the table, just before where the First years would be seated after they were sorted.

"Miss King," a voice said, Eleanor looked up and saw a pale boy with dark brown hair across from her. "I'm Tom Riddle, Head Boy," He said with a charming smile.

"Pleasure meeting you, Mr Riddle," she smiled, remembering to be polite.

Tom nodded and returned to reading the book he had in front of him. Eleanor returned her attention to the front of the hall and watched as the first years were sorted.

Her mind drifted, wandering how she would have felt if she went to Hogwarts in her first year. The thoughts of making friends, getting sorted, and the anticipation all made her somber.

Soon enough, dinner was served. Eleanor remained silent throughout the feast, wanting nothing more than a good rest.

Eleanor was a Pure-Blood, though her family didn't care much for blood purity. She would, however, stick with what her father taught her and never show that.

Eleanor had never experienced the world, but she was taught that while it's a wonderful place, it is also cruel and despicable. She needed to be cautious and clever if she wanted to stay out of the mess.

A good way to stay out of that mess is to get along with the people up at the top, like those who have high places in the Ministry.

Rich Purebloods made better allies than enemies.

She was taught to be stoic and emotionless by her father in her training. She could pretend. She  could act.

Make believe and pretend were no new topic to her. When she read books, especially in her younger years, she would act out scenes as she read, taking on the persona of the character she read about.

She loved acting. She loved pretending she was someone else, whether it be a warrior or a lovesick girl, she adored it.

She remembered her father's constant warnings. Every single one of them stabbed at her like a knife. She would do her father proud. He did not die for nothing, and his training would not go to waste.

The Feast ended and all the students began to leave. "Miss King," a voice called. Eleanor turned towards the boy she met earlier, Tom Riddle.

"Yes?"

"Come with me, I'll show you to the Slytherin common room," he said with another one of his charming smiles.

Eleanor returned it, and followed him out the hall.

She had to admit, Tom Riddle wore a brilliant mask. She could tell that despite the charming smiles and perfect etiquette, it wasn't entirely genuine. There was something off about the way he acted, though she noticed not many others saw this as they parted ways for him without a question and greeted him with smiles of their own.

He was too poised, too polite, too cautious.

Too perfect.

She knew what he was doing. He was wearing a mask.

He was doing it very well.

The two walked side by side to the Slytherin common room. Eleanor knew where the common room was but she let Tom Riddle show her anyway. She didn't want to have to explain why she knew where it was in the first place.

They entered the common room and Tom stopped, "The girl's dorms are to the left," He gestured to the passage leading to the girl's dorms.

"Thank you," Eleanor smiled and turned to leave.

Upstairs she entered her dorm and saw two trunks by the other two beds, that had been empty.

She ignored the bags and moved to her side of the dorm, picking up Invictus and giving him some rubs.

The door opened and two girls walked in, both stopping in their tracks once they noticed they were not alone in the room.

"Hello," Eleanor managed a half-smile. She did not want to be on bad terms with the people she would spend the rest of the year with.

One of the girls was tall, slightly taller than Eleanor herself, with shoulder length straight black hair and pale skin. She had the body of a model and she knew it. She also had sharp cheekbones and a chilling smirk.

The other girl was shorter than her friend and had curly brown hair and light bronze skin. Her features were a lot softer than her friend's, having a button nose and plump lips.

"Hello, I'm Abby Green," The shorter girl replied with a grin.

"Frances Barnes," said the other girl who looked Eleanor up and down.

Eleanor tried hard to keep the smile on her face and she succeeded.

"Eleanor King," She said, "and this is Invictus," she introduced him with a fond smile.

Abby squealed and rush forwards to reach the cat, "Can I hold him?" She asked, her voice filled with excitement.

"Of course," Eleanor agreed, handing the cat over to Abby.

"Oh don't mind her," Abby added once she saw Eleanor looking at Frances, "She's not big on new people. She'll warm up to you eventually."

Eleanor nodded and began answering Abby's questions about Invictus. She didn't mind the questions.

A chirp from the windowsill alerted the three, Eleanor only smiled.

She moved forward and picked up Felix, who wanted some attention. He flapped his wings and flew up to Eleanor's shoulder.

She turned towards the other two, "This is Felix."

"You have two pets?" Abby gasped, becoming more curious as the seconds ticked by.

"Isn't that against the rules or something?" Frances added from where she sat on her bed, to the left of Eleanor's.

"Dumbledore didn't seem to mind," Eleanor shrugged. It was true, Dumbledore noticed both of her pets and didn't say a word about them.

"Lucky you," Frances muttered.

"Oh, France, stop being such a bummer," Abby sighed, giving her friend a long look.

"Fine," she sighed dramatically, "Sorry, King."

The corners of Eleanor's mouth twitched upwards, and she nodded as a sign of acknowledgement.

Abby nodded, "You can sit with us at breakfast if you'd like?"

"What, no!" Frances interrupted in outrage. "Abby you didn't even ask if I was okay with it." She said crossing her arms.

Abby rolled her eyes with a playful scoff, "you would've said no."

"That's the point!"

"I don't have to sit with you two," Eleanor said, holding one arm with the other.

"Thank you!" Frances exclaimed in a sing-song voice from where she sat causing Abby to give her another look.

"Please sit with us, Eleanor! Ignore Frances, she's just being grumpy." Abby begged.

"I'm right here!" Frances yelled again, but she was ignored by her friend.

Eleanor smiled, "If you insist."

The three climbed into their respective beds and decided to call it a day.

Eleanor didn't mind Frances, she was also a bit skeptical of new people.

From what she could tell, Abby was a lovely girl and she wouldn't mind being friends with her. However, she could tell Abby wasn't all smiles and kindness, as she seemed clever and calculating when she entered the room, examining everything with a quick glance around the area.

Tom Riddle sat in the Slytherin Common Room with his followers surrounding him. They conversed around him, making sure to keep quiet while their leader thought.

He was thinking about the new girl, Eleanor King. She had this aura around her, it was different than any other person here at Hogwarts. It was a dark aura surrounding her, like she was hiding something and it only made him more curious.

She was different. And he wanted to know why.