half-blood bastard

While Ardan is definitely hotter, I think that I have to go with Marcus. I am the kind of girl who wants to be the only one - you know?

I’ll do the ten hottest students around in NO particular order. Rosemary, Zach, Victoire, James, Ardan, Oliver, Priya, Dominique, Beau and Molly!

There’s a flutter of the curtain, and Sage wastes no time, “ If you’re another Snake here to gloat, I swear to Merlin, I will hex you so fast. “

He sighed, giving up and deciding that he should just head down for dinner and wait for her at the Great Hall instead. Ardan was about to go on his way when he heard frustrated grunts as he passed by the school’s gym. Curiosity getting the best of him, he took a peek inside and he finally gave a sigh of relief. “Ramy,” he called softly, stepping inside. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he started, watching as she punched the bag with such force. “Merlin! What the bloody hell did the bag ever do to you?”

“Just a little,” he shrugged, a grin on his lips as he set his hand down for a minute, finger running over the rim of his glass. “But I’m not sure how this things work actually,” he started, receiving a small chorus of amused chuckles. He cleared his throat as he opened his mouth once more. “Well, uh, I think congratulations to you is in order for you know, leading the team to victory and all,” he stated, receiving a few small claps and affirmation from the crowd. “I still can’t believe the strung-out mess before the game was the same person flying out and barking orders around the pitch,” he chuckled, some of their teammates chuckling in agreement as well. “But I mean, I never really doubted you in any way. You know that right? Like remember when you were just made captain and how you told me instantly that you would have a hard time having control over people?” he asked, a brow raised. “You were asking me fore advice about how to reign in control because, uh, well you know my past,” he trailed off, receiving playful boos and snickers from his housemates. “Oh shut it!” he snapped, but with a grin on his face. 

She remembered the day Ardan had approached her with the intentions of apologising and making up for all the times he had called her names and generally plagued her existence with his presence. It took him three weeks for him to convince her that it wasn’t some joke he was in on with his other Slytherin friends that liked to torment her in her younger years at Hogwarts. When Ardan started making things up to Odette, she has very quickly realised that despite how different they were, they actually had quite a lot in common and shared a lot of the same interests. Literature was their go to subject of conversation when he would help her carry her stacks of books back to Ravenclaw Tower. They would compare their favourite books and usually end up in an argument about which book was an authors best work, it was something they done more than they would probably have cared to admit. Somewhere along that timeline, Odette had began to look forward to discussing what literature they had went through that week. She had began to look forward to seeing him in general. Their meetings becoming more frequent and their friendship forming strongly at the roots. She had began to feel nervous around him and with that had developed the habit of constantly tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear; a habit that has wormed its way into her head still to this day. Her heart raced when he was around, the blood rushed to her head and she mentally kicked herself for she had fallen in love with none other than Ardan Carrow.

“You were never an idiot” she mused “Even in all your spontaneous ideas, you were never that” Odette laughed at his statement “That is an understatement.” he was a colossal ass when he was sick but she must admit she was impressed with how creative his long string of curse words could be during that time. “But I would never have left you to feel sorry for yourself all bundled up like a human burrito” she shrugged with a smile. Odette had figured out very swiftly that Ardan didn’t like potions from the hospital wing and would go to great lengths to avoid them, this had resulted in a lot of scolding and a disgruntled boyfriend then drinking said potion. She remembered how she would run her fingers through his hair as she pressed a kiss to his forehead as a thank you for giving in and taking the medicine. 

There was a lot of history standing between them, they couldn’t deny it but they didn’t exactly want to admit it either. Admitting it meant coming to terms with a lot of things. It meant admitting that those times that held so many amazing memories for them also had a rough ending. It meant admitting that they weren’t in the same place as they were before. It meant admitting that all the plans they had set for the rest of their lives were now but distant dreams. Maybe it was how they ended things. Maybe it was how they wiped each other from their lives like the other wasn’t there in the first place. Then again, maybe that’s why she found it so hard to shift him from everything like sounds of the piano keys or certain spots in the castle. Maybe this was her karma for causing them both such pain and anguish. 

"It’s a calming scent regardless of me” she sighed, suddenly very aware of her lavender scent. Odette never knew what Ardan had seen in her, how he would notice little pieces of her personality and style traits that she wasn’t even aware she had. She nodded and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear “I understand though, some aspects of you aren’t easy to forget either” she admitted. 

－and it all started with how he found himself wanting to see that patronizing smile of hers, light up her face.

“Regardless of you perhaps but I found myself liking it because of you,” he shrugged, suddenly aware of the lingering scent of lavender in the air. “It gives me a sense of calm, a sense of home－a home that I could never go home to but only to visit in my dreams.” He bit his tongue. What was he doing? What was he saying? He wasn’t supposed to be saying all of those things! Ardan knew he should choose his words carefully but now that she was here, the words just kept tumbling out. Also, asking to see her again? What did he want to accomplish with that? He sighed, running a hand through his hair once more as he realized how flustered he was.

Ardan never felt the awkwardness seeping in or the words she mumbles as she smiled warmly at him, triggering a string of memories. Ardan found himself stuck in a trance, mesmerized by her smile, as the past resurfaced on his mind.

If his calculations were correct, Ardan had bullied Odette for almost half of his educational years at Hogwarts. He took delight in the way he made her squirm like how he did back at home. It was cruel of him to make her feel the pain he’s been through when they clearly led different lives, BUT that was what seemed to fuel his actions. How they were alike, cast as being in a family of dark wizards and yet she got the easy life. Tormenting her seemed like it was a way of release for him. He was never really sure why he sought her out among the rest. Of course, Odette was favored by a lot of Slytherin bullies for a number of reasons. Yet Ardan seemed to take it further, gunning her down for even the pettiest of reasons. He was determined to break her, reduce her into a puddle of tears－but all he got was a patronizing smile from her as she refused to cry in front of him.

－her refusal infuriated him, fueled by that patronizing smile of hers.

On his sixth year, Rosemary wasn’t always with him because she was currently dating that prat, Marcus. So he stayed away, not wanting to give into the temptation of punching the living daylights out of the pompous arsehole at every chance he got. For surely, that would’ve upset his best friend greatly. But he never realized how the thought of punching him was because of jealousy and the thought or Ramy defending him was just fueling it even more. When Ramy was apart from him, that’s when his moodiness went into full swing－lashing out at people when no one was pulling him back. Zachariah was busy, Ramy was too.  So hey, why not have a little fun? Odette had the most fun during those months. Every sneer and every rude comment was thrown at her. Yet, she still gave him that infuriatingly patronizing smile of her.

－he never understood how she could stand him, giving him a patronizing smile instead of her tears.

Ardan knew he was going too far, making a big deal out of the little things about her. Using them as bullets he could fire at her. But he just couldn’t stop, he was driven by the fact that he wanted to see her break down and cry－telling him and begging him to stop. Because way back when－he was just an innocent child who got thrust into the harsh reality of life. He wanted someone to feel that, feel how he slowly fell to his knees at such an early age.

－that plan backfired, seeing as he was the one falling into his knees, begging for forgiveness.

One late afternoon in one of the many corridors the castle had, she screamed. He could still feel how it seemed to pierce through his very soul, a soul he never knew existed. That’s when he saw it－the first drop hitting the stone floor, quickly followed by more and more. Then her sobs echoed out, bouncing off the walls around them. It was what he’s been wanting but not the feeling and reaction he’s been expecting to have. Ardan tried to approach her with his instincts of comfort kicking in but she screamed at him－hands shielding herself. He broke her so much,Merlin he did, and he felt himself break with her as he saw himself in her－merely a child wanting the torment to stop.

－and all he wanted at that very moment, was to see that patronizing smile back on her face.

Odette’s soft nudging broke him out of reverie. He blinked furiously, trying to ignore the stinging of his eyes. Looking straight at her, Ardan gave her a small smile of relief as her reply finally registered.

“Thank you Oddity,” he all but whispered, taking a small step and leaning down a bit towards her. Ardan couldn’t help but unconsciously tuck a stray hair behind her ear, and old habit of his as he gave her one last smile, and walked away－his heart thundering against his chest with joy.

“Listen,” Zach said, pausing and letting the silence fill the air between them. “Do you hear that?” He asked, smiling. “That’s the sound of angels sighing with relief because you stopped talking about how incredible you are for one second. On another note, every time you conceitedly say something about yourself that isn’t even really true, a dog cries.” But he smiled brightly in knowing that Ardan would quit with his egotistical bullshit™ for the night. It was very tiring to decrease Ardan’s ego on the daily, but Zach was very passionate about his best mate duties in doing so. It was actually one of his favorite hobbies.

Ardan rolled his eyes. "On a side note－it's not like angels paid attention to me anyway," he muttered as they stepped unto the landing. "Also on another side note, thank you for realizing how incredible I am," he chuckled. "Besides, I know for certain that you most certainly enjoy knocking your fellow Slytherin prince off his high-chair," he added, pulling his robe around him tighter as the cold tried to break through the warm barrier.