THE SLYTHERINS

After the opening feast and the drama that ensued, Sana was stuck with Yeri... and it was odd. Throughout the last four years that the two had known each other they had spent almost every waking day together, but had somehow escaped the chance of truly being alone together. Although ‘somehow’ is really a relative term considering that Sana has actually made it her mission to never have to spend a second in Yeri’s company by herself. It was never really that hard either due to the fact that Jennie was always present (never missing a day to kiss Nayeon’s ) and that Yeri herself was good at keeping herself distracted and occupied if ever a chance of a dull moment were to arise. One thing that Sana was honest to god surprised about (which in hindsight she shouldn’t have been at all) was that Yeri absolutely despised being alone. With a few seconds without someone to talk to, a soul to torture, or a life to ruin, Yeri became some kind of other monster entirely: A needy one. Just in the walk alone from the dining hall to the dungeons, Yeri clung to Sana like a lifeline as if she couldn’t actually see without Jennie or Nayeon walking in front of her to guide her like a mother duckling.

Once the two witches had stepped into their common room, the lack of Nayeon’s presence became obvious-- not just to her closest friends but to the other Slytherin students as well. The common room seemed empty and almost void of direction entirely, with more than half of Slytherin house gawking at Sana and Yeri expectantly right as they stepped through the door. Although there was nothing really the two could do, Nayeon would be back at some point because the school board wouldn’t dare to expel her, at least not with the sizable donations her father makes to Hogwarts in their name every year, and as for Jennie… despite being nowhere to be seen she would cause an uproar if she found out that Yeri got to be in charge for a couple of hours. Sana, as a result, decided to keep to her promise from the last school semester and become a woman unlike any other, being exactly the kind of right hand Nayeon needs and desires, taking the lead whenever an opportunity presented itself. After all, Nayeon was going to graduate in a few years and leave Sana behind to follow in her legacy and Sana never liked to disappoint.

“Oh get into bed you idiots,” Sana chided tiredly to the group of students who had collected in the middle of the living area, standing there in wait for the moment Nayeon arrived back. The students hesitated for a moment before catching a dark look from Yeri who convinced them to just let the gossip settle until morning. With soft grumbles and yawns the mass separated and filed into their respective dorms.

“Grumpy much?” Yeri asked as the two girls walked up the spiral staircase onto the second level of their dormitory, the arms of Yeri’s gray fur coat still tightly wrapped around Sana’s upper arm like a leech. Sana turned to her, irritated slightly and tired, raising an eyebrow.

“They were making a scene genius,” Sana sighed, stopping in front of her room and opening up the door. “Do you know what Nayeon would have done if she came inside and saw that huge crowd waiting for her? They weren’t exactly all admirers. She would have been pissed.”

Yeri scoffed.

“Since when have you cared if Nayeon is pissed or not?”

Sana’s jaw tightened and her glare became as cold as ice. Sure there may have been some truth there but it didn’t matter anymore. Sana’s vendetta against Nayeon was pointless. It was like a mouse fighting with a tiger, Sana really was just no match against her. Besides there were two things she had learned from Nayeon that had honestly changed her for the better: one-- if you don’t care then you don’t get hurt, two-- reputation is everything. Without Nayeon, Sana would be nowhere and no one.

Instead of biting Yeri’s head off, Sana ignored her and opened her bedroom door.

“Goodnight Yeri,” she sighed.

~~~

Nayeon had appeared back into her dorm late that night, relieved to find that Jennie wasn’t inside and tried her best not to wake her third roommate Joy who was, like anyone, bound to raise questions about what had happened. Nayeon instead would have rather gulped down a glass full of razors than speak about her explosion in the dining hall and preferred if it would never be brought up again. That being said, the next morning was…. well, awkward.

As usual Nayeon made her rounds and collected the girl’s from their rooms after she had gotten ready and the three made their way through the corridors. But today things were… quiet. Behind Nayeon’s shoulders Sana made eye contact with Yeri, silently agreeing on how off their leader seemed. Although nothing was wrong on the outside, (Nayeon’s uniform was clean and pressed and her hair was it’s usual sleek and bouncy style, framing her face just as perfectly as any piece of art) something was wrong. Her cold, sculpture-esque exterior was as rock solid as always but cracks were beginning to form on the inside. Under her makeup and foundation if one looked hard enough, they could see a puffiness under her eyelids, something only attainable after a night spent crying quietly under bedsheets and pillows. She was a volcano, ready to erupt at any time-- white hot magma and anger slowly bubbling below the surface.

“Can you pass the tea?” Nayeon had asked quietly through clenched teeth, her gaze only meeting Sana’s because as a sad person who’s pretending not to be, she has to act normal and can’t avoid eye contact if she doesn’t want anyone to ask questions. Sana complied and handed her the teapot on her left, contemplating if handing Nayeon a container full of boiling water was the best idea. But she decided to play Nayeon’s little game, choosing to stay quiet for her sake and pretend that it’s just any other ordinary day and that she couldn’t see the pain behind her eyes. Yeri, however was either oblivious or she didn’t care.

“Have you seen Jennie?” She blurted out through a bite of a hard boiled egg. Sana shot her a glare but Yeri shrugged it off, probably only asking for the drama of it all. At this, Nayeon straightened her back and tried her best not to spit fire. She spoke calmly.

“If I had,” Nayeon began, taking a light sip of her tea “She would be dead.”

Yeri snorted and continued to stuff her face, now moving on to a bowl of sliced bananas. Nayeon scowled at her in disgust as she did her best to say nothing and drink her tea in a level manner-- although Sana noticed she was gripping her teacup a little too tightly. Sana decided to change the subject.

“The other schools for the tournament are coming tonight,” she said cutting her small strawberry crepe in two and only eating the smaller half. “It’ll be fun. I can’t wait to see meet the Americans.”

Yeri nodded in agreement, humming back as she chewed on a rather thick slice of banana. Nayeon seemed to ponder the thought, carefully swallowing the hot liquid before replying.

“American’s are cute sure, but I think they’ll be no match. They’re quite dumb.”

Sana laughed a little because of course Nayeon would think that, but Sana wasn’t thinking about competition at all when she mentioned them, she was just excited to make new friends. A part of her was also thrilled to see if there were any big cultural differences between the schools. She had never left Europe except when she visited her grandparents in Japan, often touring the island to see where both of her parents grew up. America to her was completely foreign and she only knew particular aspects of the country because of movies, celebrities, and magazines. She wanted to know if the people really lived up to the hype. She wanted to break the cycle, talk to new people. She wanted to be…. herself… for once.

“I actually think they’ll be our biggest competition,” Sana smiled lightly. Nayeon seemed to agree with this, nodding and humming into her teacup.

“Well obviously,” she scoffed, setting her now empty cup down on the table over a napkin so there wouldn’t be a ring leftover. “The Japanese are far too…” she gave Sana a onceover “...frail.”

Sana rolled her eyes and bit her tongue. Nayeon was only criticizing her because she was in a foul mood and it made her feel better. But if enduring her insults was a sacrifice Sana had to endure for Nayeon to feel confident then so be it. She was used to this by now and after four years, being called frail definitely wasn’t the worst thing she has been described as by her friend. However she was getting sick of it.

Sana forced a small smile and looked Nayeon right in the eye.

“I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. You never want to underestimate someone.”

Nayeon’s right eyebrow twitched, the glare under it as heavy as stone. She leaned back slightly, careful not to look away. What was just a simple statement sounded like a challenge.

She shook her head.

“If you have something to say Zaki, just say it.”

A silent moment passed between them, Nayeon not daring to blink.

After a moment Sana exhaled and shrugged, crossing her legs and leaning forward, resting her chin across the knuckles of her fist. The hint of a smirk graced the corners of her lips.

“No, nothing. You’re right. Always are,” She mused, her teeth grinding against each other under her faux exterior, her shoulders tense. Sana straightened up and took out the lipstick tube Nayeon had passed down to her four years ago to the very day and applied it perfectly without using a mirror, her eyes still fixed on Slytherin’s Queen. “I would be no one without you.”

Nayeon’s jaw tensed, her eyes finally breaking contact as she stood up, the fire inside her body now the surface again but she refused to acknowledge it. Yeri now had stopped eating, and seemed confused at the tension but stayed quiet even when a terrible chill was sent down her spine as Nayeon flashed them both a smile. To outsiders she may have looked sweet or even cute, but to those in Nayeon’s inner circle it was a sign of complete utter derailment.

To Sana, she saw it also as a way in. She saw Nayeon as being one big rock that had to slowly be chipped away on the outside to get to the middle-- and once Sana reached the middle… Nayeon would crumble like fistful of sand.

But this was just the beginning. This was just one chip of a thousand. It would take time for Sana to reach Nayeon’s cracking point but eventually she would crumble. And Sana will be there to rise from the ashes of Nayeon’s inevitable downfall and it will be sweet.

Oh so sweet.

“Without me you would be a sad excuse of a girl, probably eating your weight in porridge and sitting by yourself because no one would care about who you are. Who am I kidding? If your father hadn’t asked me to do him a favor for his poor little insignificant, fool of a daughter, you absolutely would be nothing. Nothing! Get that?” Nayeon wasn’t raising her voice but she was talking sharply enough that every word cut into Sana like a sword, each one more painful than the last. Sana didn’t show her pain however, her expression remaining completely indifferent, despite the dangerous smirk across her lips. She no longer minded playing this little game.

“I know, I know, you’re right. Thank you so much. I don’t deserve you,” she responded simply, the look on Nayeon’s face slightly confused but still just as harsh.

“Oh shut up,” Nayeon spat, rolling her eyes. She jerked her head toward the exit and demanded the two girls walk her to class. Yeri jumped up and tossed her napkin on the table, walking out of the dining hall first. Behind her as Sana stood, Nayeon grabbed her wrist and yanked her closer to whisper a threat. “Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”

Sana freed her wrist with a sharp tug and locked eyes with Nayeon for one last time before completely walking away. Something inside Sana burned.

“Not at all.”