It's been a week and to say the least, it hasn't been too bad. Our group has gotten closer except Riddle and I. He tries to talk to me, and he flirts, but I ignore him. I try my best to stay as far away as possible and I just know that tonight Lily isn't gonna let me get away with it.

Tonight is the first party of the year—the biggest party of the year. We have one every year and I never go. But, this year somehow and someway Lily, Pansy, and Ely convinced me to go. This year it's in the Slytherin common room.

"You are gonna look great!" Lily exclaims

I sigh as I hold up my dress in the mirror. I bought this last year with Lily when we went shopping but...it's very...showy. "Don't you think this is a little much?" I question

Ely sighs "Absolutely not! You are gonna look amazing." Pansy and Lily nod in agreement.

"Plus just wait until Mattheo sees you in this!!" Lily says walking up to me, grabbing my hand, and twirling me around.

I laugh "No! I told you I'm staying away from him."

Pansy sighs "Girlie just talk to him—all of us have gotten to know him a little and he seems like a genuinely good guy."

I sigh and sit on the floor with my dress in my hand "Oh no babes...come on up you go" Pansy says, playing with my hair.

"He likes you!! I can see it in his eyes." Ely says "Trust us."

I look at myself in the mirror again, holding my hand up with my dress. The dress is baby pink with thin spaghetti straps that tie together, it's short and has a two-layer hem with a tie in the middle of the boobs. It's also swiss dotted. It's really pretty. But I don't know if it'll fit my body type.

Lily sits on the floor next to me "You will look amazing, just don't overthink it."

I sigh "Okay, let me put it on." I walk to the bathroom and change.

After a few minutes, I walk out and the girls squeal and surround me "You look gorgeous! You should wear stuff like this more often!" Pansy says

I blush and smile "Thanks.." They already got dressed so now all that's left is hair, jewelry, and makeup.

We all finished getting ready in about an hour and 30 minutes and we were about to leave the Hufflepuff common room when my brother saw us. "You girls look pretty, Where are you headed? Hogsmeade?"

I roll my eyes "Ceddie you know where we are going."

He sighs "Hmmm no...because you aren't going to this party."

My friends sigh and stuck their teeth "Oh you gotta be shitting me," Ely mumbles

"And why not?" I say crossing my arms.

He looks me up and down "First of all does Dad know you own that?"

I roll my eyes "Why?"

"It's showy. Really showy."

"So?" Lily exclaims "Can you like respectfully leave so we can."

Cedric rolls his eyes and crosses his arms "There's drinking, smoking, and all that shit at this party, and my little sister is not going to shit like that. Do you know how many drunk guys are gonna be looking at you in that?"

I scoff "I can handle myself, Cedric. Now let's go." I say walking away.

We arrived at the party and to say the least, I was not expecting this.

It's dark but there are green lights all around the room. Music is playing loudly, people are making out, drinking, dancing, smoking, and all that. I stare around the room and I feel frozen—out of place.

"Angel." I hear a voice call out

I immediately know who. Riddle. I look around trying to find where it came from and when I look in front of me I see him. And I simply want to pass away. shit why does he have to be hot?? He's wearing black slacks and a black button down but, 4 are undone at the top. His hair is even curlier if possible and he has a cut at the bridge of his nose. "Take a picture it'll last longer." He says, snapping me out of my trance.

I stutter "uhm h-hi."

He laughs and looks me up and down "god, you're so pretty" he murmurs

I feel my face heat up and I feel nauseous. "w-what did you say?" I question

"I said..god, you're so fucking pretty"

I feel my face get even hotter as I try to reply "It's... I'm...nothing." I mumble

He lifts a brow "Wanna dance Angel?"

"My name isn't...Angel."

"Wanna dance, Angel," he repeats

You know what? It's a party, fuck it. I nod my head and take his hand as he leads me to the middle of the room. "Uhm I can't dance...I mean I've never danced before." I confess

He smirks "Well I guess I just have to teach you then huh?"

I blush "I guess."

Just as we are about to start earned it by the Weeknd comes on. I start to blush even more as Riddle moves closer.

"Still wanna dance?" he whispers

I was about to respond when I heard my name "AURORA!" It's my brother.

I quickly move away from Riddle and clear my throat "Yeah?"

Cedric walks over to me "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was just about to dance."

"To Earned it?" He questions, crossing his arms. "You are 16 may I remind you."

"Okay and? Let me be." I'm actually starting to grow aggravated by Cedric's behavior. I walk away from him and go to the drinks, pouring myself a cup. Cedric follows me and his eyes widen "What the hell are you doing? That has vodka in it."

"Okay," I reply, taking a big sip. I feel a burning sensation in my throat. and try not to cough. Believe it or not, I've never drunken anything like this before.

Cedric grabs the cup away from me "Dad's gonna kill me." He murmurs

"Dad won't know if you don't tell him." Cedric gives me a look "I won't be the one to tell him, you will. You can't ever lie. You just can't."

I laugh "Sure."

He rolls his eyes before I grab my drink back "Thank you." I say walking away.

I bump into a body hard and I hit my head "Ow..." I mumble. I look up and meet eyes with this older guy who reeks of alcohol and weed.

"I'm s-sorry" I murmur

"You will be." He grits as he grabs my throat squeezing it. I pull at his wrists as I struggle to breathe—my face turning pale as tears sting my eyes. A few seconds pass and I hear a punch before I can breathe again. I take deep breaths as I cough.

I look over and see a bunch of students in a crowd, cheering, whistling, and screaming. "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT." the students chant.

I furrow my brows as I make my way to the crowd, moving people around to get to the middle. Once I can see who's fighting my eyes widen. It's the guy who choked me and Mattheo mother fucking Riddle. "Stop!" I scream "Mattheo!"

Mattheo is on top of the guy, punching him senselessly. The guy is bleeding and you can see cuts all over his face. "Mattheo..." I make my way into the circle of kids and try pulling him off "I'm okay..." He meets eyes with me and finally stops punching him. He gets up and stands in front of me—he gently touches my neck, his fingers grazing over the bruise that's forming. "Are you okay?" He murmurs

I slowly nod "Y-yeah, thank you but you didn't have to—"

I get interrupted by my brother pulling me into a hug "I fucking told you, Rory."

"Shut up," I mumble, I hate being wrong.

Cedric pulls away from me and nods at Mattheo before whispering in my ear "This doesn't mean go hang out with him, got it?"

I sigh but nod my head before he walks off. That's when Ely, Lily, and Pansy all come towards me, surrounding me, and examining my neck.

"Guys I'm fine...Relax," I say

Riddle gently moves my friends out of the way before taking my wrist and dragging me upstairs.

He walks into a room and I follow. He closes the door behind us and walks into another room—but this time it's a bathroom. "Sit." He says, tapping the counter.

I slightly nod and hop on the counter. He grabs a small towel and wets it with cold water. Placing it gently on my neck. "Why'd you help me..?" I ask

He sighs "Someone was choking you."

"I know but.."

He meets eyes with me and lifts a brow "But?"

I don't reply but he does "Why do you hate me so much? Like genuinely."

I hesitate "I don't hate you—"

He cuts me off "But you hate my dad."

I look away from him. He places the towel in the sink and places his hands flat on the counter—one on each side of my thighs. "I'm not my father," he whispers

"A death eater killed my mom.." I finally say, hoping this gives him enough explanation.

He stares at me for a few moments—his gaze softens "I'm sorry."

"I'm not allowed to talk to you...you know," I inform

"That's why you're avoiding me?"

I shake my head "partly."

"I scare you don't I?" He grins

I blush "Stop making that face."

His grin grows bigger "What face?"

I laugh "That!"

He smiles and tilts his head—staring at me. "What..?" I ask, touching my face "Do I have something..?"

"No." He chuckles "You are just...different."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean every girl..every day since I've got here has been obsessed with me. You..Angel have not."

I look him up and down "That's it?"

"No...I wasn't lying earlier. You are really pretty."

A soft smile appears on my lips "I'm guessing you don't get compliments that often huh?"

"What makes you say that?" I cross my arms.

"How you reacted."

I shrug "maybe."

"So...how about you get to know me, Angel."

"fine. But, it has to be a secret."

He smirks "You're my pretty little secret."