Those who never met before...

Rabastan was sitting in the common room, lost in one of the twins books he borrowed few days ago. He was bored, but Morgan had school, just like twins and Barty was nowhere to be found, so the left Rabastan with buch of first and second years making noise. He was bored and annoyed. Never a good combination.

Katrina cursed to herself all the whilst as she made her way to the common room out to explore the castle. She would never understand why her father finally chose so late in her life to decided that she didn't have need to be homeschooled anymore. She was just thrown into school life with no sense of up or down and expected to know her way around. The girl snorted in frustration passing through the noisy common room. It was always so... loud around the castle. A sight caught her eyes and she did a double take. Having transferred mid-way through the year she knew next to nothing about anyone but she knew one thing for sure, she never saw that boy pick up a book. "You actually read," she asked with an incredulous sort of frown on her face.

Rabastan looked up from the book since he never heard this voice before. "Yeah, I actually read. People sometimes do that," he said with a smirk as he looked at dark haired girl. She looked as annoyed as him and he had to admit, she was quite beautiful. Of course, he was now engaged and he would never cheat on Morgan, but that couldn't make him blind towards beauty of the rest of the girls in the world. "And you don't seem to be first year, so how come I never met you here?" he asked curiously.

"There are other means of learning besides school walls," she grinned. "I was homeschooled, up until now." She added the last bit, a flash of anger colouring her words. A particularly highpitched laughter reached her and her glower deepened. "I don't know how you deal with the noise." She shook her head making a vague motion with her hand. "It's too much."

"I am not dealing with it. Actually more than paying attention to that book, I am thinking of the best way how to kill them all and than curse my friends for leaving me here completely alone," he replied as he looked around. "Hey kids! Shut it!" he shouted with autoritative voice. They imidiately stopped and gave him typicaly slytherin annoyed look. But after a few seconds, they all left, so Rabastan and the new girl were alone here. He had some respect here after all.

Katrina chuckled to herself. No doubt he was anything but joking, but she found it amusing all the same. Her interest piqued when their fellow housemates heeded his words and left. She lifted a brow and stared at him curiously before circling around the sofa and leaning on the side furthest from him. "You hold some sort of sway here I see." She tilted her head. "What's your name?"

"Well, I guess it gives you power to be friends with Gaunt twins," he smirked. "I am Rabastan Lestrange. And your name, if I may ask?" he smiled at her. She seemed like a nice girl. Sure, she was a Slytherin, but all the same, she seemed funny.

Katrina had always been a curious little kitten and the boy was giving her all the fuel she needed to pepper him with questions. She hopped over the side of the couch and eagerly turned to face him. "Rabastan," she said trying it out. "Katrina Liao. I like your name, reminds me of Rasputin. These Gaunt twins, they are...family of yours?" She had never heard he name, nor Lestrange. Once again she cursed her dear beloved father for casting her out with such little info on family names.

"No, they are not. Well we are not blood related. But we grew up together so they are sort of like a sisters to me. But... you don't know Gaunt sisters? They are like royality of whole wizarding community. Straight descendants of Salazar Slytherin himself and parselmouths. It's quite hard to overlook them. Well, Marvolo at least. She was always the noisy one," explained Rabastan slightly shocked that the girl didn't know. She must have been isolated from the World for like her whole life. "You have no idea how it works here, huh?" he asked her honestly with smile and made a place on the couch next to him for her.

They were very well known then, very well known and she had not a single clue about them. "Heirs to Slytherin then," she murmured. It was quite an impressive thing she was guessing. It was not every day they came about. She crossed her arms and leaned back in the sofa. "I had no need until now. Even London is still foreign to me. It is...not an easy switch." She refrained from divulging the reason behind this switch. Her father had not sheltered her just for her to blurt she was an illegal animagus; a murdering one at that.

"Well, you need to catch up quickly. Life amongst Slytherins is not easy when you have no idea what you got yourself into," he told her honestly. "So, just because I am bored, you seem nice and I am in a good mood, I can fill you in basics, if you are interrested," he winked at her.

"I can handle myself," is what she wanted to say but could she really? She blinked at him, did he just wink at her? A smirk grew on her face. "The newbie would greatly appreciate that." She was not going to deny help when given, especially at such a time.

"Fighting your pride aren't you?" he teased her with smirk. "But honestly, I am glad you agreed, because not knowing could cost you life these days," he added more serious. "So Gaunt twins. Morana and Marvolo. You cannot miss them. Dark long hair, piercing eyes. Get on their good side and it's okay. Piss them off and... let's just say I met a few people who did and I don't think they would do that if they could go back in time," he explained. "Than there are other people good to know and keep on your side. Mainly Bartemius Crouch junior. He and Morana are engaged. Than Black sisters. Bella, Cissy and of course Andromeda. If you want latest gossip, find her. You want miss her. She is metamorphagus, used to crazy hair colours. Than Rodolphus, my older brother. Lucius Malfoy, Regulus Black. And me of course. I would say we are sort of the centre of this house. Most of us future death eaters of course. I suppose you know about Lord Voldemort, right?" he asked her just to make sure.

They seemed to be a pretty...eccentric bunch and head honchos the lot of them. Staying in close connections seemed to be the best idea. "Just the house? It seemed to me you were centre of the school but no?" She teased, before she became quiet at the mention of death eaters. "I know of him," she said masking the disdain in her voice. It was afterall deatheaters who had done away with her mother and her younger siblings as well. Though the death of her siblings had been an accident tacked on. "You are his followers? That is...interesting."

"Well, we are Slytherins, we are always in centre of the school," he replied with smirk. It was true. Gryffindors and Slytherins were always in centre. "And well, depends on how you look at it. I would say most of us follows twins. He is their uncle. And he lives in dream that they are his perfect nieces. But I think it won't take you long to recognize who is the puppet master here," Rabastan explained the situation. Officialy, everyone followed Voldemort. But the deepest circle around twins was very aware of the facts.

"Kids of the future our generation is often called. It comes as no surprise then that they are the ring leaders." She stood and stretched the length of her body. She was all too confined in these walls and it was getting to her. "You are a dangerous bunch. I would not be surprised if your hands were stained in blood," she said almost as an afterthought.

"Well you could say it that way. Most of us alredy have blood on our hands, yes," he replied casually. He never really thought about it that way. He accepted it as a simple fact. They were here to fight for new future. "So what about you? Which side do you want to take?" he asked curiously.

"The million dollar question isn't?" She moved around, running her hands on the columns as she spoke. She hadn't given it much thought, she hadn't the need before. But things have changed now. "Which side will keep me safe? I think the answer is obvious. That is of course if you're accepting," she said nonchalantly peering from behind a pillar.

"I think you know as well as me, how it works," he basically repeated what she said. "Like I said get on the good side of Gaunts. That's the best move you can do," he added, knowing she would understand. They were both snakes. They cared mainly for themselves and they knew sometimes things need to be done to save their own. This was dangerous time and fool would be the one to deny this fact.

Morgan had slipped inside the Slytherin Common Room, following the conclusion of her last class of the day, cloaked in one of Rabastan's robes. It was big on her, but she didn't care. Make for getting in and around the dungeons and Common Room easier. She had the hood pulled up, and it cast her entire face in shadow. As she entered, she spotted her fiance on the couch, chatting with a girl she hadn't met before. She drifted silently up behind him and placed both of her warm hands over his eyes. Barely above a whisper, she spoke into his ear, "My heart is in your hands, as your sight is in mine. Who am I?"

He smirked and than quickly turned around to grab Morgan and pull her into his arms. "Katrina, I would like to introduce you to my fiancee Morgan Prince," he said with smiled on his face. "Morgan, this is Katrina Liao," he introduced the girls.

Morgan smiled brightly as Rabastan turned and quickly drew her into his lap. She removed the hood of his robe and looked at Katrina as he introduced them. Morgan's blonde hair was simply pinned on the sides and lightly curled. Morgan had stopped trying to hide the marking of her Animagus self. It was part of her now, after all, so why try and hide it. Only those who knew her secret would even know what the darkened roots of her hair even meant. She ran her fingers through it slightly to straighten it from being under the hood. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Forgive me, but are you new here? I don't recall seeing you before," she said with a smile. Her sapphire eyes tried to place if she had seen the girl before, and just couldn't.

Her grin shifted into something softer as the girl appeared and was introduced as his fiancee. An odd scent caught her nose that she hadn't noticed before Morgan got there and she gazed at her curiously. "It's nice to meet you Morgan." She laughed at the repeated question. "I suppose I'll hear that a lot these days. Yes, yes I am new. It's a nice and... noisy home you guys have here." She tilted her head curiously. "How is it that you got in here?" She only asked for the purpose of wondering if she could sneak into the other common rooms. It would give her some place to go, something to do.

"Well, I am jealous bastard and I like to keep my girl with me instead in her own common room, so I borrowed her my robe and also gave her a password. But it's secret. Usually students don't visit dormitories of other houses," Rabastan explained with a smirk as he pulled Morgan even closer.

You could easily tell Katrina was disappointed, if she had the appropriate ears they would most likely be pressed flat upon her head. "You've ruined my plans Rabastan. What fun can a clueless country girl have now?"