Worthy or No?

[Lucien Snow]

Finally! Lucien Snow was a brand new, spanking third year. It felt like only yesterday that he was a mere first year, and here he was, a Slytherin Chaser, almost the top duelist in his year, and managed to weasel into the good favors of his Head of House. He didn't know how he did it without using his 'I'm your nephew so love me' card. His dad was someone that Professor Styx hated with a passion, but thankfully, he bore an uncanny resemblance to his cousin, Leviathan. With such a big family, someone was bound to look the same. Lucien walked up to the towers, where he loomed over the windows to watch those without a good rank below him. Good, that was where they needed to stay. Lucien felt smug when he thought over his blood status, and he looked ahead at the horizon. It might be dark here in an hour, and then curfew. That was one thing that he did not want to endure, his uncle's punishments. However, he had a lot of time before then. He had a lot to think about, and some stuff, he had to improve on. For one, being better than his siblings.

His grades were up to par on some subjects, but he beat the rest of his siblings by a long shot. That was something that he loved. He also scored more than Jean did during their last Quidditch game the previous year. It was great! However, Lucien was at the semi-finals of his dueling tournament, and he was completely wiped out by a half-blood, his own half-sister! It made him want to be better than her in every way now. It fueled within him. He growled to himself before he shook his head. He had to let go the anger. He had to. He needed to channel it into power he could use. He would, one of these days. Lucien moved his blonde hair away from his ears, as he continued to look out the window. However, he heard footsteps heading his way. He did not take out his wand, but he did not look at who was heading up here either. Instead, he simply called out, "What do you want?"​

 

[Esme Lancaster]

The start of the school year was an exciting time for Esme, though she felt that it had come a little too soon. Working at Ollivanders during the course of the holidays had turned out to be great experience for her and the witch found that she felt a lot more independent than she had before, earning her own money for the first time and having to deal with a variety on wizards and witches on her own. It had also brought her and her older brother closer together, the two bonding over their shared interest. Emmett had been studying Wandlore for the past couple of years and his knowledge had helped her in securing the job in the first place. She hadn't realised how deep of a connection there was between a wand and a wizard, and how different woods and cores had specific natures or other properties. There was so much for her to take in and there'd been questions even Emmett couldn't answer. The young witch wasn't sure if she'd pursue the subject as she soon realised, even after everything she'd learned, that she'd barely even scratched the surface of Wandlore. No, she'd leave the expertise to her sibling. There were so much more she wanted to do and now that she'd chosen her electives she had enough on her plate to keep her satisfied.

Walking through the halls of the familiar castle, the place that had been her home away from home for the past few years, and for many years more, the Slytherin girl slowly made her way towards the upper floors of the school to escape a particular Ravenclaw. She'd spent the afternoon catching up with Jakobe, the somewhat eccentric but generally likable boy she'd met in his first year, but his unhealthy love for sugar could be a little off-putting at times and she'd needed to slip away. Thankfully, he didn't seem to go anywhere near the North Tower and the witch thought it would be a good spot to look over the castle and familiarise herself with the placement of the other three towers. Astronomy she was familiar with, but now that she'd chosen Divination as an elective she didn't want to lose herself in one of the few sections of the castle she hadn't ventured to.

As the witch ascended the spiraling staircase, she glanced back over her shoulder at her feline companion who had accompanied her on her journey. Dusk mewed softly at the girl, acknowledging her attention. Esme had bought the half-kneazle during the holidays when she'd visited her cousins store, immediately falling in love with the cat at first sight. Its midnight-coloured fur and bright eyes had drawn her in and now that she had her own income, she hadn't needed to worry about asking her mother to buy it. She had absolutely no regrets. Emmett too had bought a lighter-furred one from the same litter and her cousin, Aeon, had thrown in some free treats and accessories for the two of them. She remembered that the older wizard had taken up the position of Transfiguration professor for the higher years and made a mental note to visit him and give an update on how Dusk was doing.

Finally, Esme and her companion reached the top of the stairs, only to be greeted by a somewhat familiar voice. She thought the tower might have been empty this late in the afternoon, but as she strode further into the room she immediately recognized the other boy present. Lucien Snow, the opponent she'd unfortunately lost to during their dueling match, who now spoke as if she were some intruder to his private tower. How pleasant. "My, my. If it isn't Lucien. I was unaware I needed to want something to come up here." she replied, keeping her tone mildly light and friendly, despite her words. She walked up toward the side of her fellow Slytherin and turned around so that her back faced the window, her body gently leaning out toward the open air. The scarf she wore around her neck, a black fabric depicting moving stars and galaxies cut from a celestial blanket she'd bought at Gambol and Japes whipped up behind her, blown freely around like dark wings in the breeze. "What are you doing up here all alone in the tower?"

 

[Lucien Snow]

Lucien turned his head when he heard a voice, the one of a female. He recognized it from last year. A Slytherin? It had to be. He saw that it was Esme Lancaster from his house, and year. He smirked as he remembered beating her in the dueling tournament. He was so close to winning before he was beaten by his slightly older half-sister. He chuckled at her response. He thought it would have been someone of much lower status, such as a Gryffindor. Well, he couldn't say much. He did have a sibling in Gryffindor. "I figured you were someone that would have gotten on my nerves without me looking at them. But, we can see where this goes." He didn't know Esme personally, so there was no telling. She was a Slytherin, and for that, he could give her a chance. His silver eyes landed on a cat that was with her. He wasn't too fond of animals, thus, he didn't know it was actually a kneazle. A feline was a feline in his opinion, and all felines were cats. The Slytherin brushed his blonde hair back, and he continued to lean against the wall, beside the window. As he slowly looked her over, he wondered if she was a pure-blood, like himself. It would have been nice. He could outright ask her.

"Admiring the thoughts of how higher I was above all the mudbloods. A typical day for someone like myself. We had a lot of pathetic looking first years so I had to escape from them for a while." Either one was a good choice, as it was true. He had a lot of family members sorted this year, yet, only one cousin was a Snow. Orion, sorted in Ravenclaw. He didn't know his parents though. Now that he answered her question, his curiosity peaked. "And, before we continue this little chit chat, are you a pure-blood or not? I guess I could ask you the same thing, as to why you are up here as well, with your cat." One question was obviously more important than the other, in his books. He didn't want to waste his time with a possible friend in his house if she weren't of a respectable status, which was being a pure-blood. That was the way Lucien was raised to believe. Sort of. His mother wasn't that strict, but he developed it, probably from his deceased father, Alphonse Snow.​

 

[Esme Lancaster]

Esme smiled at the Slytherin boy, one hand gently tucking away a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. "I have a feeling a lot of people get on your nerves. A good deal definitely get on mine." she said in reply, so early in the year and already she'd had a few run ins with some of the other students. Even Jakobe could be a bit too intense, hence why she'd ditched him earlier in the day. When she really thought about it, there seemed to be a greater deal more people that she disliked compared to the few she got along with. It was probably her fault, she knew, she was very selective when it came to friends. "I know what you mean about the first years. I was in the Student Lounge not too long ago and this tragic excuse for a Ravenclaw thought the belladonna essence in his wand would somehow just leak out and kill him. Absolutely ridiculous. Basically reduced his little Hufflepuff girlfriend to tears too. They're so fragile." she recounted with a wicked smile. Intimidating the two had been one of the most enjoyable things since the year began.

Listening to the young wizard talk, Esme wondered why she hadn't spoken to him earlier. He was so open with his distaste toward muggles and mudbloods alike that she felt she could speak more freely around him, which wasn't the case with her usual social group. Her opinions on the non-magical kind had been relatively neutral at first, despite her parents prejudice and objections to her befriending any, before she'd been enrolled in the school. It was meeting a muggle-born girl and learning, during History of Magic, of their kinds brutality in the 1692 Witch Trials in Salem, the place of her birth, that swayed her own views. They were absolutely despicable. Really, it should have been them in hiding, not wizardkind.

It was with great pride in her voice that Esme responded to the question of her purity. As far as she was told, her entire direct bloodline was devoid of muggle taint. There were the offshoots however, that had unfortunately been spoiled, as was the case with her cousin, the transfiguration professor. "Of course I am, as if I'd be anything lesser." she said in a tone of mock-offense, as if she were hurt that he'd even ask. Resting her palms against the windows edge, if you could could the paneless square a window, she hefted herself up to sit within its open space, feet dangling above the ground. "Anyway, I'm up here to get away from someone, and to familiarise myself with one of the towers. I'm taking Divination this year, I wanted to see which one it was. Dusk here just follows me around." she explained with a nod toward the feline. Turning her head, she looked out across the grounds, eyes focusing on the placement of the Astronomy and Ravenclaw towers. Then there was the fourth, the one she'd never ventured to before. "Not sure what to expect from Divination. What subjects have you picked up this year? Muggle Studies is definitely out of the question for the both of us."

 

[Lucien Snow]

Lucien gently breathed a sigh of relief when the girl, Esme, said that she got a feeling that a lot of people got on his nerves. Was he that easy to read? She mentioned how a good deal get on hers, and he felt like he could definitely make a friend of her. "You know what? I think you and I will get along. More like one of those friendships of when two people get together and complain about other people. That sort of thing." If that made any sort of sense that is. He thought that it made sense though. Lucien brushed his blonde hair out of his face, which was making a habit of falling right into his silvery eyes. That smirk never left his lips however, as he thought of something like that occurring. And here he thought he was alone when it came down to his personality traits. Even his siblings were so different from him. Esme talked a little about how she was in the student lounge and that some were talking about wands and their innards. However, when she spoke of a Hufflepuff being fragile, he started to laugh, "I'm not going to lie, most Hufflepuffs seem so fragile. But, my cousin, Hades the second, he was the worst type of person. Violent, cruel, supremacist, you name it. He was a Hufflepuff too. I heard they all feared him, even their Head of House. I got another cruel cousin, Chaos, that's in Hufflepuff too. It's weird. They were as loyal as can be, but to their own means."

Lucien was not about to go into details, but even he was afraid of Hades Styx II. That boy knew how to get under people's skin, and could rip them apart without blinking an eye. He also breathed a sigh of relief when Esme said she was a pure-blood. "Thank Merlin. I couldn't bare to have anything in common with a disgrace." Lucien looked back down at the cat or what he thought was a cat. Dusk was its name. She said that she was taking Divination, and wanted to see which of the towers. Lucien responded with a shrug, "One with a freaky professor, I'll tell you that." Lucien was not a fan of Professor Le Fey, or anyone that taught such a useless subject. It would have been one he would have taken, but he decided against it. "I picked up Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Anything to stay away from Muggle Studies, Creatures and superstition." His opinion of Divination was out in the open, but at least she didn't know what to think of it.

OMFG I am so sorry. These two though!​