Mirror

The Slytherin sighed. She had spent another sleepless night worrying about the small Listening Charm she had found under her bed that morning. Of course, she never said anything important without an Anti-Eavesdropping Charm, but still! It was the principle of the thing. She had known that no place in Slytherin was sacred, but her subconscious had refused to admit that one of her year-mates could be spying on her. Only the girls in her dorm knew the room's password, and then Draco would know, being their year's Prefect. He could have told Zabini... Damn it! She had thought she had known which of them were spies. Bulstrode was, of course, but that charm was beyond her level. Davis? No, Tracey was one of her only friends. And besides, she had a tracking charm on her wand, and Davis was one of the only Slytherins stupid enough to not carry a spare. Greengrass? Could be-she'd have to look into it.

It was at times like this when she almost envied the Gryffindors. They fought their battles in the open. They knew who their enemies were. And the little wankers protected themselves so well without even knowing it. They probably let all of their friends know the password to their dorms... probably had bloody pyjama parties, come to think of it. And yet, it was almost impossible to spy on them, because the Gryffindors were pack animals. And trusted each other so blindly. Morons. Didn't they see that in a world like this, you had to watch your back? Slytherins knew that. Alliances changed daily, yes, but that was expected. The only thing that mattered in Slytherin was how much dirt you had on everyone else.

The famous Slytherin cunning. Never get caught, but to do that, you couldn't trust anyone. There were no boyfriends/girlfriends in Slytherin. There were fuck-buddies, and relationships borne out of convenience, or dependence, or desire. There were arranged marriages, and "arranged" marriages, and blackmail relationships. But there were no boyfriends, no girlfriends, and no love. You couldn't trust the one you're with, and you could trust less the one you used to be with.

She supposed it was good, in a way. This was how the real world was. They would have to get used to it sooner or later. Develop that thick skin. First years would go crying to Dumbledore: "They're so mean to me! I want to change Houses!"

But the old man did know what he was doing, even if he was a stinking ex-Gryffindor. He knew that the Sorting Hat had put them all in Slytherin for a reason. Plus, he didn't want to sic them on his golden Gryffindors. So they toughened up, eventually. Eventually, they learned that the world was out to get them, and they stopped smiling, stopped enjoying themselves. That was when they started to apply themselves to learning how to survive. Pansy Parkinson angrily wiped away her tears. Because you couldn't ever let them see you cry.