Muggle Madness:
Chapter 2 - A Civil Conversation
Dumbledore gently closed the book, Prophecies and the Seer with an amused look on his face. He had gone much trouble to acquire the rare book. Such a book would surely be in the Restricted Section if it were to be at Hogwarts at all. Luckily, with his high position of power, Dumbledore was able to find it. After some studying of Divination and prophecies, he was able to conclude that Eliza Trelawney had made a true prophecy. He recalled a chapter which stated that dark prophecies are made only when the predicted future is to be very dangerous and if it affected a large amount of people. After revisiting his memory of Eliza's prophecy many times in his Pensieve, Dumbledore realized that the wizarding world would be faced with a difficult problem: "A tragic catastrophe will befall on both worlds…" Shaking his head, Dumbledore stood and walked out of his office and down to the kitchens to review the opening feast menu with the house elves. Hogwarts would open tomorrow and he was given the duty to organize for the year's opening events. Solving the meaning of Eliza's prophecy would have to wait for now.
Tom looked over his belongings in his shabby secondhand trunk to make sure that he had everything he needed for Hogwarts. He was more than excited, an emotion he rarely expressed. He envisioned owls with letters tied to their feet and soaring through the clouds, wizards flying on brooms, spectacular creatures such as dragons and sphinxes… But his day dreaming was interrupted as someone knocked at his door. Tom frowned unpleasantly. He liked his privacy and did not liked to be disturbed. He quickly closed his trunk and pushed it under his bed with his foot just as the door opened.
"So I hear you've been accepted to an exceptional school…"
"I didn't give you permission to enter," said Tom sourly.
"I knocked." She said lightly and ran her hand through her hair.
"I enjoy my privacy," Tom hinted for her to leave. When she didn't he said in annoyance, "Here to congratulate me?"
"Congratulations." She looked directly at him, something no one did at the orphanage. "How long will you be gone?" she asked.
Tom was slightly taken aback. He had expected her to accuse him again of his wrongdoings as usual. "I'll be back in the summer," he said. "Try not to miss me too much." He said flatly.
The girl smirked, "I'll try." She was satisfied that he would be gone for the year. The orphans wouldn't have to deal with his terrorism if he was gone at his school. Suddenly curious of the school that had accepted him, she asked, "What kind of school is it?"
Again, Tom was surprised. Ever since she had arrived at the orphanage two months ago, she had eyed him suspiciously but had kept to herself. She did not interact with any of the other orphans but was not cruel to them either as he was. Therefore, he had never bothered with her. But before Dumbledore's visit, she had confronted him for the first time.
"You're Tom Riddle?" She had cornered him after dinner after the others had left.
Tom took in her appearance. She was dressed in plain grey clothes which were a bit too big for her small frame. She had short black hair that looked a bit out of place but combed. Her dark brown eyes gazed at him with all seriousness. She seemed plain as any other child but mature with her calmness.
"And who are you?" he sneered.
She simply disregarded his question and said, "You don't like anyone here, do you?"
Annoyed that she had ignored his question, he spat, "Now, including you."
"Well, there is no need to be so rude. The others don't appreciate it. I've been hearing some funny things about you, Tom."
He became enraged; she had addressed him so plainly with his very common name and also of his strange and unexplainable abilities as well. The dim lights in the dining room flickered and Tom knew that he had caused it subconsciously. "Oh, really? Then you know to be careful." He threatened.
"You see, you and I are alike," she started calmly, "We're both independent, ambitious, and different." The lights stopped flickering and returned to normal. "I think we'd work well together, but only if you stop bullying the others."
She had extended an invitation of what sounded like friendship to Tom, something no one had ever done before. However, Tom was irritated by her encroaching upon his authority that he had over the orphans, the dominating fear he could cause them. "With you, never." He turned to leave the dining room.
As he was leaving the room, the small dusty chandelier above the girl's head suddenly fell with a loud crash. Tom quickly left the scene so that he wouldn't be suspected, so he did not see her step out of the way in time.
But ever since then she had kept an eye on him and had confronted him of the odd happenings around the orphanage. And since then they hadn't been on the best of terms.
"What kind of school is it?" she asked again.
"Why do you care?" he retorted.
"Just wondering is all. Must be a special school…."
"And why would you think that?" he asked suspiciously.
"Because that's what you are, right?" Tom didn't know if she was calling him a weird freak or a wizard. But before he could decide, she said, "Thanks for the civil conversation." And quickly left the room as she had entered.
It was indeed a civil conversation, or the most civil that they've had so far. A bit unexpected, but she had only come to confirm of his leaving. Tom decided to ignore it and went back to thinking about Hogwarts. He would be boarding the train the next morning after all…
After returning to her room, the girl sighed. At least he'll be gone and the others won't be harmed, she thought. She knew that she herself would be free from harm as well. She found that whenever Tom was around, odd things happened. On her first encounter with him, she had almost been pummeled by a chandelier. As time went on, a bookshelf had almost collapsed on her in the library, she was almost run over by a car in the street, her favorite pillow had randomly burst into flames, and the windows of the playroom had shattered while arguing with him. At first, she thought that she was being paranoid but couldn't deny the truth any longer: Tom Riddle was causing the mishap. And now he would be gone… Or until the summer at least. She told herself to stop worrying and lied down on her bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. And that was the first time she had dreamt of witches and wizards.
