I woke up to my shoulder being jabbed rapidly by someone's thin pointy finger. Before I was fully conscience, I already had an idea who it was.

"Good morning Becky," I said stretching my arms over my head and yawning. I looked towards the window. The sun had just peaked over the mountains in the distance, but the majority of the sky was still dark. I yawned again.

"Becky, what time is it?"

"It's only six. Come on! We got to get up and ready for class!"

I glared at her with my sleepy gray eyes.

"Class starts in two hours."

"But it's always good to get a head start!"

I glared at Becky again.

"What ever you say." I flopped back down on my bed, intending wholeheartedly to go back to sleep. This was obviously not what Becky had in mind. She began poking my arm again. I groaned loudly and grabbed her finger.

"Touch my shoulder again, and I will use my wand and make your fingers disappear."

She stopped, holding her hand several centimeters away from my shoulder, as if deciding whether or not I was kidding or making a serious threat. To my relief and her better judgment she moved her hand back to her side. I'd never been able to fall asleep in the morning after being woken up. I reluctantly sat up again and swung my feet to the edge of the bed. I didn't bother to check my appearance as I made my way through the dorm to the showers. I sat on the little bench in the shower and let the water run over my head for what seemed like an hour. I finally got out and made my way to the mirror. With one of the white fleecy towels on the counter, I wiped a large circle of condensation off the mirror. I leaned in and looked at my face. My father's grey eyes stood out sharply against the darker features I inherited from my Italian mother. My tan skin was fairly clear except for the light bridge of freckle across my nose. I sighed, wondering why my eyes had to stand out so much. I reach into my bag and pulled out a comb and a brush. I groaned. I have curly brown hair that reached the center of my back. I should've charmed my hair, but now it's wet, and impossibly curly. On the bright side, my curly hair formed neat delicate ringlets, compared to the frizzy waves of Becky's hair. Well at least one thing came from being up an hour early, I mused as I began the slow process of detangling my curly. When I finally succeeded perfecting my hair, I left the large marble bathroom and headed back to by dorm.

By this time, most of the girls had woken up or were in the slow process of waking up. I sat my bag on my bed and opened my large wooden armoire. As I did every day, I pick out my blouse, sweater, skirt and robe. I put each item on slowly, to avoid messing up my hair. Once I was fully dressed I looked at myself in the mirror. The large grey sweater fell loosely over my waist. I'd always been skinny, I was even down right scrawny when I was younger, but age and growth had eventually made this a more attractive trait. I would have been completely uncompelled to where the shapeless garment if not for its v-neck, the only asset that complimented my figure. I sat back down on my bed and began pulling my socks on. When I was done, I placed my favorite silver clip in my hair to keep my bangs of my eyes and looked at the final result of an hours worth of preparation. I smiled at my self, grabbing the leather bag that contained my books, and headed for the door.

I wasn't surprised to see Becky at the breakfast table already, halfway through her breakfast. There weren't too many other people in the hall except three other people, two Gryffindor students and a Ravenclaw girl. I walked slowly towards Becky who was frantically waving her arms in the air as if I couldn't find her. I sat down and looked at the food in front of me. After looking between an omelet, toast, and a particularly large piece of sausage I'm sure Roger would eat once he woke up, I settled for a croissant. I sat sideways on the bench, my legs up, facing Becky.

"So what class do you have this morning Lizzie?"

I shrugged, picking the middle of my croissant out and eating it slowly.

"I'll have to check. What do you have? I probably have the same thing."

"Well I have Divination then Defense Against the Dark Arts."

I finished the last bite of my croissant and took out my schedule. As I'd predicted my first two classes were the same as Becky's. I looked at my watch. 7:15. I groaned. I still had forty-five minutes until school began. More students had become to trickle into the Great Hall, but there were still no more than thirty. I leaned backwards, lying out on the bench, when Becky's voice broke the silence.

"What happened with you and Tom Riddle yesterday?"

I groaned again, this time sitting up. I'd nearly forgotten about that.

"Oh, nothing. I just met him yesterday after potions and he was an arrogant arse."

"Tom? Really? I can't really imagine him ever acting that way."

I snorted. "Who have you been watching? He paid no attention at all during Potions yesterday, then proceeded to grab my arm until I introduced myself to him."

Becky sighed, her eyes dreamy. "He's in your potions class? You're so lucky. He's only in one of mine."

I resisted the urge to slap Becky and snap her out of her state.

"What part of what I just said actually did go through your head? I said he was arrogant and rude."

"Maybe there was a misunderstanding, and you're mistaken."

"I'm pretty sure there wasn't and I'm not."

Becky shrugged, discouraged. "Well ok then. However," her face lit up again, "you do have to admit he is quite the attractive lad."

I lay back down on the bench again putting my hands over my ears.

"He's definitely something."

***

I'd sat through Divination thoroughly bored. Becky, however, seemed thoroughly enthralled in the lesson. If her actions didn't give it away, it was her incessant chatter as we made our way to Defense against the Dark Arts.

"Wasn't it brilliant, though? The way she knew that! I, mean, it's just incredible right?"

"Yes, Becky, for a third time it was."

After four more "yes, Becky's" and traveling four floors down to the classrooms, we finally reached it. The hallway in front of the ornate wooden door was filled with students. It took me a moment, after observing the colors of the robes, to realize this class was shared with…

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. How are you this morning Elizabeth?"

I reluctantly turned around to face Tom's smug grin. His dark hair, though neatly brushed, hung softly over his deep green eyes, making him look more mischievous than yesterday. I groaned to myself when I realized he also look even more attractive than before as well.

"Riddle."

He gave me the arrogant smirk a person would give someone they believed themselves to be truly above.

"How'd you sleep last night? Well, I presume?"

"I slept fine, thank you."

Why on Earth would he care how I slept? I felt Becky subtlety nudge my side. I looked her direction as she used her facial expressions to gesture towards Tom. Seriously? I stared back at her.

"You are you ready for class, Lizzie?" He drawled, cocking his head slightly.

"Yes, I am."

"Well that's good. One should always be prepared to know how to protect themselves from the Dark Arts."

"I'm glad," I said with as much false emotion as I could muster.

Finally, the door to the classroom opened. I was nearly run over as the students raced in quickly to choose their seats. I noticed the classroom, unlike the others I'd been in, was nearly twice as large, with a large clear area between the rows of students. By the time I managed to enter I noticed only one seat left. Joy. I trumped over to the desk slowly, and flopped down in the seat next to Tom. As I looked as far over to my left as could without my intentions being obvious. I could feel Tom watching me.

"It's rude to stare Thomas. You should know that. You seem to be quite familiar with the formalities of society."

"I'm not. I'm just…admiring you."

The hypnotic tone of his voice sent a shiver down my spine. I began concentrating as hard as I could at the wall across the room in an effort to ignore Tom. I kept this up as our teacher entered and class began. Class had been in session for nearly twenty minutes now when I felt Tom bring his arm down to his lap, brushing against the part of my upper thigh that had been exposed by my skirt. I heard him chuckle softly.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed, breaking my staring contest with the wall to glare at him.

"Nothing love," He replied, his voice slow and drawling again.

"I'm not your love, Tom. You touch me again and I will hex you."

He smiled at me, the ends of his mouth turning up towards his dark eyes, before turning back towards the teacher at the front of the room with a smug look plastered on his face. I put my head in my hands and stared down at my sheet of parchment, using my finger to block me from seeing anything else. I remained like this until I heard the professor shout,

"Ok! Everyone up and stand across from your partner."

I got up slowly a walked across the room. No wonder this room's so big. Any other room would've had us touching shoulders. I faced Tom, who was twirling his thin white wand between his slender fingers.

"Now class," the short mustached professor began, "I've spent the last ten minutes discussing the Bacclan Shield Charm, Contego. Now I would like you all to test your ability to use it. You and your partner will take turns casting the shield while the other attempts to use the Levis charm, often referred to as the jelly legs hex, to break the shield. Before we begin I have a few important reminders. Firstly, the incantation is Contego for the hex Levis Cruris. Secondly, remember the wand is supposed to move in a figure eight fashion. Lastly, and most importantly, no other curse, or hex, besides the Levis charm is to be used or the consequences will be severe."

He paused for emphasized, during which, I glared at Tom.

"So, now that we've discussed the rules, we shall began on three. One."

I brought my wand up and pointed it at Tom. His wand remained at his side.

"Two."

I watched as he stay there, smiling and unmoving his wand still at his side.

"Three!"

The room was filled with the shout of incantations. I watch as Tom quickly flicked his wand lazily, muttering the incantation as if he'd known it his entire life. The curse that collided forcefully with my shield was much stronger than I'd expected from his half-hearted effort. The force jarred my arm and knocked me back a step. I looked up at Tom stunned. He just looked back at me and readied his own shield. I shout Levis Cruris with as much emphasis as I could, only to watch it disperse easily against his shield. As the duel continued, I could feel my anger rising. How the hell could he do that?! And so easily?! The last hex he hurtled my way was forceful enough it nearly broke my wand. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Stupefy," I cried, as forcefully as I could, without raising my voice over I whisper.

As will my other hexes, Tom merely deflected it with a lazy flick of his wand. I glared at him at I watched him mouth, "That's not very nice."

I watched him, maintaining my intense stare, as he began to move his wand in a complex motion I'd never seen before. I suddenly felt my legs pang as if something were winding tightly around them. The curse continued to wind its way up until I felt it begin to tighten around my throat. I reached my hand up to my throat, to pull at the no existent source that was choking me, only to feel the untouched skin of my neck. I watched Tom tilt his head slightly, as if to ask what the matter was. The curse lasted a few seconds more before I felt my throat released. It took all my self-control to refrain from stomping across the room. My nerves had finally reached their limit when the professor's voice rang out.

"Well that was a good run. Everyone returned to your seats."

I walked briskly, my feet heavy, and sat down at the desk. I watched as Tom slowly made his way back, and sat down gracefully. He pretended to look forward before turning to me and making a shocked face as if he had no idea why I was in such a foul mood.

"What's wrong love?" He cooed, his voice soft.

"What the hell are you playing at, Tom?" I snarled back, using more self-control to keep my voice low.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his eyes innocent.

"What the hell was that curse then?"

"I'm sorry but I'm confused. Professor said we were only supposed to use Levis charm."

I turned my face away from him, this time, fully in the opposite direction. I stayed there, fuming, allowing myself to calm down. I looked down at my watch. Ten more minutes. Why is time so slow? I groaned and slouched down in my chair. I'd begun to inspect my nails when I felt Tom's hand brush the top of my thigh again, this time longer, and obviously intentionally.

"Get. Off. Me. Tom," I hissed, "Or I will…"

"Or what? You'll you hex me?" He replied calmly, leaving his hand on my leg. "We already saw how well that worked out."

He laughed softly to himself. Furious, I grabbed his hand pushed it forcefully back into his lap.

"Son of a…"

The shrill bell rang, cutting off the end of the sentence.

I shoved my books in my bag hastily, nearly dumping my uncorked ink well in as well. I stood up to leave when I felt Tom's hand grab my mine. I tried to jerk my hand away but he simply smiled and entwined his fingers with mine.

"There's no need to be so tense love," his velvet voice whispered.

I opened my mouth to tell him where exactly I was about to shove his wand when I heard his voice, in a slightly more forceful, yet still calm tone.

"I'll call you what I want to."

He smirked at me and stood up, looking down at me with his green eyes. Without a word, he swept out of the room, his robes flowing behind him gracefully, leaving me to furiously stare after him.