I do not own any Harry Potter Characters, the OC's are figmants of my imagination.

Sick Compulsions

Chapter Two

Alice walked into the Great Hall followed by Camilla. Camilla had started off the morning yapping away about how she couldn't wait for Christmas to come so she could go home for a week and just do nothing. She really hated going to school, her parents are of the new age of wizards, they believed in free expression of magic in the home. So naturally Camilla was brought up surrounded by charms and potions, and taught how to read palm's and see auras, so naturally the classroom was just too constrictive for her.

The enchanted ceiling showed a crisp autumn morning, the fresh smell of the air seemed to wake Alice, who had not gotten much sleep at all. She had yawned almost three times before she and Camilla took their seats at the bench. Alice slumped over and rested her head onto her hand. She hadn't really brushed her hair, so it fell down her back in disarray.

"Honestly," Camilla started, "you need to shut that window before you get into bed. No wonder you can't sleep."

Alice hadn't bothered with telling Camilla about her nighttime adventure and run in with Tom. She just yawned again and closed her eyes.

"If you keep looking like this, then no boy will ask you out." Camilla took it upon herself to fix Alice's hair, brushing the long strands back with her fingers and trying to make the part look presentable. "Your hair is just so pretty."

"What makes you think I want to be asked out?" Alice asked, still holding her head up.

"Well, it's not like Robbie is coming back anytime soon, he graduated. No sense of keeping an out of school boyfriend."

Robbie, Alice's boyfriend, was already graduated and working in the ministry. He was everything a girl wanted in a boyfriend; sweet, understanding, funny, and straight-laced. With his dark chestnut hair, chocolate brown eyes, and muscular build, it was a mystery of why he wanted to keep seeing Alice. The boy could clearly have a girlfriend in the 'real world' as the adults called it.

"Why don't you date enough boys for the both of us? I'm good with Robbie."

"Ha, ha, ha." Camilla said, "I wish. I can't get any of them to ask me out. It's like they are a different breed of human or something." Just at that moment, a few first years, which were messing with a potions assignment, screamed and laughed as purple smoke erupted from their table. "I try and I try and guess what? No luck."

"Well that covers first years." Alice inwardly laughed as she sat up and stretched her arms over her back. "Maybe if you try being yourself, Camilla? No one likes a fake." Alice said.

"Tried that,"

"And let me guess, it didn't work?"

"Nope. None of them wanted to have an 'out of body experience' with me. Its not like I wanted to sleep with them, I just wanted to check their aura's color and density and then see what their lives will be like in the great beyond while we ate chocolate. "

"See that's what throws people off when you speak to them directly." Alice said as she brought her arms down, "I've known you since forever, but other people don't understand your whole idea about aura's and fortune telling. Try just getting to know one another, casually…not just walk up to them and start asking them about their aura's and reading their palms."

"Oh poop," Camilla laughed, "where's the fun in that?"

"Ha, ha." Alice said as she reached over to the bread basket on the table and took a roll. The room was filling up as the morning progressed, not many of the Slytherin housemates came to breakfast that often, as with tradition they kept to themselves and only socialized with themselves. So their table was quiet empty and full of food.

While Alice was spreading jam on her bread she noticed the room started to quiet. She looked up to see the Riddle group filing into the room and head towards the front tend of the table. Very uncharacteristic for them. Not only did they come into the Great Hall, they sat down, everyone in the room noticed it and they all turned to watch the boys and girls as they all sat down and huddled together.

"That's odd," Camilla said. "Slytherins' don't come in here, other than us."

Alice continued to watch them.

"I still can't believe you and I got sorted into this house seven years ago, your dad was a Ravenclaw and your mom a Gryffindor. My parents were both Hufflepuff, it doesn't make sense."

"If you haven't noticed, Camilla, almost all the members of Slytherin are purebloods, like me." She turned back to her friend, "there are not many anymore and now there all in our house. Think that's a coincidence?"

"No," she looked so clueless, "give me your palm?"

"Why?"

"Just do it." Camilla reached over and took Alice's right hand into hers and looked at her palm, "you need to moisturize more." She mumbled.

"What does this have t do with anything?"

"Nothing really, I just want to check. I haven't read your palm in a while."

"Has anything changed?"

Dropping Alice's palm Camilla smiled, "can't tell you. But it's good."

"Are you ever going to tell me?"

"Nope."

"What kind of a fortuneteller are you, if you don't give out the fortune?"

"The kind that rips muggle's off at carnivals and sideshows." Alice went to bite into her overly-jammed piece of bread but Camilla reached over and took it from her, "I wouldn't if I were you, Defense class might make you see it again."

Alice sat in her potions class as Professor Slughorn started to go on and on about the beauty of potions and about the harm they can cause if they go wrong. Alice didn't even know why she was taking advanced potions, she took a similar class her fifth year and it seems useless to take this one. She should have just taken a free period instead of filling it up.

She tried to block out the events of last night. She had gotten carried away with herself and threatened Tom, and he wasn't happy with her, she was sure about that. She had told herself she was just going to watch and wait until the truth about the murder came round, not go head first into a conflict with Tom Riddle. Damn, why does she have to take after her highlander mother?

Action before thoughts.

Slughorn appeared before her and held out a jar filled with papers, "dozing off I see Hornboght? Am I that boring?" he smiled down at her, secretly one of his favorites. He pushed the jar towards her, "pick your partner."

"Why?"

"For the class assignment, you silly girl." He laughed, "If you're going to represent the Slug Club like this then I'm afraid I will have to evoke your membership."

Wishing she could roll her eyes Alice reached into the bag and pulled out a name. "Brandon Kimberstone." Great, the self entitled Casanova of Ravenclaw. Within an instant Kimberstone materialized next to her, giving off a toothy grin and raising his eyebrows.

"Alice, ducky." he said in a suave way, leaning towards her, "I have not been paired with you in a long time." He looked down at her with what other girls would classify as a 'smoldering' look. His blue eyes traced her face. "Rest assured, I shall be the gentleman and do all the hard work. So just sit back and relax, let Kimberstone do all the work!"

"Really? All of it? I don't have to do anything?" Alice tried to mimic the way Camilla talked when she was trying to flirt with a boy. Kimberstone smiled and moved in closer, making his long pointed nose seem more predominate. Alice then frowned and turned away from him, "call me 'Ducky' again and I'll hit you until you pass out."

"You're smoking, doll face, if you're into that I'll surly try it with you." He move his hand over on the table, unknown to Kimberstone, the table had a collection of potions on it.

He knocked over three different potions. The liquids fell onto Kimberstone's hands. Alice jumped back as Kimberstone's hand and then body turned purple. First his hand shrunk, then his arm, and then followed by his entire body until he was the size of a house elf. The rest of the students all laughed as he started to scream, in a high pitched voice.

"You see students." Professor Slughorn laughed as he walked over to Alice's table, "potions can be a great deal of help, but mix just one wrong and…well you might just end up like Kimberstone." Slughorn stood next to Kimberstone and looked down at him with a pitiful smile, "you shant not worry, I do believe this is reversible." Taking the back of Kimberstone's, now, oversized robe he lowered the boy to the ground and started to shuttle him towards the door, "off to the hospital. For the rest of you, get with your partners and read over the project. The details can be found on page 34 of your textbooks."

"But, sir?" Alice asked as she sat back down on her seat, "should I work alone?"

"Nonsense, Tom doesn't have a partner, you can work with him."

Alice felt her whole body chill as she looked over to the far right of the classroom. Her vision became tunnel vision as she locked onto Tom Riddle's form in the back of the classroom. As Slughorn and Kimberstone left the room all the other students got with their partners and started to talk, some just sat and gossiped or complained while others started to do the project.

Alice continued to look at Tom before he gestured for her to come over near him. It was more like the unspoken command "you come here now." Groaning she gathered her books and walked haphazardly towards him. Tom sat quietly at his table, book open and paper out. He didn't move an inch when she sat down in the available seat and then moved as far over as she could towards the end of the table.

Awkward silence…

To look like she wasn't uncomfortable with the situation Alice pulled her book open and started to turn the pages slowly until she got to the page. She leaned her cheek upon her hand and started to look at the page, to make it seem as if she were reading. Class needed in about fifteen minutes, if she lasted until then she could escape and head to Defense class.

As she turned the page she couldn't fight back a massive yawn.

"Tired, Miss Hornboght?" Tom's voice asked, startling her, his yes looked at her though the corner of his eye. "Couldn't sleep after your little adventure in the corridors afterhours?"

Lie, lie, lie, damn you Alice! "When I sleepwalk….I'm always tried the next day….did I leave the dorm? I never really make it past the common room before I turn around and go back to bed."

"Really? You have no memory of last night?" he continued to speak in a smooth and equal tone, perfectly together.

Her cheeks started to burn, "no, I never remember. Sometimes its just bits and pieces, like a dream." She looked back down at her book. Unconsciously she started to pick at the sleeve of her green sweater, nervously. Damn you!

"If that is true," he scoffed, "then allow me to inform you that you had an adventure last night, Miss Hornboght." He closed his book, "you're not a very good liar. You blush when you try to back up the lie, and you pick at your clothing. Tell tale sings of an inadequate liar."

"And you're just so amazing, aren't you?" she mumbled fast, hoping he heard it.

"I wouldn't want to boast." He said.

"So," she said, trying to change the subject so she could escape, "…about the project? Half and half?"

"As you wish." He leaned back into the chair backing and looked up at her, his expression never changing. But you could see it in his eyes that he was planning something. His eyes narrowed slightly, another person wouldn't have noticed the slight change, but Alice was someone who was looking for the motion. Anything to crack his mask, just what was going on in his head?

Slowly she moved to get up from her chair and tuned away from Tom, "Okay…so….I'm just…I'm going back to my…you know, seat."

"Very well, Miss Hornboght."

Tom stayed in the back of the room after Alice had returned to her table. She was still hunched over, as if the simple conversation about the project had left her disturbed. Seeing her uncomfortable was interesting, last night as she jabbed her wand into him she was a completely different person. Now she was like any other girl, controlled by her emotions. But last night, she was in control of them. Her fiery anger spoke many things, but her nervousness and attitude told a different story.

Alice Hornboght wasn't just some girl in the house, he had known of her existence since first year. She was obviously very smart, kind, and well rounded. It had only been recently that she had started to act this way. She always went to the games and cheered on her house, she always was the first one out of her, former, group of friends that would suggest an idea of what to do, and she was always very actively participating in class. But now she was withdrawn, quiet, and uninterested.

What changed her so?

It must have to do with what she had on him.

Well, whatever it was, it must be because of one of his followers. The fifth years he had recruited last year were very talkative about the Muggle girl's murder. It must have slipped out and into her ears without them knowing. He couldn't very well have that, now can he? First he would deal with the followers, find out who was the traitor, and then he would deal with Hornboght.

What harm could a silly girl do?

Class ended an Alice nearly flew out of the room before anyone could block her way. Tom gathered his things and started off to class. His eyes looked ahead and followed the girl as she ran down the hall to her next class. Inwardly, Tom smiled deviously, she was frightened. The students around him stood clear as he walked, they always did. The only ones who would walk by his side ort slightly behind him in step where his followers.

Abraxas walked up behind him and looked to the floor.

"Well?" Tom asked, commanded.

"It's not likely a seventh year spoke out about it, they are too loyal to you."

"It's a sixth year, find out who it was and punish them."

"Yes,"

"Leave me."Abraxas back off as Tom continued down the hall towards his next class, though he was really following Alice Hornboght's every move ahead of him.

well, what do you think? do i have Ton Riddle in character, or somewhat?

Please review