A/N: Since I'm going through and republishing all of the chapters in Snakes Coiled, I've decided to remove all previous Author's Notes unless they say something pertinent to the story at hand.

As always, if you're new to this story, please enjoy (and review)!

Book One
Chapter One: The Riddle
Autumn, 1942

The clattering of silverware on plates and happy conversation was all that one could hear in the Great Hall at Hogwarts on the first day back. The first evening feast was one of decidedly unmarked excitement. It was the time before students fell back into a routine of classes and studying. Among the crowds of seated students, one could find tiny Aella Burke amongst the Slytherins. She was happily chattering away with Elinor Malfoy. The two could not have been more markedly different in appearance.

Elinor, tall and willowy thin, with flowing blonde locks that were of an unearthly color, had the very look of pureblooded aristocracy. Her face was sculpted as if it were a gift from an artist. Her nose only turned up when she wanted to show contempt for another and her eyes had the quality of blue silver.

Aella had always been tiny stature and she knew she always would be. Her father called her petite. She declared that she was unequivocally short, as if it were untasteful. She was not nearly as tall as Elinor and, in fact, had been mistaken for a second year until last autumn when she had returned to Hogwarts as a maturing fourth year. It was a fact that still bothered her to no end. Her hair, which had once been a very warm brown, had darkened substantially to an almost black hue. There could be no given explanation for the sudden change, though some speculated she had done it herself with a spell. Her unnaturally large grey eyes still left most people entranced as if she had forced them into a sort of submission. She enjoyed the effects of her eyes so very much that she took it upon herself to stare at others whenever she wanted to make them uncomfortable.

The two girls had become fast friends during their first year and remained inseparable. Despite their vastly different upbringings, the two combined made a force to be reckoned with. Elinor was royalty in the Slytherin Common Room and Aella was by the far the most intelligent and cunning girl in their year. Other girls their age did not press them. Elinor had wizard aristocracy in her blood and she used it to her advantage. Only bowing to older students, especially those of the Black clan, Elinor made it clear that she would be treated with respect and admiration. Aella, by association with a Malfoy, and through her own quick wit, was granted the same privilege. It was something she did not take for granted even though her father said he could trace back their bloodline quite a ways. The Burkes, when it came down to it, owned a shop. It was hardly a comparison she wished to make clear. So Aella took to her socially given position as well as she could. Her dreams were big and her start was decidedly meagre but she was determined and with Elinor's help she could proudly say that her fifth year at Hogwarts was looking to be one of the better.

Aella was busy sipping from a goblet of pumpkin juice when Elinor jabbed her with an elbow. She watched with disdain as some of the liquid jumped from the rim of the cup and splashed upon the table. "What?" She drawled as she turned to fix her friend with an annoyed stare.

"Madeleine Reubel." She laughed quietly. Aella craned her neck to look toward the Ravenclaw table. The girl in question was one she had once known on a train ride to Hogwarts their first year. At the time Aella had considered her a decent friend. Elinor had made sure to purge her of any such thought. Now she could only look on the girl with disgust. For Elinor it had to do with her beauty and her half-blood status. Madeleine was decidedly pretty with her olive complexion and slender form. Aella found these to be paltry reasons to dislike someone, focusing instead on Madeleine's penchant for correcting her mistakes out loud. It did not matter how few Aella made, being corrected by anyone felt like an unpardonable slight upon her person.

"What about her?" Aella asked as she turned back to face Elinor.

"Didn't you hear?" Elinor frowned as Aella shook her head. "Honestly, did you move at all during the train ride?" She sighed. "There was, let's call it an incident, in which she called Ibella Whitehall a travesty to magic." She giggled conspiratorially, making it clear she had been at the scene of the crime. "You can't see it now but Ibella cursed her something fierce. Her fingers are bloated and red." Elinor giggled again. Aella managed a smile.

"How unfortunate."

"Did you do anything worthwhile on the way in?" Elinor asked again as she glanced down the Slytherin table.

"Prefects have duties to fulfill." Aella decided carefully as her gaze followed suit. The two girls found their eyes settling on a group of fifth year boys led by Tom Riddle. They seemed to hang onto his every word, sickeningly attentive, Aella thought. She worried that some would think her as pathetic when around Elinor. That was never her intention for she wanted to make it clear that, while they were friends, Aella Burke was no one's charity case and certainly no one's pet.

"Tom Riddle gets more and more handsome each year." Elinor noted, always one for appearances. "It's such a pity we don't really know his lineage. I would love to give him a go."

"Elinor!" Aella hissed, her face flushing.

"I was only kidding." She replied with a smile. "He is quite handsome though. You must admit."

"If I must." Aella said with annoyance. She peered over at him once more, as if to see for herself. The boy in question turned his head slowly to look directly at her. His eyes narrowed with a curious expression poised on his face. "So who will it be this year?"

"I haven't really decided yet." Elinor admitted. She gave a thoughtful look back at Tom, seemingly questioning the possibility. It was no secret to Aella that Elinor felt it her personal mission to date as many boys as possible. She had once confided that she wanted to find a decent match before her father intervened. An arranged marriage seemed almost too much for a girl like Elinor to think about. So she had her "scandalous, good fun," as she put it, while she still could. "What if I really did choose Tom?" She asked as she leaned her head upon her arm and looked up at her with an angelic expression.

"You would be wasting your time." Aella said as she absently stabbed at her food. "He doesn't date. He's too absorbed in being the best at everything."

"Are you jealous?" Elinor asked with a knowing and dangerous smile.

"Not in the least." She argued.

"A lie if I've ever heard one. You can't handle being second best, can you?"

"I can." Aella said angrily. "I would just prefer not to."

Elinor sighed. "Do you think I'll be better this year?" She asked as she wrapped a finger around a lock of hair.

"Probably not. You never are." Aella's bluntness shook her friend out of her thoughtful reverie. "You're too concerned with being social."

"What's wrong with being social?" Elinor shot her a dirty look. "If you were a bit more social instead of stick your nose into books all day you might have kissed a boy by now." Aella flushed red.

"As if that completely defines my existence." She huffed. "I don't have time to be social. Not all of us are graced with your lineage, Elinor. Some of us cannot hope to glide by so easily. And some of us will not be satisfied until we are better than who enjoy simply being social." Elinor frowned and patted her shoulder carefully.

"All right, all right. I was only playing. I didn't mean—"

"I know." She cut her off easily. "Listen, I've got to go." She stood abruptly and started to leave the Great Hall.

"Aella, wait!" Elinor called after her. She watched as her friend's tiny form rounded the door to the hall and disappeared. With some reluctance she shrugged and turned to converse with someone new.

Hogwarts was empty and silent. With the feast still taking place and dessert not yet served up, the halls felt dangerously solitary. Aella wandered aimlessly trying to kill time, glaring at any portraits that dared to point out that she ought not to be doing what she was doing. By chance she found herself on the second floor near a girl's bathroom. She finally stopped and sighed, allowing herself to lean casually against a nearby windowsill.

The stars twinkled readily in the sky above. Aella wished that she could make her way outside but she didn't dare. It was far too early in the year to be out after dark, risking trouble. Besides, there were classes to worry about tomorrow. If she did manage to get outside without being noticed, she would hardly be able to bring herself back in. that would make for a very rough, sleepless day. Thoughts of charms, transfiguration, and potions tumbled through her mind instead, trying to ease her desire for fresh air.

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked loudly. It was a cold voice. One she had not heard often. Turning lazily, she looked to Tom Riddle who stood a bit away from her. His stance was as nonchalant and uncaring as her own. His dark eyes seemed not to care at all for any answer she might give. She noted with some delight that his black hair had grown out a bit as if he'd forgotten to have it cut.

"I could ask the same of you." She replied as she turned back to the window.

"Do you have the password?" His accusation was clear and she struggled to stifle the urge to remind him she was a prefect as well.

"Do you?" She managed coldly. "What do you want?"

"What are you doing here?"

"It is absolutely none of your business, now is it?" She asked as she placed her fingertips on the cool window.

"You're Aella Burke, daughter of Caractacus Burke of Borgin and Burkes." He told her in an offhand tone.

"Good for you." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she clapped her hands together. "You are ever so brilliant, Mr. Riddle." His look, in return, made it clear that he did not like this exchange.

"You are fond of making enemies, are you not?" He said, the coolness in his voice hit frigid levels. Aella did not allow herself to react.

"You could not be my enemy, Riddle." She stated simply. "For that you would have to be my equal."

"How wrong you are." He said with a cruel laugh. "You make the mistake of thinking you are superior. This is not true. You are attempting to make enemies to rest in places higher than you deserve. You are not my equal, Burke. You are no better than scum."

"Well, forgive me, my lord." She hissed with sardonic compliance. "I did not realize you were so mighty and wonderful. I should make note to be terrified of you from this point on." She said as she turned to give him a half smirk of rebellion. His own smirk was, she hated to think it, quite handsome.

"You make for an excellent challenge, Burke. I would have thought Elinor would have tamed your attitude by now."

"Why?" She snapped. "Because she is better than me? You would be sorely disappointed to learn how mistake you are."

His smirk still held strong. Tom Riddle reeked of confidence. He enjoyed making her angry perhaps as much as he enjoyed watching her try to fight back. "I am never mistaken." He simply replied as he turned and walked back down the hallway.