,/, Brooms & Pumpkins .0.
Mo and Tom were walking promptly toward Defense Against the Dark Arts when Imogene and Rosier joined them. Mo had noticed that Rosier was very keen to hang around her when there was a chance Tom would show up. He was clever, and cunning, Rosier was, but Mo did not like his character and would not have spent so much time with him if it was her choice.
"Are you excited for the feast tonight?" He asked Tom eagerly, hoping to make conversation.
"What feast?" Mo asked, unaware there was anything occurring. She had found a love of food at Hogwarts, and rarely missed a chance to eat.
"All Hallows Evening." Imogene said solemnly as they turned into the corridor.
"Oh, well Tom and I-"
"Are looking forward to it." Tom said with a charming smile. Mo bit her lip and wondered why he had suddenly rearranged their evening? She was finally going to suggest that they try searching for his mothers maiden name, rather than keep searching from his father's.
They slipped into the classroom on time and they took their usual seat, Tom and Mo in the front with Rosier once again unhappy to be seated by Imogene instead of Tom.
Professor Galatea Merrythought was surprisingly light on her feet for a witch her age. She always had a smile on her face, and her hair was a long heavy silver stream down her back. She was a beauty as well, and no one could quiet guess her age, though everyone knew she was old. She was young at heart, and her youthful soul showed in her appearance and demeanor. She was Head of Ravenclaw, and Mo admired her very much
"In celebration of All Hallow's Eve, we will start learning about magical creatures." Professor Merrythought tapped the chalkboard mounted on an easel and the white chalk began to sketch out a canine figure.
"Now, can anyone briefly summarize what a werewolf is?" She gazed around with her amber eyes and choose the twins, Leonard began.
"A werewolf is a human being who turns into a sort of wolf."
"Upon the complete rising of the full moon." Ralph added.
"Werewolves can be distinguished from normal wolves by some minor characteristics."
"Such as the pupils of the eyes, the snout shape, and the tufted tail."
"At all other times, they appear as normal humans." Leonard ended, and both twins flashed grand smiles.
"Excellent boys, five points for Ravenclaw." She turned to the board that now had several sketches of werewolves and bite marks. "Now, a werewolf can only infect through saliva blood contact, and only between a werewolf and human. Now tell me what is the name of the condition caused by the infection? Mr. Riddle?"
"The condition caused by a bite of a transformed wolf is called lycanthropy."
Merrythought awarded Slytherin ten points, and snapped back at the whines of the twins, suggesting they should have done further research, and not just the reading assigned. She went on to explain the treatment of a werewolf bite, and she released them exactly on time at the end of class.
"That was a load of bollocks." Rosier said as he scurried to keep up with Tom's longer stride.
"Seems pointless to teach about treatment, if there is really nothing we could do." Leonard agreed.
"It is better to know what can't be done than to merely hope for what could be done." Tom replied.
"Are you excited for flying lessons?" Rosier asked Tom. The twins however threw thumbs to there chests and answered.
"We're especially excited." They said in unison.
"Might tryout for the team next year." Leonard added.
"Oh, will you two try out for beaters?" Imogene asked hopefully. "It would seem right, twins as beaters."
"Nah." Ralph said.
"We are more of chasers." Leonard added. The Ravenclaw boys began to chatter about plays and broomsticks.
"Will you try out for qudditch team Tom?" Mo asked as they stepped out of the castle walls.
"I don't care much for sports, muggle or magic." Tom said as they joined the mix of Ravenclaw and Slytherin. "However, I find it unprofessional that they could not locate a teacher earlier. It's not a terribly vital subject, but still."
They waited for the mysterious flying teacher. The brooms were laid out already, two lines of ten facing one another. The students had finished arrainging themselves as the instructor showed up, late.
"My apologies and Good Afternoon class." She said walking swiftly in between the line of students. Her voice commanded silence and she received it. She had short golden brown hair, and her eyes were a bright amber, a yellow almost.
"You are to refer to me as Madam Hooch, I will be your instructor for our weekly lessons. Now, right hand over your brooms, and say up."
Without a moments delay the students went at it. No one got the broom up on there first try. Tom managed to summon it to his hand after a couple a tries, smiling at his achievement. The twins followed soon after, and though Imogene and Rosier's brooms twitched, Mo's didn't move at all. Madam Hooch spotted this and went to stand in front of her. Now, with a slight quiver in her voice, she tried harder, but the broom would not budge.
"Ms. Opal, take out your wand." Mo was startled and went to reach for her wand. Before she even managed to pull it out, Madam Hooch stopped her.
"You are left handed?" She asked. Mo nodded and suddenly realized all attention was on her, most students either gripping the brooms, or haven given up.
"Stand on the other side and use your wand hand." Mo nodded again and stepped over the broom. She held out her left hand over the broom and took in a deep breath.
"Up." She almost didn't catch the broom, and bit her lip at the sting of the wood hitting her palm. She looked up to Madam Hooch and saw she had an odd smile.
"If you learn at that rate, and remain as talented, I highly recommend you try out for your house team next year." She said before walking to the top of the line again.
The students learned how to mount their brooms and hover a few feet above the ground. They were instructed how to raise and lower their altitude, and change direction. Mo smiled as the class went on, because it seemed she found something she excelled at, and her abilities surpassed Tom. Though he was not horrible, she was far better than him and most of the class.
"They were all Silver Arrows, they they must of been ancient." Rosier complained, trying to explain why he had fallen off.
"Mo seemed to do fine on those old brooms." Ralph teased.
"Seriously, you are quite talented for never having mounted a broomstick before." Leonard turned to Mo. "Are you going to tryout for the team next year?"
"I don't know, I've never even seen quidditch or really know anything about it." Mo said, trying to rake her brains for whatever she may have read on the subject.
"Really? You're just as bad as any muggle." Rosier said rolling his eyes.
"I think it's hardly fair to blame her for her situation." Tom said turning to face the group he had been leading. "I am sure had she been raised in a proper wizardry home, she would not be so naive." He turned back around and continued to walk as they conversed.
"First match between Gryffindor and Slytherin is this weekend." Imogene stated as she bounced up the entrance to the castle.
"Let's all go." Ralph said taking one of Mo's arms.
"It should be fun." Leonard said taking the other. "Hey Tom!" He called out to the pale boy.
"We are stealing Mo for the Quidditch Match this weekend." Ralph said.
"Is that alright with you?" Leonard asked, sarcasm tainting his voice. Tom stopped his strides and again turned to them.
"Monisha can do whatever she pleases with her time, she it is for her to decide what to do with after all. However, if you'll release her, Mo and I have some business to attend to in the trophy room." He gave a semi bow and strode off in the direction of said room. Mo said a quick farewell to her friends, knowing she would see them at the feast tonight.
They made there way up to the third floor, hardly a word exchanged between them. The trophy room was a bit of a long shot, they had already exhausted all the record of the school, and it was highly unlikely they would find anything, but still it was worth the try. The room wasn't very large, but still of adequate size. Tom opened the door, the squeak did not bother him as it sent a chill up Monisha's spine.
They began to scan the crystal glass displays reading the names on the all the awards, trophies, cups, plates, shields, statues, and medals a long process and both had little hopes of spotting the name "Riddle" on any. Finally, after each have gone over every plaque twice they gave up. Seeing that their was still time before the feast, they headed toward the library to return the books they had borrowed.
Tom and Mo arrived at the library, and Mo knew by his sudden tence movements, he was not happy. Mo pulled out the texts she had check out. She decide to inquire if Tom had found out anything. Monisha let her hair fall over her shoulder as a shield between the silent uproar she was about to cause.
"Did you-"
"No." He replied sharply as he smashed the books onto the table. He sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose. Oh, he was fuming. Mo went to return the books, and as she was away from him, gathered her courage up. Returning to the table, she saw Tom was still in meditation.
"Tom?" She said in a timid voice. Without changing posture, or even glancing at her, he replied.
"What?"
"Well, I was wondering." She swallowed a little to clear her throat. "Why aren't we searching for your mum?"
"Because she was a muggle who died giving birth to me. No witch would be so weak to die upon childbirth and pathetic enough to leave her son in a muggle orphange."
"What was her name?" At this, Tom's eyes flew open and he tightened his jaw.
"Merope Gaunt." He spat out.
Mo stood up and went to one of the first books they had looked through at the beginning of the term and started searching. Tom sat there still arms crossed and leaned back in his chair. Mo was unsure of what was going through his mind, she wondered if he had given up. She shook her head at the notion, that was very much out of character for him, he was surely thinking of something.
After a couple of books and several scrolls Mo came across something in an old newspaper archive. She read it aloud, hoping to gain Tom's attention.
"Marvolo Gaunt is proud to announce the arrival of his second child and first daughter, Merope Gaunt, born June 30 1907."
Tom's eyes snapped open and he nearly tore the scroll from her hands. He mouth the name Marvolo. A smile slowly spread across his face as he reread the small article and watched the old picture of a proud man holding a baby girl. He rolled up the scroll and stuck it in his bag.
"Come, we'll be late for the feast and you deserve a good break." He swooped down and gave her a strong one armed hug before heading out of the library. Mo was a bit dazed, he hadn't hugged her since the first day of classes. She couldn't help the goofy grin on her lips as she picked up her things and followed him to the great hall.
Mo watched as Tom went to the Slytherin table and was greeted by his friends, the smile never left his face. Mo spotted Imogene, or at least what she thought were her friend's golden locks.
"Imogene, what are you wearing?" Rosier asked as Mo took her place beside Imogene. Her orange crown seemed to be a carved jack-o lantern, with a glowing light in its center. The carving was an intricate dragon, though it's wings were almost angelic. Imogene seemed not to realize how odd her headgear was and failed to note she was attracting strange glances from the surrounding tables.
"It's a pumpkin crown and it keeps the Devil's Moths away." Imogene said and held out her hand to Mo. She extended her arm and let Imogene drop something into it.
"Here are a pair of earrings for you, they are not as good as my crown, but better than nothing." The earrings were minuscule and had a complex design carved into them from which a tiny yellow light glowed through.
"Don't we get any protection from the moths?" Leonard said elbowing Ralph with a sly smile.
"No, they only come after women and try to steal their money." Imogene thought for a moment. "Or I think they only come after women. I know for certain try to steal anything silver."
"Well, it would make sense." Mo said replacing her dull silver earring studs with the tiny pumpkin ones. "Women tend to carry more jewelry." She tossed her old earrings into her pocket. And what harm could be done if she wore them for one night anyway?
The feast was grand, the food made especially delicious and all themed as magical creatures or objects. Mo had fun laughing and chatting with her friends, and her own pleasure was enhanced every time she saw Tom's smiling face at the Slytherin table. The smile was overwhelming on his handsome face, and she noticed some of the girls staring at him. Before she could purse her lips, the Headmaster called for their attention to the nights entertainment. The school band played a few songs, aided by the voices of a couple of the Hogwart's ghost. The night was very enjoyable, and Mo had never been more thankful that she was a witch.