Bonus Story 4
The Third and Fourth Founders (Year 2, Part 3)
Well, it didn't actually take hours, considering all the records they had to go through and family name changes over the past several centuries. It took weeks to go through things and they still weren't getting even close to a possible suspect. The Ravenclaw line seemed to die with the death of Helena Ravenclaw, Rowena's daughter, and the Hufflepuffs had so many offspring in the family line the descendent could be practically anyone at this point in time. Although, there was a slight chance that they weren't even in the school at all. There was no way of knowing. Tom had hoped to find them both by winter holiday, so if they had any artifacts or something at their homes that might give them anymore clues, they could bring them back to school with them.
However, with only three days till the break and him and Frankie still trapped under mounds of books in the library, having no clue who the other two founders might be, that fantasy did not seem likely. So, the two sat at a table, surrounded by every piece of literature they could obtain about Hogwarts and the founders in a search that seemed like only means to an end at this point.
"We've got to come up with more practical method of research. I'm starting to not like books as much as I used to." Tom sighed, obviously frustrated by the lack of results. He closed yet another Hufflepuff history book and slammed it into the pile of already read books. This was getting tedious and wearisome. They needed to find the founder's heirs some other way. But what other way was there?
"Well, it's not like we can go around asking people, 'Hey, are you a descendent of one of the four founders of Hogwarts?'" Frankie argued. She understood his urgency, but there wasn't any other way to do this thing. Slughorn warned them about trust, Frankie's mother had too. They didn't know if whoever the descendants were actually going to agree to help them, or just turn them into the headmaster.
"That would be a very bizarre question indeed."
A voice had drifted in from their left and they turned to find Prue Thompson, a Ravenclaw from their year, slightly smiling for obviously catching them in the act of doing something secret that she was not supposed to have overheard. "Fancy meeting you here, my wallflowers. Might I inquire what you two are doing?"
"Just a bit of extra research on the founding of the school." Tom replied, hoping it would make what she just heard somewhat justified.
"How interesting. Is it going well?"
"Not very. We're having a bit of trouble getting the answers we need."
"You know, I'm actually a descendent of the Ravenclaws. Not directly from Rowena herself, but still I might be of some assistance." Prue replied, to much surprise. Tom and Frankie mouths almost actually fell open at the sudden shocking discovery.
"It's—it's—"
"Calm yourself, Frankie. You'll scare her off." Tom added, to Frankie's excited stammering. Although, Tom wanted to be skeptical and question her claim to such noble lineage, he had always had a weird feeling about Prue. She had always known she was going to be in Ravenclaw and had enough intelligence to rival him and Frankie's, perhaps even more. It wouldn't be such a crazy claim in her case. "It turns out, Prue, you are exactly what we need…"
"So, if I'm understanding right, you two are on a quest to get Frankie's powers back and the potion that can do that requires gathering the four founders and having them unlock their secrets hidden within the school." Prue reiterated, after Tom explained the current situation to her.
"Yes, I believe there are four essential ingredients hidden within the castle. The fur of Aslan, the claw of the Bludgeoned Badger, the wing from one of Rowena's ravens, and the venom of a Basilisk, which are all here in places only descendants from the bloodline can access." Tom explained, referring to the four ingredients with four differently colored bullet points by them. Red, yellow, blue and green, of course.
"Oh Prue, I know it sounds outlandish, but we have all sorts of facts to prove it." Frankie reasoned, thinking she heard skepticism in Prue's voice. Prue, however, just stared at her blankly, like she had no idea what Frankie was saying.
"I'm inclined to believe you."
"Really? It's that simple."
"What reason would you have to lie to me?" Prue inquired, simply, like it was such an easy concept. It was remarkable considering Tom was a pathological liar and they both weren't really that acquainted with her. To think that she would just simply trust and follow them because they asked. "Considering you two are descendants of the founders as well, I believe we're destined to work together. Not matter what the crisis."
"How did you know we're descendants?"
"I've known practically since the moment we met. I get this strange sort of feeling whenever I'm around you two, you omit this strange aura," Prue replied, making several arm gestures to epitomize what she meant by aura. "I suppose you both wouldn't notice it considering you've always been together, but didn't you feel anything odd when you met me in Madam Malkin's for the first time?"
"A bit, but I thought it was just the shock of meeting someone else our own age with magic for the first time." Frankie answered, trying to think back to that moment she and Tom had first met Prue. She had always thought it was the shock of meeting someone else their own age from the magical world, but maybe it wasn't just that. Thinking back to when she first met Tom, she thought she was drawn to him just because he was lonely and looked like he needed a friend. However, maybe it was more of because he had a different feeling about him then everyone else there. A familiar and comforting feeling, even though he couldn't stand her and was practically ignoring her for the first week of her stay at the orphanage.
"You couldn't have bothered to bring it up at all in the last year we've known you. We both just found out about our lineage a few weeks ago." Tom snapped, ignoring the whole spiritual aura thing and getting back to the more serious conversation. She knew who they were since day one and said nothing about it.
"It's not like we're exactly friends. I like you two well enough, but we've never once had a conversation out of class."
"Sorry, but that's kind of how this school is engineered to run."
"Is that why I've never actually seen you guys socialize together till practically now? Do you really pretend not to stand her, Tom?" Prue questioned, with a smug smirk on her face, knowing she'd gotten Tom into a conversation he probably didn't want to have in front of Frankie.
"Yes, well I'll admit I was determined to keep my image up with the boys in my house, but I'm done with that idiocy now," Tom trying to play it off coolly like it had not been such a big deal or a secret. However, it was not something he wanted Frankie to exactly know about, considering he'd said some cruel things about her to them he wasn't exactly proud of. "I want to save Frankie and I'm not going to let some stupidly glorified, color-coded system stop me from trying to help her get her magic back."
"How noble of you, to defy the status quo for such a cause," Prue smiled at him. "I certainly won't let that be in vain. Let me help you, if I can."
"Well, now that we have you, what we need to do is find the last of the founders. A Hufflepuff. You wouldn't happen to have any leads, would you?"
"I can't say that I do." Prue replied. Tom sighed. The last founder was going to be harder to find then Prue was, considering the Hufflepuff line and the fact that they certainly weren't going to get as lucky they did with Prue having revealed herself. "However, I might have an idea about how to get them…"
"Isn't this somewhat against the rules?"
The next day, Frankie and Tom were walking briskly down Gargoyle Corridor on their way to the headmaster's office. Obviously, up to no good and only on their way because they knew that Headmaster Dippet would not be there. Tom was usually not one for trouble like this, without his past of torturing of orphans he was actually seen as kind of a do-gooder, teacher's pet here at school. However, this was Prue's plan.
"What? Breaking into the headmaster's office and to look at the confidential student files? Oh, definitely." Tom replied, with a bit of smug sarcasm in his voice. The question was stupid. Of course, they were going to get in trouble over something like this. That was, if they got caught, which was something Tom did not do often. He was confident they could get in and out with ease, only Frankie had her doubts, being the actual do-gooder out of the two. "Look, Prue said this kind of information should be in all the decedent's personal files, except probably mine."
"What was Prue thinking? We could get expelled doing something like this!"
"Right, they're going to expel two of the schools actual descendants. Both who're orphans with practically nowhere else to go and one who is a poor helpless girl that got her magic stolen because the school lost her for two months. That's all going to go over so well with the press." Tom retorted back, with a forced laugh and as much sarcasm as he could conjure in the moment. He had obviously had all his arguments ready to go, if they were caught. The last thing he'd stand for is having them be expelled from school and possibly getting his powers taken away too. Tom didn't want either of them living muggle life any longer than once a summer, until they were seventeen. "We've got a plan, we'll be just fine."
"Did we really need to start an actual fight though? Couldn't we have just said there was one?" A big part of Prue's plan, although a bit reckless, was pretty genius. She had Tom and Frankie both tell the boys of their year the other house had been talking ill of them and coming up with all sorts of nasty things to say about their mothers. Knowing the boys of their houses, they wouldn't stand for it and would plan to put the other house in it's place. Apparently, that was all they needed to do, considering the fact that the Slytherin and Gryffindor boys were currently in a full out brawl on the ground floor. Dippet would have no choice but to come down and deal with the matter.
"Where's the fun in that? They really should learn not to be so easily manipulated anyway." Tom added, nonchalantly. While Tom could care less about sending his 'friends' into a bloody battle for no reason, Frankie was evidently concerned about the fate of her friends, the punishments and injuries they'd receive for her actions. "Would you stop worrying? Everything will be okay."
After giving the most current password to the gargoyle and descending the stairs, they peeked into a large door and made sure Dippet was actually gone before they entered the room to search. Not being trouble students and having Professor Dumbledore handle most of their affairs they'd never been inside the headmaster's office before. Although, the headmaster was out, the other headmasters and headmistresses were always in.
"Why have you two come here?"
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Several paintings on the wall were questioning the two who had entered the office and what had brought them there without the summons of the headmaster.
"Stop talking all at once!"
Although, Tom was much younger, he spoke with an authority above his years that made them all be silent, "Alright, I'm not going to bother lying to any of you. We're in need of information, where are the files?"
"I am the files."
The only voice who dared to speak up was a portrait in the furthest left of the circular office, away from and distant from all the others. Tom and Frankie turned to find a painting of a young girl, not too much older than themselves, was sitting in a frame above a set cabinets, which may or have not held the files. She wore a simple navy blue gown and her curly blonde hair was tied tight with a matching blue ribbon. She didn't look like a file keeper, or a file cabinet for that matter, but Tom had paid close noticed to her choice of words. She was the source of information they were looking for, the cabinet below her was just for show.
"What is it you seek?" the girl asked.
"The Heir of Hufflepuff. Who is it?" Tom answered, quickly, getting straight to the point.
"Why should I tell you? I merely asked what brought you were here, like the great headmistresses and headmasters. I have no intention on telling you anything." she replied, in a self-aggrandizing way.
"If you're the files, then look us up. Tom Riddle and Frankie Dickson. You'll realize why you have to tell us and let us leave without word to Headmaster Dippet."
Frankie Dickson is currently a 2nd year student, in Gryffindor house. Daughter of Elizabeth Broad and Francis Dickson, born February 3rd, 1927. Father is descended of Godric Gryffindor, making Frankie Dickson, as well as Diana Dickson (see separate file for more information) also descendants of the Hogwarts founder. Current address, Wool's Orphanage, London, England—the rest of this file has been classified.
"Who—"
Tom Riddle is a 2nd year student, in Slytherin house. Son of Tom Riddle Sr. and an unknown female, born December 31st, 1926. Wizard lineage, unknown (possible Muggleborn). Current address Wool's Orphanage, London, England. File ended.
"Well, you can add Merope Gaunt in the place of mother, now. I think you're smart enough to know about the lineage of the Gaunts," Tom added, slightly haughty himself, playing it off like it would only make his birth mother known. With her name brought the lineage of his wizarding ancestors and his new title rather than 'possible Muggleborn', "I'm the Heir of Slytherin."
"Do you have proof of being a child of the house of Gaunt?" Proof? Tom had never thought about having to prove himself. What proof did he actually have that this was true besides the fact that this woman died on the same day as his mother? It could've just been a big coincidence for all he knew. Tom had just had this gut feeling it wasn't though and that was enough for him. Frankie liked to claim that he has her eyes. In the midst of their research, she often would look back at the Gaunt book and Merope Gaunt, as if trying to find a certain resemblance or reassure him that being a Gaunt really didn't matter to her. She only found the one, considering the rumors he took after his father. Unfortunately, something like that would not be enough. He took a moment to think on something that could prove his lineage. There had to be something, some trait that was passed down from Slytherin himself. Suddenly, the words just seem to fall out, as they often did. He realized something Peter had told him that he and Salazar Slytherin had in common. They both had the ability to talk to snakes.
"Is this proof enough for you?"
"Yes…" the girl answered, slowly. Surely, she could not actually speak Parseltongue, or really understand it. But, being an intelligent portrait, she understood what it sounded like well enough and knew it when she heard it. Tom's expression grew a bit smug, at having successfully claimed his lineage to the Slytherin, while Frankie was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "Very well, as descendants of the Hogwarts founders, I will tell you the name of the person you seek..."
Currently there are five heirs to the Hufflepuff line inside Hogwarts alone. The one with the closest blood to Helga herself, however, is a student named Jacob Marron.
"Jacob Marron? He's in our year too, isn't he?" Tom added, looking to Frankie for reassurance that he was correct, because he honestly wasn't sure. Most of the people in their year were just faces to him, he didn't really know many of the people from other houses. Frankie nodded, being slightly more indubitable than he was. "This is just too bizarre. The four founders all being here and of the same age."
"Perhaps, this was all somehow destined. Meeting you in the orphanage was not just some coincidence. I mean, what are the odds of two house descendants meeting in the muggle world? And meeting Prue that day in Diagon Alley," Frankie added. "Dumbledore says that everything always happens for a reason. Nothing in this world is accidental. Maybe you and I—"
Suddenly, the door was jiggling open and Professor Dippet walked in, looking weary and distraught. It took him a few moments to notice he was not alone in his office and, considering he was never actually alone in his office, it was completely understandable. He had just sat down at his desk when he noticed Tom and Frankie standing by the portrait of the girl and the mock cabinets.
"What're you two doing in here?" he asked, in a stern tone, that screamed for a good explanation. Or else there'd be trouble.
"Frankie just wanted an update on how the hunt for Zell Gaunt is going before you go on holiday, headmaster," Tom claimed, wrapping his arm over her shoulder like she was a poor wreck that needed comfort. "She was hoping to have her magic back by Christmas. Has there been any sign of him?"
"I'm sorry, my dear. There are many signs of him out there, yet he still alludes our grasp. Hopefully, there will be some better luck after the holidays." Dippet sighed, his stern expression and angry tone fading after giving him a seemingly reasonable explanation. Frankie frowned, mostly for show, considering she knew in her heart they were never actually going to catch him.
"That's too bad Frankie. Well, I guess we should be going then. The headmaster probably is very busy." Tom sighed, as well, already starting to usher her towards the exit like she was so miserable she could not even find the door without his guidance.
"It's nice to see you're treating her so kindly, Mr. Riddle, considering the ruckus I just had to deal with from some of your housemates." Dippet added, obviously taking notice of Tom's unusually pleasant attitude with her.
"Well, she means a great deal to me. I'd do anything in my power to help her..."
Dippet simply smiled, surprisingly suspecting nothing, and waved them out dismissively. Narrowly missing the grave danger of being caught red-handed, they left the office and briskly ran down the stairs back into Gargoyle Corridor.
"What was that hissing Tom? Why did it prove your lineage?" Frankie asked, suddenly in the midst their silent jog to relay the information back to Prue at the rendezvous point.
"It's called Parseltongue, it's the ability to talk to snakes. Everyone in Salazar's line has been a Parselmouth, just like him." Tom explained, with a small sigh. He thought she was going to comment on his statement back in the office, or maybe the fact he was still holding her hand and they were not really in grave danger. But she was dense as usual. Frankie was staring at him differently, as she thought about this new information. "Is it weird?"
"No, you just never told me about it before. It was a bit surprising." she assured him, in a bit of a panic, trying to reiterate that she didn't think him in anyway weird.
"I'm sorry. I honestly wasn't trying to keep it a secret from you, it just never really came up before..." Tom apologized. He needn't apologize, but Tom felt kind of guilty for accidentally keeping such a big part of him from her. She smiled, assuring him that she understood and accepted his apology. A few more moments of small smiles and meaningful looks, before they finally arrived at an unused classroom on the second floor that they had decided to meet Prue in. Prue was sitting on a nearby desk, reading the latest Prophet with little interest other than passing the time.
"About time you two, did you find them?" she asked, immediately, putting down the paper as they entered and walking to meet them.
"Jacob Marron is the one were looking for. We can go about asking more of them, if he refuses." Tom replied.
"I doubt he's going to do that." Prue said, sounding rather confident.
"Why is that?"
"He's Hufflepuff's heir. He's loyal."
"Loyal to who exactly, though? I mean that's just making a giant assumption about his personality." Tom snapped. Prue and Frankie looked shocked by his outburst. It was more than a little out of character to hear Tom Riddle snap about someone making a snap judgement about someone else. However, ever since this whole thing started Tom had gotten to thinking about this whole feud amongst the houses and how toxic it really was. It was never meant to be this way, "I'm starting to feel like there's a lot more to the houses, than we're all thinking there is…"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we obviously weren't all meant to hate each other and be so divided at school. It's just been passed down so many generations for so long, by this point we don't even know what we're fighting about anymore," Tom reiterated. "There are a lot of different sides to people and, if people weren't so deluded by false ideals and pride, they might see that they actually have some things in common with someone else who's supposed to be different."
"Like us…?" Frankie questioned, with a soft smile.
"Like us." Tom answered, with an attempt at the same softness in his smile. Unlike Salazar Slytherin, he was not interested in creating some perfect pureblood utopia and screwing over anyone who got in his way. What actually would've been nice right now was a little bit of peace in this school, to be able to walk down the hall with a Gryffindor and not be practically burned at the stake by his fellow classmates. A world where Frankie had her magic back and they were free to be together without everyone trying to tear them apart for merely being in different houses. No one should have to go through this. Friendship shouldn't have limitations and guidelines on who you can befriend.
"Wow, Tom. Here I thought finding out your lineage would've made you a little power mad. I've never heard you talk this way before," Prue exclaimed. "You're starting to actually think. Congratulations!"
"Shut up. I'm just fed up with stupidity around here," Tom replied, with a frustrated sigh. "Let's just go find Jacob already…"
It would take a very long time to find the Hufflepuff boy, considering the vastness of the castle and the dozens of places he could've been. So, the three waited until after supper, to ambush him on his way out of the Great Hall when he finished eating. Whilst they were all storming after him, suddenly as if looking at him for the first time, Frankie noticed his passing resemblance to Helga. The brash red hair and ocean blue eyes were traits of hers.
"Hi Prue…and Frankie…and Tom. This is kind of an odd combination, what's going on?" he exclaimed, as they all surrounded him.
"Look, I'm not going to insult your intelligence or blatantly lie to you. I'm just going to come right out and ask you. Is it true that you're descended from Helga Hufflepuff?" Tom inquired, bluntly, wasting no time dancing around the truth and just getting straight to the point.
"How did you—?"
"That's not important. Is it true?"
"Yes, alright, fine. It's true, but look I don't want to be treated any differently, ya hear? No autographs, no—"
"We're not hear cause were avid fans! We're here because we have something in common and want—no—need your help."
Another lengthy explanation of their predicament later...
"Whoa…that's pretty heavy," Jacob added, once Tom was through telling their tale. It was a lot to take in. However, he seemed to not be turning away, just comprehending it in his mind. "Look, I understand us having to gather to save Frankie's magic and the Gryffindor line, that it's kind of our destiny. But, exactly how do we expect to do all this? We're only second years."
"I understand it sounds nearly impossible—"
"Very impossible, I think you mean, Riddle. Extremely and utterly imposs—"
"Okay, I get it. It's an impossible task," Tom agreed upon, surprisingly not arguing and growing furious with him, "but I believe we can do it. We're not as powerless as we think we are."
"That's all very nice and good, but what about a plan? A real plan." Jacob inquired, sounding skeptical. Tom sighed. They didn't have a 'real' plan. Just find the founders, create the potion and save Frankie's magic. He had to think of something more concrete, if he wanted Jacob to get onboard.
"I'll tell you my real plan, somewhere without these two. Knowing that one for what feels like an eternity, I know she's bound to have some objections." Tom replied, pointing to Frankie as he was referring to her when he had said, 'that one'.
"Eternity? I'd like an explanation of that as well, if you don't mind." Jacob requested, in a curious voice.
"Very well, if you would excuse us ladies..."
They went off in whispers, leaving Frankie and Prue where they stood. They talked for a while, exchanging ideas or thoughts, or at least that's what it looked like from a distance. Frankie couldn't peel her prying eyes away, slightly hurt by the sudden secrecy. Eventually, seeing their conversation was going to take a lot longer than Tom had previously thought, he gave them a signal that they could leave. Prue had to practically yank Frankie's arm off to get her to follow her up the stairs to their towers.
Even once she was confined in her tower, with her doting friends and armful of people pitying her, Frankie's mind did not stray from what possibly Tom and Jacob could be planning to do that she would apparently object to. Having no real distraction, like homework or practice, it consumed her thoughts. Until, there was paper crane weeding its way through her window. She snatched up before it was even all the way through the frame and unfolded it, hastily,
Dear Frankie,
I am terribly sorry for my actions and attitude whilst trying to recruit Jacob Marron for our cause earlier. Please meet me tonight in the furthermost dungeon at 12pm, if you wish to know what the plan is for yourself.
P.S Bring the Gryffindor girls along with you.
She had to read the bottom again to make sure her eyesight wasn't going bad. Bring the girls with her? Why on earth would he want her to do that? Although she was confused and unsure she told Dylan, Bina, Katy, and Sarah to accompany her to the dungeons later that night. They all tiptoed down the stairs a quarter to midnight, hoping they were silent enough to not wake anyone up. However, descending their own set of stairs in the exact same manor, they soon came face-to-face with the Gryffindor boys of their year. Everyone had to suppress the urge not to scream with shock at the sudden sight of each other.
"What are you lot doing down here?" Aidan asked, after the silent feared moment had past.
"Well, what are you doing down here?" Dylan asked, in retaliation.
"There was this mysterious note on our window sill." Aidan answered, holding up a folded piece of parchment.
"Give me that." Frankie demanded, swiping it from his hand. It couldn't have been…He would never…
If you wish to save Frankie's magic and be the heroes you so desperately try to be, you will meet me in the furthermost dungeon tonight at midnight.
"What in god's name does he think he's doing?" she shouted, forgetting they were supposed to be practically silent. While they tried to 'shush' her in to silence, Frankie angrily thrust open the door and stormed off alone. The Gryffindors followed after her, but she didn't care about them right now, she needed to get to Tom and have him explain all this. After rushing through corridors, she held her lantern high on the furthermost door in the dungeon, only to find it was already decently well-lit on the inside. Frankie shoved opened the door to find a buzz of people inside, sounding confused and questionable as well. The Hufflepuff, the Ravenclaw and even the Slytherin were what the crowd was composed with. All from the second year class, as well. She searched through the crowd, until she found Tom, Prue and Jacob off to the side, chatting amongst themselves.
"Oh good, you've finally made it—"
"What is going on here, Tom?" she snapped right across his casual greeting.
"I called a meeting." he replied, simply.
"Of who? The entire school!"
"No, just the year."
"This was supposed to be a secret remember. This is even crazier than breaking into the headmaster's office. We can't do something like this. We promised Slughorn that—"
"I don't care what we promised Slughorn. For once, I can't do this alone and I don't think two more people are going to be enough help for this," Tom reasoned. "Besides, I think for once everyone should stop being so selfish, get off their arses, and help someone in need of help. This is good idea. It'll be good for everyone. Trust me."
Frankie simmered. She did not like this, but she trusted him. There was nothing she could do about it now anyway. It wasn't like she objected to possibly uniting the houses, she admired Tom's valiant attempt to do something like that and break the status quo. However, her mother and Slughorn warned them about who to trust. They couldn't possibly bring thirty six other people into this and expect for nothing to go wrong. All it was doing was putting more lives in jeopardy and the movement more at risk of being discovered by the teachers. As the Gryffindors joined the crowd, Tom hopped up onto the rows of old desks that had been occupying the wall, to tower above the crowd. Prue and Jacob followed him up on the makeshift stage, pulling a still tart looking Frankie up along with them.
"What's this all about?" Nero Lawson, Hufflepuff, asked immediately.
"You're probably wondering why we called this meeting, why four completely different people are standing here together and united. Well, it turns out we're destined to lead you. As descendants from the four founders of Hogwarts—"
"What kind of stupid power play is this, Riddle?" Antonius Radford, Ravenclaw, barked angrily, from the hushed murmuring of the crowd.
"If you don't believe us, Radford, by all means look it up. It'll take someone of your intelligence months and, by the time it's over, you'll want to scoop your eyeballs out with an ice cream scooper," Tom sneered. The crowd murmured and, realizing it was probably not the best to act so much like his true self if he really wanted their help, he took a deep breath and put on a charming, persuasive face, "If I meant to overthrow our year why would I align myself with others? Honestly, this is not about me. It's about her."
He pointed at Frankie and all eyes soon became fixed upon her. Although, they all wanted to question the sudden relationship between the two, it brought a dead unnatural silence. Tom Riddle, who was famous for his cold malicious manor was saying they were all here for Frankie Dickson, who was famous only because she was currently a non-magical being and she was still being allowed to attend their prestigious institution. They were two completely different people.
"Tom is right. We've been cruel to one of our own when we should be uniting together to help her get her magic back." Prue exclaimed, rushing to Frankie's side and putting her hand supportively on her shoulder.
"What's with you Tom? Why do you care about what happens to her all of a sudden?" Lestrange inquired, being the first to speak up. Even though the Slytherin boys considered him a friend, half of them didn't know anything of Tom's connection to the Gryffindor girl and were under the impression that he loathed her with all his heart. Of course, he and Avery were more shocked than most by Tom's gesture of kindness toward the girl.
"The truth is…" It was quite a thing, a truthful confession. Especially with such a platform and a crowd of his peers standing before him. Tom was tongue-tied for a moment. His relationship with Frankie was one of his biggest secrets at school and suddenly blurting it out, when truth-telling was already not his forte, was naturally a difficult thing for him to do. However, he bit his tongue and moved forward, "I met Frankie Dickson around four years ago and we still live together in a London orphanage, granted it hasn't been bombed by the Germans by now. I haven't lived the privileged life of knowing what the hell my powers are. Most of my life, I thought I was a monster. A freak of nature, until Frankie showed up. She saved me."
No one said anything, so he decided to just continue talking.
"She's kind, bright and clever, and see no reason to toss her or our friendship aside because our ties are two different colors." Tom added, slightly looking back at her to give him the courage to keep on talking. She had stopped simmering in anger to listen to him. The crowd went into a buzz again, chatting about this development. "Honestly, people, we don't need to be excluded to our own house and blindly hate the others just because we're deluded into believing that is how it works around here."
"You're being hypocritical, Riddle! You hate every one of us without reason." Magnus Warren, Hufflepuff, rationalized. Tom couldn't deny he had a point.
"That's just who I am and, trust me, you don't want to be like me. I'm an angry person. It does not take much to make me hate you and I can assure you it's not because you're in a different house then I am." Tom replied, simply.
"Even if you hate me, I'm with you. Hufflepuffs, our house is all about loyalty. Are we really going to turn our backs at someone who is bearing their soul and asking for our help?" Jacob exclaimed, throwing one of his arms around Tom like they were already quite good friends rather than had just begun talking a few hours prior. Prue rushed to his other side and grabbed his arm. Normally, these sort of affections would have bothered him, but it was proof of their true unity and right now he needed everyone to believe in that.
"I'd rather you not hate me, but I also am with you. Ravenclaws, I highly suggest you do the same." Prue smiled, yet looked at her fellow housemates with an authoritative glance. Tom looked back at Frankie, who was still standing silently behind them with her arms crossed, waiting for her answer.
"I'm with you. Always." she replied, finally growing less bitter and smiling a bit at his words.
"How can we help?"
"What was that?" Tom questioned, hearing whoever had said it quite clearly, yet still beckoned for a reprisal of the statement.
"We want to help Frankie." A few people in the crowd had spoken up with similar statements. They were actually reacting positively to what could've been a social nightmare.
"I'm in it for what promises to be an awesome, mystery adventure!"
"Who exactly is with us in this?" Prue asked, raising her hand to demonstrate for anyone who was willing to help for their cause to do the same. Everyone's hands were raised, even those who seemed the most resistant. Even Leri, eventually, despite thinking of Frankie as her sworn enemy.
"It looks like everyone's on board."
"So, what's the plan?"
"Well, for right now, we need information on the castle. Secret rooms, passageways that disappear and reappear, anything odd you've encountered since you've been here." Tom explained.
"If you're looking for secret rooms related to Ravenclaw, I think I know where you should start looking," Madeline Myrtle piped up, immediately. Normally, Madeline was a quiet girl not really one to be the center of attention. Most were appalled by her sudden voice, however, now seemed like the time and place to do or say something courageous and out of character, "Technically, it's not only accessible by someone of the bloodline, but it was created by Rowena Ravenclaw and is considered one of the secrets of the castle. The Room of Requirement."
"Sounds intriguing." Tom remarked. It didn't sound exactly the sort of place Rowena Ravenclaw might hide something, considering practically anyone could get to it. However, it seemed like a decent enough place to start.
"I've read about it. The Room of Requirement is a room that only appears when a person has great need of it and is equipped with what the individual needs at the time." Prue added.
"Has anyone come across a room like this before?" Tom asked the crowd.
"I haven't, but I think my uncle has. He told me about it before in one of his old school days stories." Rosalind Tidwell, Hufflepuff, replied, pushing herself forward to the front of the group so she could actually be seen.
"Do you remember anything about a location?"
"No, but I can ask over the holiday."
"Then, we'll reconvene after winter break. The rest of you gather any information you can, as well. We'll need every little bit of it we can get," Tom reported. "If we're successful in finding the room, we will make it our new meeting spot for all future meetups. This must all remain a secret, is that understood? Tell no one."
The crowd began to disperse, trying to be as quiet as they shuffled their way out of the dungeon. Jacob, Prue, Tom and Frankie were all hopping off the desks, when they noticed someone had stayed behind. Leri stood awkwardly before them, perhaps wanting to confess, or maybe wanting to yell about how stupid this all was.
"Let me see the list of ingredients. There has to be other things we'll need that are going to be hard to find." Leri remarked.
"You really want to help? I thought you were just peer pressured into raising your hand because you didn't want to look like an evil bitch." Tom scoffed, cruelly.
"Can I speak to Frankie alone for a moment?" Leri inquired to Tom, yet already grabbing onto Frankie in a clingy sort of way, like she used to when she was still pretending to be her friend.
"No! Of course you can't—"
"It's fine with me, Tom. I shall speak with her alone." Frankie replied, not about to let either of them continue on making decisions without her, like she knew they would. She didn't know Leri to well as a person, but she knew that she and Tom had very similar argumentative demeanors. Frankie took up Leri's arm as well and they both retreated to the far wall to talk in hushed whispers. Although, it probably would've been better to speak at a farther distance, any further and Tom was more likely to follow behind them.
"Look, do you want to know something about me?" Leri started, hinting that she was about to spill something secretive. Frankie nodded, vigorously. She didn't know anything about who Leri was and what went on in that mind of hers. Considering all the hell she had put Tom and her through in the previous school year, Frankie was dying to know, "The truth about me is— well, my mother told me before I left for school that I'd most likely be marrying one of the boys in my house. My options were pretty much the four boys I grew up with, unless the fifth wasn't someone even more powerful. I was pretty much bound to marry Abraxas, if Tom hadn't shown up—"
"Does this story have a point?" Frankie interrupted, slightly channeling Tom's hostile anger from the other side of the room. This story was stalling and for some odd reason made her angry.
"I only chose to be in love with Tom because he's attractive and, even though he was a nobody up until about five minutes ago, he's always given off an air of having authority and power. In my mother's standards, he's the prime choice. I don't really have a pure honest reason for liking him, like you do, and, speaking quite frankly, I've never really liked him at all. He's unbelievable prat—" Frankie was glaring, obviously angered about her calling her best friend a prat and perhaps a few other things, like locking her in a dungeon and a series of other harmful pranks for a guy she didn't even have real feelings for. So, Leri stopped herself from going into a rant about what she really thought about Tom and switched gears. "Maybe, hypothetically, I've always found a boy in another house objectively attractive and I kind of want a world where it's okay for me to like him. Do you think this whole uniting of the houses and quest to get your magic back will help make that happen?"
"What? Who exactly am I talking to right now?" Frankie questioned, obviously extremely confused. Leri doesn't like Tom and she fancies someone in another house. Has the world turned upside down?
"I didn't realize you'd gotten over me so quickly, Leri."
Tom was sneering, closer behind them than he had originally had gone. He had been silently prowling closer to them to listen in on their conversation, naturally. It was a good skill he had picked up at the orphanage, to see when the others were talking ill of him and he needed to curse them.
"Eavesdropping, Tom. Really?"
"I thought a private conversation with Frankie when she's magic-less might not be the best idea. I didn't realize you were going to be so honest with her," Tom replied, trying to sound innocent to his misbehavior. Although, he could not hide a significant smirk at the juicy bit of information he had just overheard. "Who's the lad then, Leri? You can tell me—"
"I don't have to explain myself to you. Just copy the list for me and I'll see what the Black family vault has to offer." Leri replied in a huff, turning away from them to leave. However, Tom stopped her, grabbing her right wrist as she tried to pass by.
"I admire a girl who speaks from the heart."
"I'm doing it for myself. I don't care about either of you," Leri snapped, yanking her arm from Tom's grasp. "I just want things to be different. I want him to look at me and not only see the color of my tie—"
"You might also want to work on your personality a bit." Tom smirked, out of a tormentor's habit. He didn't know how to be supportive towards other people quite yet, he was still learning. "Right, sorry. Baby steps. I'll make a copy and give it to you later."
"Thank you."
She left without Tom, despite them going to the same place. She already knew that he had a pit stop to make dropping off his Gryffindor and, considering hers had left with the crowd, she had no reason or desire to journey up to the seventh floor with them.
"Did that just happen?"
"I think it just did. I told you this was a fantastic idea!" Tom exclaimed, clearly a little bit more on the happier side, for once. He had Leri off his back, he no longer needed to hide his feelings anymore, and he had an army to help him get her magic back. This was definitely never something he imagine on doing, or happening, but it was simply exhilarating. He felt like picking her up, spinning her around, and falling into a kiss, just like in some bad romance film Mrs. Cole would drag them off to see at the cinema some weekends. Feeling alive and being alone with her, it was a dangerous moment that he would give into his emotions. However, she spoke before he could act.
"You're amazing, you know that?"
"Me?"
"I wasn't the one who got our entire year to agree to work together. I know I was acting upset before, but I'm truly impressed." Frankie stated, leaning in closer to him. Tom was curious for a moment, as to why she was so close, until she pressed her lips upon his pale white cheek. His cheek buzzed upon contact and his hand wandered over it, when her lips retreated. However, Tom stayed silent in fear of speaking gibberish when he opened his mouth. She did not apologize for what possibly could've been an unwanted advance, or sputter nervously like she would've it he did the same exact thing to her. She looked back as she confidently strode towards the door, with a sly smile he had never seen before.
"The Fat Lady will be angry if you walk me up again. I'll see you in the morning, though."