Vera stared at the letter from her mother. She couldn't quite believe what it said - she had read it multiple times since it had arrived that morning, and she still couldn't believe it.
Darling,
Your father and I have received a letter from Headmaster Dippet. It seems as if you have gotten yourself into a bit of trouble. Do we really need to remind you to stop acting like a child? You are a respectable young lady. Behave like one, or we will close your Gringotts account.
To remedy the situation, invite the Head Boy to stay with us over the holidays. He will be one of the guests invited to our vacation home and holiday ball this year. Insist that he come. Your father and I are not going to be able to pick you up at the train station - the driver will be there to deliver you to our family home, where you will find your new clothes and dress for the ball packed for you. Once you arrive, have dinner and then floo to the vacation house. We will be in St. Moritz in Switzerland this year. Nico and Dante will also be there.
See you in December.
Invite Tom Riddle to stay with them? Her mother - pureblood extraordinaire, queen of superiority, unofficial head prosecutor of anyone with a drop of muggle blood - was suggesting she invite the Head Boy, who was raised in a muggle orphanage and had not spent one second in purbelood high-society, to their exclusively pureblood (and only rich purebloods at that) holiday trip. For Merlin's sake, what was happening to the world? What annoyed Vera even more was that she knew she would have to get Tom to go - she couldn't tell her mother that he wasn't a pureblood, and she would be in trouble if Tom didn't want to go.
Finally standing from her bed, Vera quickly checked her appearance. Despite the fact that it was a Saturday, she knew Slughorn would likely be in his office. She opened the trunk at the foot of her bed and dug through her clothes to get to her secret stash of alcoholic beverages. Too bad she would have to waste some of the good stuff on a pair of idiots. Pulling out a bottle of extremely expensive firewhisky and another of mead, Vera casts a spell to wrap both with ribbons and adds a quickly scrawled holiday card.
Vera grabs the mead and leaves, heading for Slughorn's office. When she gets there, she knocks lightly at the door and waits for him to answer. After the door springs open, Vera curtsies. Being a respectable young lady indeed.
"Hello professor, sorry to interrupt you on a weekend. I just wanted to give you this. Consider it an early holiday present," Vera says, smiling as she approaches his desk.
Slughorn takes the mead, eagerly looking at the label. He's pretty sure he couldn't afford this, even with a year's worth of his teaching salary. He almost seems to lick his lips. His eyes remain fixated on the mead, even as he says, "Thank you Vera. What a thoughtful gesture."
"The least I can do for someone who puts so much of their heart into teaching," Vera says, turning around as if she's going to leave. She turns back after a few steps, acting like she forgot something, "Professor, if you don't mind, I also wanted to run an idea by you. Do you think you have time?"
Slughorn finally sets the bottle aside. "Of course I do, Vera."
Vera smiles again, "You see, every year my family has this holiday event. We go off to a vacation house and invite a few close family friends to come stay with us, then throw a holiday ball on Christmas Eve. I was wondering if it may be a good idea to invite Tom. Perhaps the time together would allow us to get to know each other better - I think it may make us better partners and end this petty rivalry between us. Do you think that may work professor? I'm afraid Tom will say no."
"That sounds brilliant, Vera," Slughorn says, smile growing, "I'm sure he won't decline! Given such a gesture of magnanimity, I don't think you and Tom shall have to attend any more detentions. It seems as if you have learned your lesson, and you two are getting along better."
"I hadn't even thought about that," Vera says, hiding her smirk. "Thank you so much for the advice professor. You are truly wise beyond your years. Have a good weekend."
Vera finally walks out of the office, revealing her smirk as the door closes behind her. She had won one over, time for the other. After grabbing the other bottle from her room, Vera runs up to the Headmaster's office. Again, she knocks lightly on the door. Again, she curtsies as it opens.
"Hello headmaster, sorry to interrupt you on a weekend. I wanted to apologize for my actions earlier this week. I let my anger get the better of me, and I've realized how silly that was," she looks up at him shyly. "I just wanted to give you this. Consider it an early holiday present."
Vera gives a glowing smile as she approaches his desk. Dippet takes the bottle, he too admiring it as Slughorn had. His eyes are fixed on the label as he says, "What a wonderful gesture Vera! You really didn't have to."
"It's the least I can do for someone who puts so much of their energy into protecting the students here," Vera says with a smile. "If you don't mind, I also wanted to run an idea by you. Do you think you have time?"
Dippet smiles, "I always have time for you Vera. What would you like help with?"
Vera smiles again, "You see, every year my family has this holiday event. We go off to a vacation house and invite a few close family friends to come stay with us, then throw a holiday ball on Christmas Eve. I was wondering if it may be a good idea to invite Tom. Perhaps the time together would allow us to get to know each other better - I think it may make us better partners and end this petty rivalry between us. Do you think that may work professor?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea! I am glad to see you two have learned to get along better," Dippet says with a wider smile, "I knew I picked the right Head Boy and Head Girl."
"Thank you for the advice headmaster. I'll make sure you get an invitation to the ball. Have a good weekend," Vera says as she turns to leave.
When she's back in her room, she nearly jumps on the bed - she's really that excited. No more detention! And then she remembers the one flaw in her plan. She has to get Tom Riddle to spend two weeks with her.
They have to patrol the castle together that night. Vera meets Tom outside of the common room. She waits until they've finished patrolling the dungeons through the second floor.
Finally, she's ready to speak up. She smirks as she says, "Tom, I have a deal for you. Consider it a friendly exchange: two weeks of your time, and we both regain our glowing reputations."
Tom rolls his eyes, "Cut to the chase Sinclair."
Vera glares at him, "Due to our little fight this week, my mother has insisted that I invite you to our holiday vacation. That will entail two weeks in a very nice room in an exceedingly expensive vacation house, with at least some small talk with my parents and other important pureblood guests, and mandatory attendance at our annual Christmas Eve ball, which will give you the chance to meet a lot of important wizards. Of course, you'll need some help with learning the proper dances and manners and I will get you a few new dress robes appropriate for the occasion."
"Sounds like you have a problem, since I am going to decline that invitation," Tom replies with a smirk.
Vera fires back, "I already told Dippet and Slughorn that I was going to invite you and they were both nearly salivating at the news. Slughorn even agreed to cancel all our detentions, though I'm guessing he would reinstate them if you declined. Dippett seemed to have regained trust in his decision to make us heads. So there you go - you will get to meet important wizards, you won't have to deal with spending more time with me in detention, you will have a clean slate with Dippet, and you will get to escape the orphanage and this bloody castle for the holidays. All in exchange for two bloody weeks spent sitting around a mansion and a few hours of preparation. I won't even bother you by speaking to you anymore than absolutely necessary during those two weeks. Does that not sound like a worthy exchange to you?"
Tom actually chuckles, "Spending two straight weeks with the insufferable Vera Sinclair? Nothing could convince me to do that."
"Fine, I'll tell Slughorn and Dippet that you declined my offer. I'm sure I won't be the one punished for that," Vera replies back haughtily.
Tom thinks about the offer for a while longer. It really doesn't sound that bad, and it may help establish his credibility in the pureblood community. It's not like he will really be spending all his time with Vera for two straight weeks. Suddenly, he realizes that's where the problem comes in. It would almost be better if it was just Vera - he's actually a bit nervous about having to impress so many people, including her parents. And he won't get to spend a few hours with her on four days a week for the next three weeks. He means he won't have to spend that time with her. It's not like he's going to miss actually seeing her outside of class every day.
Tom rolls his eyes, "Fine, I'll go."
She smirks, "Really? Are you sure you can handle spending two straight weeks with the insufferable Vera Sinclair? I may just eat you or something, judging by the way you were behaving before."
He glances over at her, "Tease me again and I may just decide not to go after all."
They make it up to the top floor without another word between them, and start heading downstairs again. Once they get to the fifth floor, Vera turns to the right, heading for Ravenclaw tower.
"Still wasting your time on that quidditch idiot?" Tom spits out as she leaves.
"Still wasting your time with - oh wait, who would want to spend time with the heartless Tom Riddle?" Vera calls back.
Vera had been clever enough to find a way around the "No boys in the girls dorm" rule – by having Davies fly into her window instead. And she was taking full advantage of the single room she had gotten with the Head Girl position. She had met him by Ravenclaw Tower to quickly convince him to come over.
She's actually spinning around in her room. Victory has been achieved. She's back in everyone's good graces - and all it will take is dealing with having Tom Riddle around for two short weeks. This definitely deserves a celebration.
"What puts you in such a good mood?" Davies asks, staring at Vera as he sits on her bed.
"Let's just say I won for today," Vera says, stopping to kiss him.
Davies laughs, "Another victory over Riddle? What have you done this time?"
"For once, a victory with Riddle. No more detentions for me darling!" She kisses him again, this time leaning over him with her hands on either side. "Shall we celebrate?"
"Of course," Davies says, watching her dig out a bottle of very expensive champagne and spell up a bucket of ice. She dumps the champagne in the bucket, then turns back to him.
Vera smirks, "Well we wait for that to chill, I have a different type of celebration in mind."
Thank Merlin for their Heads privilege of going to Hogsmeade whenever they wanted to, otherwise Vera might actually have to risk being seen with Tom there. She sends him an owl the next day to meet her at the front gates later that afternoon. After all, they only have three more weeks until break – which means only three weeks to prepare Tom for the challenges of pureblood high-society.
"What is this all about?" Tom asks as she finally walks up. Late as usual.
"We need to go get you fitted for those dress robes," Vera replies, "Luckily there's actually a decent tailor in Hogsmeade."
Tom tries to hide his confusion, "Tailor?"
"Of course, store bought robes won't do for an event like this," Vera replies nonchalantly.
It takes them an hour to go to the store and start getting him fitted for robes. As soon as they walked in, Tom felt out of place - something he hadn't felt since his first month at Hogwarts. But then again, Vera always had a knack for making him uncomfortable.
"What fabrics would you like used?" The tailor, a Mr. Mallory, asks Tom.
Vera doesn't even give Tom the chance to speak, looking up as soon as she hears the question, "The shirt underneath has to be silk of course, at least for the most formal pair. Thread count somewhere in the 300s, preferably. The vest and robe itself can't be too shiny - I hate when people do that. A wool will do, as long as it isn't too coarse. Wool for the pants too please. Silk for the tie."
"I'll bring out samples of the fabrics for you soon, Ms. Sinclair. How many sets of robes would you like?"
"Five should do it. The first should be designed similarly to the last ones you did for me, slim fit, but with a green and silver tie. Another set like that with a silver and black tie, make the lapel and pocket lining colors a dark grey to match. I'll need three less formal pairs for dinners. A navy set with a double breasted vest and a white and navy tie. Another grey pinstriped set with a dark green and light grey tie. A black set with a chain in the vest and a blue and black tie. You can decide things like lapel style and cut on your own, I'm sure you have a better eye for it. Throw in solid black, blue, silver, and white ties and don't forgot the handkerchiefs, monogramed with T.R. please. Also add two pairs of black dress shoes, one pair of brown dress shoes, and one pair of navy dress shoes. If you have the time, another five sets of regular robes would be darling."
A quill next to the tailor is writing down every detail of her order. He glances over and nods, "I should be able to finish the order in two weeks."
Vera thinks for a second, "Almost forgot, I'll also need two sets of grey pinstriped pajamas for him too. Oh, and I'll also need to get measured again for a new set of dress robes – the ones my mother buys are a little much sometimes – emerald green with the same cut as last time."
"Of course. I'll try my best to finish it all as quickly as possible, Ms. Sinclair," the tailor replies politely, "The other robes are ready for you. The blue pair you ordered last week."
"Wonderful," Vera says with a smile as the tailor finishes measuring Tom. Tom steps off the platform, a bit peeved that he was basically treated as a mannequin this entire time. Vera stands and shrugs off her robe, revealing a tight white dress with a few diagonal stripes of purple. Tom couldn't help but think of snow as she took the place he had formerly occupied on the platform. The tailor measured her quickly, with a sense of familiarity that Tom couldn't help but envy - he couldn't have imagined getting fitted for custom-made robes before. He had barely been able to afford the second-hand ones with the assistance money from Hogwarts.
Ten minutes later, she finishes reviewing fabric samples, finalizes her order (Tom balks at the price, nearly 1,500 galleons), picks up a set of robes, and then bustles them out of the store. Tom thinks they are heading back to Hogwarts, but she grabs his hand to pull him in the opposite direction.
"What now?" Tom says with an eye roll. Who knew shopping was so annoying?
Vera actually laughs, "There is a lot that goes into the appearance of having money. Luckily your hair is already decent, but we still need to get you a nice watch at least."
She pulls him into a jewelry store, once again greeting the owner, a Mr. Alphius, by name. They go straight to the counter for watches. All Vera says is, "Give me the third most expensive silver one you have. Tom, go pick out three rings."
When she joins him by the ring display after the watch is boxed, he raises an eyebrow at her, "Third most expensive?"
"Well, wearing the most expensive one just makes you look like you are showing off. The second most expensive one makes you look like you just couldn't afford the most expensive one. The third most expensive shows that you are trying, but not trying too hard."
Tom can't help but chuckle, "Where on earth do they teach you these things?"
"Nobody teaches you, you simply learn what not to do by listening to who's being gossiped about and for what," Vera replies casually. "Are you all set?"
"Yes," Tom says, looking at her with something of awe. This is the moment he realizes that he really can't belong in her world, no matter how much she dresses him up like he does.
"Mr. Alphius, could you come over here quickly?" Vera calls out.
The shop owner bounds over. Tom picks out the three he wants and gets ready to leave the shop. To his surprise, Vera stops him and says, "I need to get one more thing. Alphius, did you finish engraving that silver link bracelet, the one with the diamonds?"
"Yes I did, Ms. Sinclair," he hands her the three boxes of rings, then searches a drawer for a longer box, "Here you go."
Once again, Vera pays for everything. This time she hands everything but the bracelet to Tom as they leave the shop. They finally walk back toward Hogwarts, Vera opening the box quickly to look at the bracelet before tucking it away with the robes. Tom doesn't ask about them.
"I'm amazed, we haven't fought all day," she remarks.
"Perhaps Slughorn really did teach us how to be civil to one another," Tom quipped with a smirk.
"Or I am running out of ways to annoy you. I'll have to go brainstorm new ones now," Vera replies, matching his smirk.
"You do realize that's a warning for battle, right?" Tom remarks, "I'll just go back and plan a few counter-attacks anyway."
"You should, because I plan to stop being civil to you as soon as we enter the castle, and continue being uncivil to you until next Sunday night, whereupon I shall improve my manners once again only for the length of time it takes me to teach you to dance and eat properly," Vera remarks, her tone very formal for the subject matter.
Tom balks. "Eat properly? Are there rules for everything?"
"As a matter of fact, there are. I will send you a nice little guide so you can practice up on them," Vera says.
"I'm assuming your little Ravenclaw boyfriend knows all these rules already?" Tom sneers.
"My boyfriend? First of all, Davies is not my boyfriend. Second of all, he does not. I don't usually require people to learn them. This is a special case."
"I'm surprised."
"By what?"
"That you would date someone who is clearly not of your caliber."
"Do you really think I'm that stuck up?"
"You certainly do come across it."
"I don't really care much for your opinion of me, Riddle. And anyway, who says Davies is not of my caliber?"
"He doesn't know the rules. I gathered that those were important."
"He didn't have the chance to learn them - he's smart enough to learn, if he needed to."
"What do you mean he didn't have the chance to learn them? Is he not a supremely rich pureblood like you?"
"No."
"So he's poor?"
"No, his family has money."
"So why didn't he get the chance to learn the rules?"
"It isn't any of your business Riddle."
Tom laughs darkly, "So he's a mudblood then. Vera Sinclair, Queen of Slytherin, is dating a mudblood. Why didn't I hear about this earlier? You don't want people to know, do you? But word could so easily spread throughout the castle."
Vera actually looks angry, "Do not joke about that."
Tom's smirk widens, "Who says I was joking?"
Vera doesn't even grace him with a response, turning and walking away from him the second they enter Hogwarts grounds.
A/N: Dying of stress right now, so I can't promise you another update too soon. I will try desperately to have one finished within the next two weeks, though I am prioritizing updates to Riddle and his Sphinx for now as that seems to be more popular. Feel free to prove me wrong by reviewing, wonderful readers!
Please review if you have any questions/comments/constructive criticism/kind words! Thank you for reading :)