All belongs to JK Rowling!
Lyra fled the Great Hall as fast as her legs would carry her; blind with rage. She had wanted to kill him - right then and there - and it had taken all of her strength to leave before she did anything too rash.
She could not believe the audacity of him. He had openly used Legilimency on her in the middle of the Great Hall, expecting what? That she'd cave and let him see whatever he wanted and then plead with him to keep her secrets? That she wouldn't be able to defend herself? That she would you just take it?
Lyra dug her fingers into her hands, willing herself to calm down. The arrogance of Tom Riddle was unmatched; but even more infuriating, was the fact that she'd slipped. She'd let him in, if only for a moment, and it had almost cost her everything. She would have to be more careful in the future.
Without thinking, Lyra wound up at the doors to the courtyard and quickly ran down the steps; glad to be outside. She needed air and she needed to get away from everyone else so that she would be composed enough to go to Potions in an hour. To her surprise, her timetable had been sitting on her bedside table in the morning and she had briefly wondered why they had ever begun handing them out at breakfast instead.
Lyra stopped short when she realized she wasn't the only one in the courtyard. Elaina Selwyn was seated on a nearby windowsill, her nose in a book. Lyra hesitated, unsure how to address her grandmother.
"Your name is Elaina Selwyn...right?" Lyra asked, cautiously walking towards her; afraid she would be unhappy about being interrupted.
Elaina looked up, her eyes the same shade of blue Lyra remembered but with less vibrancy; less warmth. She nodded.
"My name's Lyra Reed. I don't think we really met properly yesterday." Lyra said.
Elaina folded her book and placed it in her lap. "No, we didn't. I did overhear the part of the conversation at dinner where you announced you were a blood traitor though." She said, something akin to a small smile on her lips.
"And what is your opinion on that?" Lyra asked impassively.
"I think you should have been placed in Gryffindor." Elaina replied and Lyra laughed. If only she knew how afraid Lyra was of things - she could never be a Gryffindor.
"But what is your opinion on blood traitors in general?" Lyra asked.
Elaina laughed, "Guess."
Lyra raised an eyebrow, "I think you are one?" She said, unsure. "But you hide it because it's easier to get by."
Elaina smiled mysteriously, "Good guess."
"Am I right?" Lyra asked, coming to sit next to her.
"What do you think?" Elaina asked, and Lyra sighed in exasperation, laughing.
"I think you're bloody infuriating." She said, laughing and Elaina gave a small smile.
The girls fell quiet for a moment and an idea popped into Lyra's head. Looking around furtively, to make sure they were alone, Lyra cast a silencing spell and then turned back to Elaina. Elaina raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"What do you know about Tom Riddle?" Lyra asked, conspiratorially.
Elaina's eyes widened with interest, a curious look on her face, "What do you want to know?" She asked after a moment.
"Last night, I noticed how all the other Slytherins pay him a lot of respect...and I don't think it's just because he's Head Boy. Why is that?" Lyra asked, trying to sound as if she didn't already know.
Elaina was silent a moment, "Riddle is...unique." She said at last, "The other boys look up to him, not just because of his brilliance - and believe me, he is brilliant - but because of who he is."
"What do you mean?" Lyra asked, trying to hide how interested she was.
"He's charming and charismatic, as I'm sure you've noticed." Elaina paused, "But between you and me...I think what really makes the others look up to him is that they are utterly terrified of him."
Lyra felt a chill run through her and subconsciously ran her finger over the ring on her finger. Elaina looked down, staring at the ring, and Lyra felt a jolt of fear run through her. She didn't recognize the stone for what it was...did she?
"Why are they terrified of Riddle?" Lyra asked, both to distract Elaina and because she genuinely wanted to know if she had any dirt on him.
Elaina smiled darkly, "Did you know snakes can't feel emotion?" She asked, and Lyra nodded. "Well Riddle is a Parselmouth. He can talk to snakes."
"You think he can't feel emotion?" Lyra asked, raising her eyebrows and trying to appear surprised.
"Well he can certainly feel anger and pride. I'm not so sure about the rest." Elaina replied.
"So he's a psychopath?" Lyra asked, and Elaina laughed.
"Well that's a Muggle term, but yes, I think it could be applied to him." She said, and Lyra bit her lip.
She was not surprised to hear this, but a part of her still didn't believe it. It was insane, to question it, knowing what she knew, but a small voice in the back of Lyra's mind refused to accept Tom's psychopathy at face value. It was almost as if diagnosing him with psychopathy was a cop-out; a way to explain away the evilness of what he had done. Lyra wanted to believe he was fully accountable; entirely guilty.
But there was something more. She had met him when he was just a child. Had the boy she had met that night, long ago, really been incapable of feeling? He had been so afraid she would leave with the stone and never come back. Even though Lyra knew it was the stone that had interested him, and not her, she had seen vulnerability in him. Did that mean anything? How could someone feel fear and anger but not love and happiness?
"What made you come to this conclusion?" Lyra asked, frowning.
Elaina hesitated, running the edge of her robes through her fingers, "Just a hunch." She said, and Lyra had the distinct impression she was lying.
"Right." Lyra replied, and the two slipped into silence.
"Do you have Potions at 9?" Lyra asked, to change the subject.
"Yes, you're in it as well?" Elaina asked.
"Yeah, we better get going then." Lyra said, glancing at her watch.
Elaina nodded, hoping off the windowsill and replacing her book in her bag.
"What's the Potions Professor like?" Lyra asked, just to make conversation as they walked down to the dungeons. She already knew Professor Slughorn quite well, having been part of his Slug Club...an experience she hoped to escape this time around.
"Professor Slughorn? He's the head of Slytherin house. Did you not meet him?" Elaina asked.
"No, this was kind of a rushed transition. In fact, when I met you on the train...I hadn't even applied to study here yet and I was just hoping they'd let me in." Lyra admitted and Elaina turned to look at her in surprise.
"You're kidding!" She exclaimed, "I-"
As they entered the Potions classroom, Elaina fell silent and Professor Slughorn looked up. "Good morning Miss Selwyn!" He boomed and Lyra smiled despite herself at the comfort of a familiar face. He was the same as she remembered, just slightly younger and slimmer.
"What was your name again, my dear? Reed, was it?" He asked, holding out a hand to Lyra.
"Yes. Lyra Reed, sir." Lyra replied, smiling genuinely up at him.
"Well then welcome, Miss Reed." He replied, "It is always great to see new additions to Slytherin house."
Lyra smiled, following Elaina to the back of the classroom and taking a seat next to her. Only a few Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had already arrived and Lyra wondered which of their fellow Slytherins would be joining them in Advanced Potions. She felt her stomach flip as she realized there was no way Tom was not in this class, being the genius that he was.
Sure enough, before she had even unpacked her bag, the future Lord Voldemort himself walked through the door; soliciting an even warmer welcome from Slughorn than her and Elaina had received.
"He loves him." Lyra remarked, leaning in to whisper to Elaina.
Elaina rolled her eyes, "They all do." She replied, "Except Dumbledore."
"Why not Dumbledore?" Lyra asked, despite being quite sure she already knew the answer.
"He's smarter?" Elaina said, laughing quietly.
Lyra snorted, laughing as well. Looking up she noticed Tom was walking straight towards her and felt her laughter die in her throat.
"Reed, I was wondering if I could possibly talk to you after class?" Tom said, smiling in his infuriatingly polite manner.
"Are you going to actually listen to what I have to say or are you just going to read my thoughts to get the information you need?" Lyra said waspishly, drawing a confused look from Elaina.
A look of regret and shame filled his face that was so convincing that Lyra would have believed it had she not known who he was.
"That was actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Tom said sheepishly, "I know that was completley unacceptable and if you let me, I'd like to explain myself. After class." He said, looking back at Professor Slughorn as if to indicate class was starting soon.
Lyra forced a tight lipped smile, "Alright, Riddle. I suppose it will be interesting to hear what sort of lie you come up with."
A flash of anger passed behind his eyes, and Lyra smirked.
"I hope to convince you otherwise." Tom said, his mask of polite regret back firmly in place, "Enjoy the lecture."
Lyra watched him walk over to where Abraxas Malfoy and Cygnus Black were seated, his back to her. Elaina waited until he was out of earshot before turning to Lyra.
"What was that about?" She asked, eyes wide.
"He tried to use Legilimency on me at breakfast today." Lyra whispered and Elaina opened her mouth to respond when Rosalie entered the room.
"Lyra." She said, smiling at Lyra as took a seat next to her, all the while shooting Elaina wary glances.
"Hi." Lyra replied, "How did you sleep?"
"Like a rock." Rosalie replied, grinning, "It feels so good to be back at Hogwarts at last. Mother was driving me crazy this summer."
"How awful." Elaina sneered and Lyra realized that, quite unfortunately, she was trapped quite literally in between two girls who clearly had unresolved issues.
Rosalie shot Elaina dark look, but before she could give any scathing reply, Professor Slughorn began the lecture and Lyra felt she was now in his eternal debt.