Chapter Two

Hogwarts, 1943

Tom's POV

Tom Riddle was leaning against the wall in the Charms corridor waiting for the seventh year class to finish for lunch. Professor Dayton must have been holding them back because most other students were already making their way down to the Great Hall. In fact Tom was attracting a lot of stares, mainly from girls, as he lingered in the corridor with his hair falling casually over his face.

A gaggle of particularly bold fifth year Ravenclaws separated themselves from their classmates and approached him. All of them were giggling furiously as the pack leader, a petite girl with a head of thick blonde curls, strode over confidently.

'Hi, Tom,' she beamed, flicking her long hair over one shoulder. She wasn't unattractive, but he'd never been a fan of blondes. He thought of Victoria Potter and her waist-length black hair.

'Hello,' he said quietly, waiting for the inevitable.

'We were wondering Tom if you wanted to come to Hogsmede with us? The first visit is in a fortnight. Your friends would be welcome too, of course.'

Tom indulged himself with a discreet smirk that the girls seemed to think was a smile. He could imagine the Slytherin boys' reactions if he told them they were going to Hogsmede with a gaggle of willing Ravenclaw girls. He, however, had no desire to waste his weekends in such a manner. Not when he had more important things to do.

'Sorry, ladies, but I doubt I'll be in Hogsmede that weekend. I have many things to attend to at the moment.'

He watched with satisfaction as the blonde girl's face fell comically. She hurried off with her friends, all of their cheeks more flushed than they had been a few moments ago. Tom felt a stab of vindictive pleasure as he watched them scurry away; fending off girls took up an unreasonable amount of his time, despite the fact that he had never shown romantic interest in any of the students here.

Just as he was in danger of feeling particularly mutinous, Tom noticed the person he was waiting to see. A tall, auburn haired girl was leaving the Charms classroom, carrying several heavy textbooks and wearing a harassed expression usually associated with a lot of homework.

Tom strolled over with a dazzling smile upon his face.

'Hello, Lucy. Let me take those for you.'

He relieved the Head Girl of her books and she looked up at him in surprise.

'Oh hello, Tom. Thank you very much.'

'No problem. I'm on my way to the Great Hall anyway.'

Lucy smiled hesitantly up at him. She was a seventh year Hufflepuff who had recently been made Head Girl. Tom didn't have much contact with her beyond Prefect duty but he had already worked out how best to manipulate her.

They began walking along the corridor and Tom decided to get to the point quickly. 'So I've been hoping to catch up with you Lucy.'

'Oh yes?'

'Yes, I've been thinking about how we organise prefect duties.'

'Oh, have you?' she sounded suspicious. Oh relax, thought Tom irritably, I'm not trying to undermine your bloody authority.

'Yes, I have. I was thinking that it would make more sense to pair prefects from different houses. We really could strive for more inter-house unity, don't you think? Especially after the incident last week.'

He left his words hanging. Last week, Avery, Lestrange, Malfoy and Nott had cornered a couple of Mudblood Ravenclaws and tested out some new jinxes on them. None of them had been caught, although Dumbledore had been on the prowl ever since. Tom had gone mad when he'd found out. Not that he didn't approve of what they'd done, but they'd been so careless he was surprised they weren't already on the train home.

'I don't know, Tom,' sighed Lucy. 'It sounds like a bit of a performance, and everyone will complain.'

Tom bit back a retort. Lucy was the Head Girl, it was her job to make the prefects do whatever she wanted them to do. Next year, when he was Head Boy, he was going to relish the authority.

'I just think that it will be very well received by the teachers, especially Headmaster Dippet, who was so shocked at that horrible attack on the Ravenclaw Muggleborns. Besides, it'll make you look good compared to Nigel, won't it? There is no way he'd go to the bother of arranging something like this.'

Tom gave Lucy a conspiratorial wink. He knew she despised Nigel Smith, the Ravenclaw Head Boy, and did her utmost to prove she was the better Head.

Lucy seemed to give the matter some thought. 'You know what, Tom, that might not be such a bad idea after all.'

Tom grinned to himself. 'I thought you'd come around. I was thinking we could pair the Gryffindors with the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs with the Ravenclaws. Obviously we'd do boy-girl pairings like usual.'

'Hmmm. You might be on to something there. Let me think about it and I'll write out to the prefects this week.'

'Good idea.'

They had reached the Great Hall so he handed back her books and headed off to the Slytherin table. He was relatively certain he had Lucy won over. If not, he'd just have to go back and show her just how persuasive he could be.

The Slytherin table was already very busy but the other sixth years had saved a space for him. Tom sat down next to Nott and began to eat very quickly; he had other things to do this evening.

'Alright, Riddle?' Lestrange leaned over Malfoy to talk to Tom. 'We were thinking of a spot of Mudblood hunting tonight if you're in?'

Tom slammed his goblet back onto the table and took a couple of calming breaths. Using the Cruciatus Curse on Lestrange in the middle of dinner was unlikely to go unnoticed by the teachers.

He spoke in a low, danger voice. 'For God's sake, Lestrange, keep your voice down. Dumbledore already suspects you for that careless business last week.'

'Nah, he doesn't. He's an old man, way past it-'

Lestrange broke off as Tom's eyes flashed. 'Do not contradict me, Lestrange. Ever.'

Lestrange looked away hurriedly and turned his attention back to his dinner. Tom leant forward so that Avery, Malfoy and Nott could hear him as well.

'And this goes for the rest of you. Your stupid little indulgence last week could have had you expelled. What use could you be to me then? Do not do anything else without my explicit instructions, and when you do carry out a task of mine, keep your fucking voices down about it.'

With that, Tom swung his long legs over the bench and strode out of the hall, breathing deeply. He was surrounded by idiots. That was exactly why he needed to put his new plan into place.

He hurried down to the dungeons, taking the stairs two at a time, entered the common room and threw himself into the best armchair by the fire. It took a while for him to calm down and he only managed it by indulging in some fantasies about which curses he would use on the Slytherin boys if he had the chance.

Tom had come to realise recently that his problem was not diversifying enough. He had most of the Slytherins at his beck and call, even the seventh years. But that would not be enough to fulfil all the plans he had in mind. He needed to find a way to bring some others over to his cause.

Victoria Potter was going to be one of the first new recruits. He had been watching her closely for the past week, ever since their evening with Slughorn. Even though Tom knew he was an expert Occlumens, he couldn't shake the feeling that Victoria had probed into his mind that night. The thought was highly alarming since so much of his act relied upon no one being able to penetrate to the real him.

Tom had half-convinced himself that he was only imagining things. But he'd observed Victoria closely and he wasn't so sure. She was highly perceptive, seeming to know how anyone would react to any given situation, or whenever anyone was telling a lie in her presence. She was also very intelligent, second only to him in terms of talent. The other Gryffindors followed her around like sheep, even if she didn't know it.

All in all, Victoria was the perfect person to bring over to his side. After all, there were plenty of purebloods in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. It seemed silly to confine himself to only Slytherin cronies when there was so much potential elsewhere. And now that he would be doing prefect duty with her, Tom anticipated winning Victoria over would take a few weeks at best.

He grinned to himself and enjoyed the feeling of the warm fire against his feet. She couldn't be any worse than the morons he currently had to work with at any rate.

/

Victoria's POV

By Saturday morning, the day of the Gryffindor- Hufflepuff Quidditch match, it seemed as though the whole castle was up in arms. Unusually, it was not due to Quidditch rivalries, but to an unexpected letter that the Head Girl had circulated the evening before. Inter-house prefect pairings were going to be instigated going forward.

'I've got the worse one,' complained Alfie dramatically, as they all sat down at the breakfast table. He was playing the match in less than an hour, but had been completely distracted by Lucy's news. 'Having to patrol with Olive Hornby. They should bloody well pay me!'

'Agreed,' said Lana, taking a seat next to Victoria. 'I can't stand that girl.'

'Why's that, Lana?' smirked Ruth. 'Can't have anything to do with Lyle Manners fancying her in fifth year rather than you, can it?'

'No,' said Lana with dignity. 'I just happen to think she's a nasty piece of work.'

Ruth snorted into her cup of tea but did not press the subject.

'Anyway,' continued Lana. 'I notice someone isn't complaining about the new arrangements. Looking forward to patrolling darkened corridors with Riddle are you Vic?'

Victoria ignored Lana and helped herself to toast instead. Truth be told she had no problem doing prefect duty with Tom Riddle. He intrigued her, especially since he seemed to have been watching her all week. She knew she had been foolish reading his mind on the evening of Slughorn's meeting, but she couldn't resist. There was something about Riddle that set him apart from the rest of the dull Hogwarts students.

'Riddle better watch himself,' muttered Alfie, buttering his toast violently.

Victoria ignored him too. She was in no mood to stroke Alfie's ego this morning. True, they did usually do prefect duty together as the two sixth year Gryffindor prefects. But the last couple of times, Alfie had just annoyed her. Only two days ago they'd been patrolling the seventh floor and he'd practically begged for them to sneak off into the Room of Requirement. She'd said no and relayed the story afterwards to an agog Lana and a supportive Ruth. Lana had marvelled at why on earth Victoria didn't want to sleep with Alfie, and Ruth had commended her for sticking to her guns.

'You don't want to patrol with Riddle, do you Vic?' asked Alfie sounding slightly anxious.

Victoria sighed internally and fixed a pretty smile upon her face. 'No, of course not. I'm sure this inter-house thing won't last anyway.'

Alfie seemed placated by this and Victoria was saved having to say anything else by the arrival of the rest of the Quidditch team. That was her job with Alfie- look good and tell him what he wanted to hear.

'Come on, Alf, let's get going,' said Mike Wood. He was the keeper and team captain, and had the usual manic look in his eye.

Victoria's brother James stood behind him, clutching his broomstick and looking entirely relaxed.

'Good luck boys!' said Lana. 'Party in the common room if you win.'

'When we win,' corrected James. 'Come on, Alfie.'

Alfie discarded the last of his breakfast and jumped to his feet. 'Wish me luck, Vic.'

Victoria stood up and kissed him briefly. Then she felt guilty for her earlier thoughts, so she called after him. 'Good luck! I know you'll be brilliant!'

Once the Quidditch team had left the Hall, Victoria sat back down and poured herself another cup of tea. For some reason, she glanced up at the Slytherin table to see Tom Riddle watching her. To her surprise, he did not look away but raised a hand in greeting and gave her an amiable smile. Victoria returned it uncertainly.

'Why is Riddle smiling at you?' asked Lana sharply.

Victoria rolled her eyes. 'Because we're having an illicit affair and are going to elope this afternoon.'

Lana huffed and took a large gulp of tea. 'I'm just saying. You have a boyfriend, you know.'

'You're just saying because you're jealous he's not smiling at you.'

A nasty silence fell over the girls. In a wildly transparent attempt to break the tension, Ruth said in a falsely cheery voice. 'Shall we head down to the stands and get good seats then?'

Victoria and Lana both nodded and got up from the table without looking at one another. It was an uncomfortable walk down to the Quidditch pitch, with Ruth trying her best to start conversation.

Victoria got so fed up with Lana at times. She was jealous whenever anyone had anything she wanted, and wore her envy on her sleeve; Victoria didn't need to be a superb Legilimens to know what she was thinking at the moment.

By the time they'd reached the pitch, the stands were already half-full with students keen to catch the first match of the term. Victoria, Ruth and Lana made their way to the Gryffindor side and took seats in the fourth row. All around them their fellow students were bedecked in red and gold.

As they were waiting for things to kick off, Victoria couldn't help but glance towards the mass of green opposite. She picked out Malfoy, Avery, Nott and Lestrange in the crowd. They had commandeered prime seats in the front row as usual. However, Riddle was not with them. That didn't surprise Victoria in the slightest. Somehow she assumed he had better things to do than watch fourteen inflated egos throw balls around.

Victoria was feeling particularly unsporting and half wished she'd just stayed in bed that morning, when her youngest brother, Monty, bowled into the seat next to her.

'Morning, Vic. I can't wait for this!'

Victoria looked down into the excited eyes of her brother and grinned despite herself. Monty was a third year who nursed a furious ambition to be a Quidditch player like his brother. Unfortunately he didn't have James' natural talent, but he did have an unparalleled enthusiasm that made him the best supporter in the stands.

'Yeah, we're definitely winning,' smiled Victoria. She loved all her family, obviously. But Monty was her favourite.

Monty turned to chatter excitedly to his third year friends and Victoria took the chance to watch as the Quidditch teams walked out onto the pitch.

Mike Wood led the Gryffindors, flanked by Alfie, James and the rest of the team. Mike shook the Hufflepuff captain's hand briefly and, next thing, fourteen players were shooting into the air. Victoria enjoyed Quidditch but not as much as Lana, who was shouting loudly and seemed to have forgotten to be annoyed with Victoria.

'YES! What a save!' she yelled, jumping up and waving her scarf in the air. Mike had just done a particularly extravagant spin on his broomstick and punched the Quaffle half-way across the pitch.

Ruth rolled her eyes and pulled Lana back into her seat. 'There are three first years behind you who can't see a thing.'

Lana shrugged. 'I'm just getting into the house spirit.'

'Can't have anything to do with hoping to pull hot Quidditch players, can it?' asked Ruth with an arched eyebrow.

Lana pretended to look scandalised. 'I don't know why you always think the worst of- LOOK AT JAMES!'

Sure enough, James was shooting across the pitch, his top-of-the-range Comet making him look like a blur. Victoria watched eagerly as her brother knocked the Hufflepuff Seeker aside as if he was a butterfly, and took a swipe for the Golden Snitch.

A quarter of the crowd erupted in a united roar as James punched the air in victory and his teammates swarmed around him. Alfie reached him first and gave James such a knock on the shoulder that it was a surprise he managed to stay on his broom. Mike collided into them next and the three boys fell to the ground with their arms around one another.

In the stands Monty was leaping around, waving his scarf in the air so violently that he almost took Victoria's eye out. 'That's his best catch yet!'

Victoria laughed at her little brother and led the way out of the stands with Lana and Ruth. Lana, whose mood had improved considerably compared to when they'd left the castle, was counting on her fingers how much alcohol they'd need for the party.

'Not again,' huffed Ruth. 'Seriously, Lana. Dumbledore almost caught us last time.'

'But he didn't,' Lana retorted. 'Now are you going to help me sneak into Hogsmede or not?'

Victoria was saved from getting involved in their bickering by Alfie. As they walked alongside the pitch where the team was still celebrating, he ran up to Victoria and hugged her so enthusiastically she was lifted off her feet.

'Well done you,' she murmured, feeling more tolerant of her boyfriend than she had earlier that morning. He was incredibly good looking after all, especially in his Quidditch robes with his long hair all over the place.

Victoria leant forward and kissed him deeply. He smelt of rain and earth.

'Do you mind!'

Victoria pulled away from Alfie to see James standing a couple of feet away looking like he might throw up. She rolled her eyes impatiently. 'You didn't see me complaining when I saw you snogging Rebecca Corner the other day.'

James had the good grace to blush and he hurried off after Mike.

Alfie laughed loudly and wrapped his arm around Victoria's waist. 'Come on, party time I think.'

Back up in the Gryffindor common room, Lana had just about finished setting up for what was set to be a great party. Ruth had been roped in to helping and, by the looks of things, they'd managed to empty the Hog's Head of booze.

'Nice going,' said Victoria as she took in the extensive alcohol table. 'Shame I'm on prefect duty this evening.'

Lana rolled her eyes and handed over a glass of Firewhiskey. Victoria took the glass and noticed Lana had also found the time to curl the ends of her blonde hair and apply lashings of mascara and lipstick.

'Who are you trying to impress?'

Lana sighed dramatically. 'No one here unfortunately. I'm planning on saving my magic for the Slug Club dinner next week.'

Victoria took a sip of her drink so she didn't have to answer. Lana's crush on Tom Riddle was bordering on the ridiculous. As far as she was aware, the two of them had never said more than a handful of words to one another. Still, they were supposed to be best friends, so Victoria held her tongue.

'Let's get this party started!' The entire Quidditch team had emerged at the foot of the dormitories, freshly bathed and, by the looks of things, ready to start drinking heavily. Alfie and Mike headed straight to the drinks table and poured themselves generous measures of gin.

'The Muggles do get this right,' sighed Alfie happily. He clinked glasses with Mike and downed the spirit in one.

Before too long, the boys had initiated a drinking game. After a couple of rounds, and with her head spinning, Victoria excused herself and went to sit in her favourite armchair by the fire. She wrapped her fingers around the glass of Firewhiskey in her hand, and watched as Alfie began drinking vodka from Mike's shoe. It was a good job he was good looking, she sighed to herself.

A couple of people wandered over to chat to her, but Victoria shrugged them off pretty quickly. She wished it was socially acceptable to sneak out of parties early. If she had her way, she'd be drinking the Firewhiskey on her own, curled up somewhere cosy with a good book in her hand. But she knew Alfie would get all fussy if she disappeared and it wasn't worth the agro.

The afternoon dragged on and Victoria tried to force herself to be sociable. She let herself be surrounded by a gaggle of fifth year girls, all of them asking questions about Alfie and wanting to know what lipstick Victoria used. She agreed to do shots with a very insistent Lana. And she let Alfie wrap his arms around her and drunkenly boast to the Quidditch team that he was dating the hottest girl in Hogwarts.

Finally dusk fell and Victoria excused herself from a group of her classmates. She'd had a fair amount to drink but nowhere near as much as some of the others. Ruth had had three glasses of gin and was now passed out on the sofa, covered by a blanket that Lana had thoughtfully draped over her. James was slumped in the window seat, being force-fed Cockroach Cluster by a laughing Mike Wood. And Alfie was holding court in the centre of the room, doing a dramatic re-enactment of some of his best hits as Beater.

Knowing she wouldn't be missed, Victoria ducked out of the portrait hole and into the corridor. Once alone, she allowed herself a smile of relief that the party was over. It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed it per say, it was just that her fellow Gryffindors tended to grate on her after a while. She liked many people in that room- in fact, she loved several of them- but she felt little in common with any of them.

Victoria was just making her way along the corridor, ready to meet Tom Riddle for that evening's prefect duty, when she heard quick footsteps. Before she had time to react, Alfie was pushing her against the stone wall and kissing her furiously.

'Ouch, you're hurting me, Alfie.'

All of his weight was forcing Victoria backwards into the cold stone. She couldn't move an inch, especially since Alfie had one hand on her waist and the other on the side of her head. He either didn't hear her protests or was too drunk to notice. As panic rose in her chest, Victoria forced her fingers into her pocket and grasped her wand.

Alfie stumbled backwards as though he'd received an electric shock. Her Stinging Jinx had left a nasty scorch mark on his right wrist.

'What was that for?' slurred Alfie, his voice heavy with drink. He rubbed the painful-looking mark.

Victoria took a deep breath to steady herself, as she was shaking slightly. 'Don't you ever do that again. If I tell you to stop, that means stop.'

'Oh come on, I'm sorry-' Alfie lurched towards her with his arms out, looking incredibly drunk. Victoria dodged out the way and hurried off down the corridor, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

What on earth was Alfie playing at? She hated when he got so drunk that he didn't know what he was doing. She didn't want to snog someone who reeked of alcohol, pressed up painfully against a cold, stone wall.

Victoria was so caught up in her own thoughts that she'd reached the Entrance Hall without properly noticing where she was.

'Good evening, Miss Potter.'

Victoria started as a lone figure emerged from the shadows. Tom Riddle had been waiting for her at the foot of the staircase. Compared to Alfie, who had been drunk with a red face and sweaty hair, Tom looked immaculate from head to toe. He strode over and gave Victoria a smile that would have made Lana melt into a puddle on the floor.

'Hello, Tom.' She realised as she spoke that her voice was wobbly.

Tom frowned. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' insisted Victoria, feeling slightly alarmed. She was embarrassed about what had just happened with her boyfriend and didn't want the world to know.

Tom raised an eyebrow. 'I don't believe you.'

'Honestly, it's nothing. Aren't we meant to be patrolling the grounds?'

She turned on her heel and led the way out of the front doors into the cool evening air. Dusk had fallen and the last rays of sunlight were dancing over the Forbidden Forest, bathing the sky in pink. It was rather a romantic setting and, to her horror, Victoria felt her eyes water. Why did Alfie have to behave like that?

'Are you crying?' Tom sounded more interested than concerned.

'Of course not,' she snapped, trying to discreetly wipe her face on the sleeve of her jumper.

Tom took hold of her arm with surprising gentleness and pulled her to a halt. He produced a white handkerchief from thin air and pressed it into her hand. 'Here,' he murmured quietly.

'Thanks,' muttered Victoria. She dabbed at her eyes, feeling more and more embarrassed. She never fell apart like this. Lana and Ruth called her the ice queen for God's sake. Yet here she was, standing in the castle grounds being offered a tissue by Tom Riddle.

'I had a... erm... row with my boyfriend,' she explained.

For a moment Tom looked like he might smile. But then he arranged his features into a suitably sympathetic look, and Victoria was sure she had imagined it.

'Alphard Black, yes?'

Victoria nodded. 'It was nothing, don't worry about it.'

Tom's dark eyes twinkled in the evening light. 'Well, maybe a scintillating night of prefect duty with me might cheer you up.'

Victoria laughed despite herself. They naturally fell into step with one another and began patrolling the perimeter of the castle. The fresh air cleared her head and made her feel lighter.

'So, are you missing Olive Hornby?' she teased.

Tom laughed and gave her look. 'I couldn't possibly answer that. Although by the sounds of it, it's Alphard's turn to put up with her for a while.'

'Serves him right.'

Tom laughed again. 'You're not too bad a person to do prefect duty with after all.'

'I'd say the same about you.'

They walked in companionable silence for a while. Victoria resisted the urge to probe Riddle's mind, as she was serious about wanting to break the habit. But she couldn't stop herself from glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He strode along as if he owned the place, quite easily the most handsome boy in Hogwarts. The gentle evening breeze ruffled his thick, black hair as he walked, and he even smelled alluring. Victoria couldn't pinpoint the exact scent but she had a funny feeling she'd smelt it in the Potions dungeons before.

Feeling slightly alarmed that she was admiring another boy's appearance, Victoria said the first thing that came into her head. 'So are you going to the Slug Club dinner on Friday?'

Tom raised an eyebrow. 'I hope for Alphard's sake that's not an invitation?'

Victoria rolled her eyes. 'You know what I meant.'

'Yes, I'd better go. Professor Slughorn is quite a fan of mine if you hadn't noticed.'

'Perhaps he likes your modesty.'

'Perhaps.'

Tom paused for a moment and Victoria stood still next to him. He seemed to be weighing something up in his mind. Fuck it, she thought, and she delved into his head like it was an open door. As usual, it was harder work with Tom. But she still caught clear snatches of random thoughts.

... could mention the Legilimency... read my mind last week... how can she do that... not possible with me...

Victoria grinned to herself and, without knowing why, she began to speak in response to the thoughts she'd heard. 'Don't worry about it, Tom. Reading your mind is certainly trickier than anyone else's.'