CHAPTER IV

Toms' ears perked up.

Tom Marvolo Riddle POV

"Ah, yes Miss Dumbledore, is it'" He peered over his spectacles to look at her.

"Yes professor, that's me." She answered.

All heads simultaneously turned towards the witch sitting beside me.

Slughorn continued babbling on about unimportant things.

Dumbledore…?

…

DUMBLEDOREE?!

The Dumbledore who analyze single step I took? The wizard who was suspicious of me since I unknowingly told him about one of my secrets; being a parslemouth?

Oh, he and I had a whole lot of history…

Thanks to Dumbledore, many of my plans had been derailed and discontinued. He was an obnoxious old wizard always breathing down my bloody neck.

The only teacher in the whole of Hogwarts who didn't absolutely dote on me,

Exhibit A; Slughorn.

Dumbledore was the only one, I couldn't seem to wrap around me finger. The stubborn old fool had a nasty habit of being able to see through my motives.

The bad blood between us had already spilled at our first meeting. Not that I was aware of this but nevertheless, since then he had always doubted and scrutinized me.

The orphanage was an unkind, old and battered up place and the only homage I found was through Dumbledore's arrival. Like the light at the end of a tunnel. He brought me my first sense of hope.

A beacon of light.

I genuinely hoped he could teach me all he knew.

But with the frostiness of his voice when he left, that hope fleeted.

I had first suspected Dumbledore to take me under his wing. I could see he was a powerful wizard, and I did always enjoy power.

Yet the old coot had decided then and there after I had told him about being a parslemouth, that I was to be shunned.

Despite my ignorance on all things magic when I was 11, no one ever came to my aid.

I was left to buy my own supplies and find platform 9 ¾ by myself.

Thinking on it, it made sense, that the girl and Dumbledore had known each other already at the welcoming feast.

But why would a relative of Dumbledore's be sorted into my house?

Slytherin's den was notoriously known for housing not only dark witches and wizard but ones with questionable motives and desires..

People like me.

It didn't make sense why Evangeline - relative of the greatest light wizard - would end up in it.

Unless-

Dumbledore certainly did always keep an annoyingly close watch on me after the incident with the chamber.

Could it be?

Could she be in cahoots with Albus Dumbledore.

Could she be a spy?

I suspected that he had probably even sent her and tasked her with keeping tabs on me.

God forbid I step a foot out of line.

Dumbledore was just waiting for me to have a hiccup, so that he could dig his claws into me.

I was sure of it now, that she was his spy.

Why else would she not tell me her Last name?

I turned my head towards Evangeline and tried to analyze her.. She had a certain powerful and dark allure to her personality. I didn't think she would be two-faced but then again, I didn't know much about her yet.

Exuding confidence and straight-forwardness I did always suspect, that there was something else beneath her surface.

She slightly reminded me of myself to be honest. Hidden motives and so on.

And yet, even though I was naturally very talented at reading individuals, she did not strike me as a liar or conspiratorial – secretive sure – but not a downright liar.

She leaned down and started taking notes, her hair falling into her eyes every once in a while.

That was another thing - her hair and appearance.

To sum it up, her appearance was bland.

I didn't even mean that in a rude way - just in an observational and objective way.

Her fair skin, deep brown hair and equally deep eyes did not contribute to anything sensational. There was no defining attribute to her physical appearance.

She was not sickly sweet looking like Premrose.

Nor did she have sharp and calculating features such as Valerie.

She was objectively simple.

And yet, there was something about her that just seemed to have caught people's attention

When entering a room, she seemingly managed to exert control.

Contradictory to her described appearance, she had a striking and reckoning presence.

Evangeline was an enigma.

Additionally, what baffled me most was that I could almost taste the dark magic on her, it was opious. But I doubted a relative of Dumbledore's would be a dark core carrier.

It was possible she just had a dark affinity.

And yet she didn't strike me as someone who practiced the Dark Arts at all.

Overall, Evangeline was a walking contradiction, and I just couldn't figure her out. After finding out who she was affiliated with though, I was not sure I wanted to figure her out anymore either. It was my last year and after Hogwarts I would be free to do what I wanted, I just had to get through this year without Dumbledore interfering.

Taking no risks – which would be the most logical path to take -, I decided I would not associate with Evangeline.

Assigning a potion to us, Evangeline and I start working on our potion. Surprisingly we work very fluidly together, never bumping into one another and not having to constantly check on the other to ensure success. I came to realize -whether for good or for bad- that Evangeline was a very proficient portioner. If I had to make an analogy, I would claim that making a potion with her was almost like dancing – mind you a fast paced dance at that.

We had both simultaneously and without communicating, decided to keep silent while working and there was a certain calamity to how we would hand each other ingredients without the utterance of a word.

While she stirred the potion counterclockwise, I diced the mandrake roots.

After adding them, we switched rolls, with me handing her the knife and board.

A contributing factor to our successful brewing was of course also that we both were experts in in all the steps and additionally knew what the other was supposed to do. At one point even when Evangeline had gone to the supply storage, she came back with not only the ingredients she needed, but the ones I was just about to retrieve.

I can't imagine what it would be like for an outsider to look in on us brewing. The both of us silent and yet in coordination as if we had brewed this exact potion a hundred times prior. Almost like a perfectly set up movie scene.

Finishing first of course, Slughorn beamed at our potion and exclaimed "As per usual a perfect potion, just as expected from you Tom m'boy!"

Tipping me head I replied, "Thank you professor."

Slughorn always was doting on me.

I was his best pupil after all.

After sniffing the potion, he looked up at Evangeline and said "And miss Dumbledore, what excellent potion skills you possess. How wonderful. How very wonderful indeed!" The potbellied man beamed.

"Thank you professor, Tom and I worked well as a team." She answered without glancing away from Slughorn.

I side-eyed her. How dare she call us a team.

I was in no way in a team with one of Dumbledore's relatives.

"Ah yes you two did seem to work rather well together." He mused.

Rubbing his chin he asked "Miss Dumbledore, I'm hosting a sort of little gathering this Saturday for some of my best students as a welcome home meeting, I don't suppose you would like to join would you?" His eyes gleamed with hope at acquiring yet another potentially useful for the future student.

He did like to gather up the smartest students, almost like trophies. It was sickening to be honest how see-though his motives were.

Without hesitation, the curious girl answered in a saccharine voice, that she would be honored to accept such an invitation, causing a proud and appreciative smile from the professor.

This somehow grated on my nerves and yet I decided to pay her no head. I had no time to be involved with such a nuisance of a girl.

Especially one that deliberately withheld information from me.

Packing up my school supplies, I was readying myself to leave when a sudden "Tom" was called from beside me.

Huffing slightly, I looked over my shoulder and gestured to my followers to wait outside the classroom for me.

"Yes?" I answered looking back at Evangeline

She seemed slightly distressed when she responded next "I wanted to thank you for offering to be my potions partner today, I usually get quite annoyed when working with others, but I found you more than alright."

I nearly wanted to laugh.

Trying to butter me up.

How pathetic.

And yet I put my best head boy voice on and said decisively "Yes, well it was only for your first day, but after this lesson you should find someone else."

To her credit she didn't even flinch when she said "Oh, alright, I understand. Not to worry."

"I wasn't worrying." I frowned

"Right, well if I may ask why did you change your mind?" She wondered

"I didn't, I was simply being courteous to one of my slytherins." I said in a monotonous voice "If you don't mind, I need to be heading out now Miss Dumbledore."

She smirked understandingly and replied "Of course, I'll come out with you."

Without deigning her with an answer I left the classroom in a quick pace leaving her struggling behind.

Once outside I jerked my head in a signal for the slytherin knights to follow me.

Looking back over my shoulder in the direction of the potions classroom I caught sight of Evangeline exiting and looking dejected in our direction, while evidently deciding to go the other way.

I smirked and turned to look straight ahead.

While striding down the corridor flanked by my knights, I ordered "Henceforth a close eye is to be kept on Evangeline Dumbledore at all times and by all of you. She is a Dumbledore, and no one is to divulge anything to her. Therefore, none of you should gain her acquaintance, sympathy or interact with her in any way, except to keep tabs on her and report back to me. Understand?"

"Yes, my lord." Was murmured discreetly by all of them.

I smirked "Good."

Authors Note:

Hii guys

Unfortunately, this is a slightly shorter chapter BUT I promise you exciting things are coming soon, so please make sure to stick around and hopefully you won't regret it:))

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Esther xx