Alexa smoothed her skirt, examining herself in the mirror. Amelia had selected the dress-it was long, full length and a little out of style for the 40s, but wizarding trends were looser than muggle. It was forest green, with an only slightly plunging neckline, and long sleeves that poofed out just a bit before coming into a cuff at the wrist. The shoes were short heels, oxford style and black. Amelia had also had her way with Alexa's hair, pinning the front back and letting the rest fall in loose waves down her back.
Long hair wasn't really in vogue in the 40s, Alexa realized, but she couldn't bear to cut it yet. She kept her makeup minimal-brown eyeshadow that served to emphasize her eyes, a lipstick that was red enough to notice, but still deemed "appropriate" for the underaged girl she was imitating. And the gods knew she damn well didn't need to fill in her eyebrows. Around her neck she wore the locket Draco had given her, and the vintage earrings from Blaise.
She couldn't help but wonder, turning this way and that, if she looked like her mother. The boggart's face had been so twisted with fear that she couldn't be sure, but if Alexa closed her eyes and really thought back to the hazy memories of being a child, she thought she could picture Maria.
She hoped she looked like her.
Amelia was all a flutter about the room, losing her cool demeanor for once.
"I can't find my bracelet! It's been in my family for nearly a hundred years, where is it!?" she snarled, rooting through her trunk. All the other girls had gone to the Great Hall for dinner, and it was just the two of them in the dorm.
Alexa chuckled, "If only there was a spell that could help you find a missing object, like…" she drew her wand, "oh I don't know, accio bracelet?" From underneath Amelia's bed there came a flash of silver. It flew through the air directly into Alexa's waiting hand.
Amelia stopped short, her hands on her hips, "How long have you been waiting to do that?" she huffed, as Alexa offered the bracelet.
"About fifteen minutes."
"Bloody witch," Amelia rolled her eyes.
"Shall we?" Alexa asked.
Amelia looped her arm through Alexa's, "We're gonna knock those boy's socks off.'
The boys in question Alexa was quite uninterested in-Abraxas, Alphard, and Riddle all stood in the common room, each looking smart. Alphard and Abraxas were casually chatting, while Riddle stood off to the side, fiddling with his sleeve.
"M'ladies," Alphard said, bowing deeply. Abraxas snorted, nudging him so he almost fell over.
"I will select but one well bred, pure blooded gentleman to accompany me tonight," Amelia said, releasing Alexa's arm and giving a twirl, "Who will it be?"
"Why, Miss Greengrass," Alphard cried, "Such audacity! I would be honored." Amelia trilled out perhaps the most expensive sounding giggle Alexa had ever heard, and took Alphard's offered hand.
"Well, Miss Di'Angelo?" Abraxas said, offering his own hand.
Alexa snorted, "I can accompany myself just fine, thanks."
Abraxas pressed his hand to his heart and sighed, "Such a wound, I may never recover."
"That sounds like a you problem," Alexa shrugged, covering her mouth to stifle her giggles.
Riddle was staring at her with an intensity she didn't like, and despite herself, she couldn't help but glance down to make sure her arms were fully covered.
Alphard, Abraxas, and Amelia continued their charade of glamor all the way out of the common room, while Alexa fell into step with Riddle.
"You look nice," he murmured, after several moments of silence. Alexa felt somewhere between flattered and disgusted.
"You don't clean up too bad yourself," she smiled.
"Avery is supposed to be here, but the word is that somebody broke his nose and he's refusing to name names," Alphard called back to them.
"I heard it was a girl, and that's why he's too embarrassed to say!' Amelia added.
Alexa glanced up at Riddle, mirth in her eyes, "I'll be sure to pass on his regrets to Slughorn."
Riddle seemed to be suppressing a smile, "Don't look too proud of yourself, I'm sure that will come back to bite you."
"Good thing I bite back," she flashed a grin.
Riddle flushed, shaking his head, "How's your hand?"
"Just fine," she extended it, showing off her only faintly discolored knuckles, "I know how to throw a punch."
Riddle sighed, "Remind me not to get on your bad side." She just laughed in response.
Safe to say, Riddle was already on her bad side, given his future proclivity toward genocide and torturing children. But for now, he was strangely charming. A blend of aloof intelligence and good manners, she could see clearly why he wound so many people around his finger in school.
Still, she couldn't help but enjoy spending time with the bunch of Slytherins. She knew Amelia, Abraxas, and Alphard all considered her a friend.
"I can't believe anyone would dare to spill an Avery's blood!" Abraxas huffed, "Such a brutish, muggle way too. I bet it was the mudblood Gryffindor-you know, what's her name? The one on the quidditch team?"
"Oh she's positively man-ish!" Amelia cried.
"She's the one who bumped into you on the train," Riddle leaned in, whispering to her.
Alexa didn't answer, just clenched her jaw and kept her mouth shut. There was nothing she could say that wouldn't be a detriment to her quest. And now she would have to go and sit through dinner with these absolute shitheads. She had just fought a war to end this mentality and now here she was.
Riddle was eyeing her closely, and she turned to meet his gaze. He didn't look away, just raised an eyebrow and slowed his pace.
"The Slytherin house," he began, "Is known for its strength in blood purity."
"Cunning and ambition aren't traits unique to any blood status," Alexa countered.
"The founder, Salazar Slytherin, believed that muggles were dangerous, and a threat to wizard kind. He thought it was best to keep magic separate from anyone…"
"Impure," Alexa scoffed. She was trying to keep her temper in check, and clasped her hands behind her back to keep them from shaking, "Wasn't he also rumored to have hidden a giant, deadly, snake monster beneath a school?"
Riddle chuckled, "A snake monster, huh?"
Shit she had said too much-"It's in Hogwarts, a History," she shrugged.
"So you don't care for his belief in purity?" Riddle asked, suddenly direct.
She pressed her lips together, considering her answer carefully, "I think that you have to judge by merrit. I've known purebloods with the intelligence of a mountain troll and a muggle born witch who was the most brilliant sorceress I had ever met. Your blood can be as pure as you please and you can still be an idiot. Pure blood is old blood, old blood usually means wealth. Long lineages have the time and money to gain power, and power gives you the impetus to think yourself superior. I've had experience with the type. However, anyone with enough of a thirst for success can achieve great things." She watched his face, searching for his reaction. They were so cordial and she thought he felt positively towards her. She needed him to trust her. She needed his respect. She hoped he would find himself flattered as a halfblood wizard, for her opinion that his kind could be equal or superior to their pureblooded peers.
"Diplomatic," he commented, "There is only power, and those too weak to seek it."
"There are those too weak to seek it and those who are too wise to," she looked up at him, "Seeking power always has the potential to cause ruin. Greed begets loss."
"And how else is one supposed to improve their position in the world of wealth and pure blood?" he asked, pausing and turning to face her fully. He stopped so abruptly they stood chest to chest.
"Be better than them-people who have grown fat on their laurels are easy to fell. But learn from Icarus and don't fly too close to the sun." He kept his eyes locked on her as she spoke, refusing to be the first to look away.
His smile was predatory, "I don't fear the sun."
"That's your first mistake."
"Are you coming or what?" Amelia had come back around the corner, hands on her hips.
Riddle turned to Amelia, a look of annoyance on his face. She scowled, but looked down. Alexa was reminded again how much power Riddle held over the fifth year Slytherins.
"Of course," Riddle said, "Shall we?" He asked, gesturing for her to lead the way. She smiled following Amelia through the door to the Slugclub.
"Welcome! Welcome!" Slughorn stood grandly in emerald green robes, a glass raised in his hand as if he was Gatsby himself. "Ah, Miss di'Angelo, our newest Slytherin!" Everything Slughorn said seemed to be an announcement, and he walked with his chest puffed out like a peacock. She still remembered him cowering in his sweaty silk pajamas the night of the battle.
"Hello, Professor Slughorn," she greeted, smiling, "Thank you for the invitation." Students milled about, glasses of butterbeer and pumpkin juice in hand, They all turned to look at her, and Alexa stood straight under their gaze, head high.
"Of course, of course! You've proven yourself to be quite remarkable thus far," Slughorn beamed, "And keeping such good company! How are you this evening, Tom?"
"Very well professor, but I think I'm the one keeping good company," Riddle smiled. Slughorn looked between Riddle and Alexa, eyebrows raised but an even bigger smile on his face. Alexa could have punched Riddle right there for putting such an idea in Slughorn's head.
"Quite right Tom, quite right," Slughorn winked, "I believe we'll begin dinner in about thirty minutes, for now please mingle! This is an excellent occasion for you," he looked to Alexa, "to meet your peers."
With that he did a funny little wave and toddled off to a Ravenclaw Alexa thought she recognized.
"I'm never prepared for exactly how...much Slughorn is," Alexa shook her head. She didn't put too much thought into Riddle's comment. He had set himself up to charm all the professors, especially Slughorn. He seemed to be trying to charm her as well. That was his strategy when he couldn't simply menace somebody into submission.
"You'll get used to it," he chuckled, smoothing back his dark hair.
At that moment Amelia bounded up to Alexa's side, "It looks like Avery showed up after all, have you met him yet?" she asked.
Riddle and Alexa exchanged a look and she stifled a smirk, "I haven't, won't you introduce me?"
Riddle rolled his eyes, "If you'll excuse me," he said, nodding to the two ladies.
"I can't believe he's flirting with you!" Amelia hissed as soon as he was out of earshot, "He's never shown any interest in any girl, he's turned down every single one-" Alexa was sure Amelia was one of the rejected girls, "And you show up and it's like he suddenly noticed tits exist!"
Alexa burst out laughing, "Maybe he likes a woman who can knock him on his ass in a duel, either way, I'm not interested."
Amelia scoffed, "Oh yes, not interested in perhaps the smartest and most obnoxiously handsome boys of our year, alright. You totally weren't just flirting with him."
"I'm just new, he's not flirting," she shook her head. Her? Flirting with Voldemort? The idea of it was horrifying.
"Did you have a beau back in the U.S.?" Amelia asked, eyebrows raised.
"I have a few exes," Alexa shrugged, deeply uncomfortable.
"Oh! Benedict," Amelia suddenly turned on the charm, looking up through her lashes towards none other than Avery, his nose healed but his dignity still wounded.
"Miss Greengrass," Avery smiled, turning towards them. His smile dropped when he saw Alexa, but her's only grew.
"Have you met Alexa Di Angelo yet?" Amelia asked.
"I've...not had the pleasure," he ground out, offering his hand. Alexa shook it firmly, rolling the joints in his knuckles under her grasp.
"The pleasure's all mine," she assured him.
Amelia began chatting eagerly with the older boy, and Alexa, quite disinterested, got lost in thought.
"Drink?" Riddle startled her, appearing by her side, two champagne glasses of what she assumed was sparkling cider in hand.
"Oh!" her eyes widened, "Thank you, that's very kind." Avery gave her a final sneer and lead Amelia away, a hand on her lower back, to his seventh year friends.
He smiled, raising his own glass towards her, "To your first Slug Club meeting?"
"To my first Slug Club experience," she tapped her glass against his.
To her surprise, it wasn't cider in her glass, but champagne. At her surprised expression Riddle leaned in to whisper, "Slughorn is a man of few flaws, but one of them is playing favorites." His breath was hot against her ear and raised the hair on the back of her neck.
"Of all the flaws to have that's not the worst," she mused. Maybe Amelia was right. Maybe he was flirting. If he was, it was certainly a matter of finding her weakness, figuring out how he could use her on his rise to power. That was, she had observed, the only type of interaction he had with his peers. Was he interpreting her as flirting?
Was she giving the appearance of flirting? Or was it just Amelia's jealousy? The idea of teenage romance was so far from her mind it hadn't occurred to her that her attention to Riddle might be seen as such. She glanced up at Riddle, who remained by her side, observing the gathering with a piercing gaze.
On the one hand, if he was interested in her, which was unlikely, it would give her an easy way to remain close to him. On the other hand, she absolutely had no desire to be linked in any way with teenaged Voldemort, and there might come a point where she had to reject him outright. That would devastate her plans. This was going to be a fine line to walk if Amelia was correct.
She'd prepared for a sociopath on the brink of psychopathy. That wasn't what she was dealing with. She'd need to do research on Horcruxes, on what they did to the personality. Riddle, for the most part, was just a social climber. He was largely quiet, spending his time observing rather than speaking. That could easily be explained by his upbringing. However, fifth year was supposed to be when he released the basilisk and when Moaning Myrtle was supposed to die. That's what she was waiting for.
"Hello!" she jumped as a voice cut through her thoughts.
"Oh, hey!" Alexa greeted Adeline, the girl from the train. She still wore the beaded necklace, but had dressed up in a light blue dress with a sweetheart neckline.
"Pretty fun shindig, huh?" Adeline said, looking around, "Just wait for the food, Sluggy always packs something special for dessert." She bounced on the tips of her toes as if she couldn't bear to stand still. She could feel Riddle's discomfort in response to Adeline's chaotic-and muggle born-energy.
"It's certainly more than I was expecting," she chuckled. She sipped her champagne, and glanced at Riddle. He was decidedly looking away from Adeline. He could also just have the muggle brand of racism and therefore a problem with the color of her skin. It wouldn't surprise Alexa.
"Alright," Slughorn called out, "if you would all like to have a seat-dinner shall begin."
The students migrated to the table, an enormous round oak thing. Riddle sat to her right and Adeline to her left. Somehow she had managed to sit directly across from one Benedict Avery. She gave him a very pleasant smile, and he scowled in return.
Slughorn looked around at the beaming, "Well, well, well! I see before me the future of the wizarding world. I offer a toast," he raised his glass, "To another excellent year at Hogwarts! Cheers!"
"Cheers!" they all replied. And just like that, the food appeared on the table. Gleaming glazed pork chops, mince meat pies, roasted vegetables-a whole array of Hogwarts' best.
As they all piled food on their plates, Adeline leaned in and whispered, "Did you spit on Avery or something? He won't stop glaring at you."
"I...well…" she scrambled to come up with a reason, checking that the girl next to Adeline was absorbed in conversation.
Adeline's eyes went wide, "You're the one that punched him, aren't you?" she kept her voice too low for anyone else to hear.
"He was picking on a third year, Rubeus," she shrugged, taking a sip of her drink.
"They never leave him alone because he's half giant," Adeline scowled, stabbing a carrot with particular vitriol, "It's stupid."
"Which would be why I broke his nose," she nodded. Alexa was growing to like Adeline very much. Even if she could never tell her the whole truth, she hoped they could forge something akin to a genuine friendship.
The rest of the meal passed in comparative calm. Desert was, as Adeline promised, delicious. The evening was coming to a close, and Slughorn wished them all well and sent them off to bed. Amelia and the other group of Slytherins in their year had managed to start a conversation with Avery that Alexa wanted absolutely no part of. Riddle lingered behind, talking to Slughorn about something academic or other. She paused at the door, looking back at them, anxiety pricking. Slughorn was the one to tell him about horcruxes.
But, as soon as Riddle realized she hadn't yet left, he excused himself from the conversation. Slughorn gave him a wink, which Alexa didn't much care for, but at least he didn't tell Riddle how to rip is soul apart through murder. That was a win.
"Did you forget the way to the common room?" he asked.
"I was just waiting for you," she shrugged. He gave her a half smile, seeming pleased by this. It was exhausting trying to keep up this double interpretation of him.
"Was your first Slug Club a success?" he asked.
"I'd say so. It was definitely interesting," she replied. "Slughorn enjoyed himself."
"He always does. And Hogwarts? Still settling in nicely?"
"Oh yeah, I'm making lots of friends, couldn't you tell by the look on Avery's face?"
Riddle just sighed, brows pressing together. "Friends. Yes."
"There's enough good to outweigh the bad, and that's what matters."
"Well, I'd much rather be your friend than whatever Avery is," he seemed flushed under the dim light of the dungeon. Perhaps it could be that he did consider her a genuine friend. That would be novel.
"You're definitely in that category," she assured him, laughing. They had reached the common room by then, and she gave him one last smile before climbing the stairs. "Goodnight, Tom," she said.
"Goodnight," he replied.
