Riddle Me This: Chapter Three
Tom was up bright and early the next day, throwing back his bed hangings and breathing in the fresh morning air. Though his rooms were in the dungeons, there had been a window charmed into the one wall, and looking outside he could already tell it was going to be a great day.
Pulling on his robes (the Slytherin crest had been charmed onto the front during the night), he combed back his dark hair and glanced in the mirror. Grinning at his reflection, and ignoring the rather crude comment the mirror shot his way, he turned back to his bed and made it, placing the sleeping Salazar onto his pillow. He stroked the kitten's soft fur for a moment before leaving the dorm, wand placed in his pocket.
He took his time walking to the Great Hall, stopping to take in the sights every once in a while. He even chatted with a portrait of an old woman for a quarter of an hour, intrigued to learn she'd been hanging around since the school was founded. This Tom took a great deal of interest in, and promising to stop and continue their conversation the next time he passed by, he resumed his trek to the Great Hall.
"Great place, isn't it?" Tom spun at the sudden voice, glancing down the hall to lock eyes with Blythe. She was standing a few feet back, and offered him a shy smile as she stepped towards him. Her gaze dropped to the ground, suddenly becoming interested in a scuff mark on her shoe when she realized she was staring.
"Mind if I walk with you?" she asked.
"Not at all." Tom returned her smile and they continued to walk down the hall. "And yes, it is a great place. I hardly dared to believe it would be this spectacular."
"I know what you mean," Blythe agreed. "I mean, my mum told me all about her days here, but I'd always thought she'd been exaggerating at least a little bit."
"Did your dad not come here, then?" Tom asked.
"What do you mean?" If her words were spoken a little too quick and defensive-like, Tom paid it no mind.
"You said your mum told you what it was like and you'd thought she'd exaggerated. I'm assuming that because you did not check with your dad to see if it was the truth, he did not attend school here." He shrugged as the two entered the Great Hall.
"Oh…Right. He, er, died…when I was really young." Her hesitation was just slight enough for Tom to not pick up on it.
"I'm sorry, Blythe, I didn't know. Do you want to talk about it?"
"No. There's nothing to talk about. But thanks." Her smile was back, and she led the way over to the Slytherin table, sitting once more at the end. There were very few people up already, but by the time Tom and Blythe had enjoyed their breakfast of buttered toast and eggs students started trickling in a handful at a time.
Malfoy and Dagon joined them at their end of the table, helping themselves to a plateful of bacon and sausage. The group of four remained quiet as they ate, each deep in their own thoughts. Soon enough there were a few of Blythe's room mates clambering to sit beside Malfoy, giggling amongst themselves and sending glances his way. Disgusted, Blythe ignored the girls and tried to start up a conversation with the Bloody Baron, Slytherin's house ghost.
A woman, a professor by the looks of her, was moving along the Slytherin table, handing out schedules to the students. She reached the group of first years at the end and lay down the rest of the schedules before them, not bothering to hand them out individually.
"All of you be sure to get a schedule; you're all in first year and have the same classes so there shouldn't be any differences. Just take one. And do try not to be late to your classes; I'd like to take the house cup once more this year." She turned on her heel and left the Great Hall, presumably to prepare for her first class.
Tom snatched up a schedule for himself and Blythe, running his eyes over it and smiling in anticipation. He was anxious to be learning the magic already, and turned to glance at Malfoy. The blonde boy was still eating his breakfast and flirting with the girls, so Tom turned instead to Blythe. But before he could even get one word out there was a sound like hundreds of wings flapping, and dozens of owls swooped down from the ceiling, dropping letters and packages off to various students. It was no great surprise to Tom that he didn't receive any mail; who would be writing to him besides Mr. Cowin anyway? And even he couldn't write, not having a way to deliver the letter in the first place. Tom would have to see what he could do about that.
Turning once more to Blythe he noticed that she, too, had received no mail, and was still reading over her schedule, occasionally glancing up at the head table. She felt a pair of eyes on her and turned to Tom, once more arching a brow. It seemed to be a habit of hers.
"You want to head back to the common room and grab our bags before History of Magic?" he asked her.
"Might as well. Don't want to be late, and it'll probably take a while to find the place. You coming, Vince and Dagon?" She turned to address the other two boys.
"Yeah, sure," Dagon said. Malfoy just shook his head.
Tom shrugged and the three stood, each taking their schedule and heading back to their common room to grab their bags. Sure enough, it did take them a while to find the History of Magic room, though they managed to arrive before the rest of the class. They chose seats towards the front of the room, Tom sitting between Dagon and Blythe. The bell rang and students wandered in, taking their seats and placing parchment, ink, quills, and books on their desk, looking towards the front of the room expectantly.
A few minutes later an extremely old and tired-looking man walked in, carrying an armful of notes and a briefcase. He set the briefcase down his desk and turned bleary eyes to the students, a flick of his wand conjuring a podium in front of him. He placed the notes down on the podium and gazed out at the room.
"I am Professor Binns. I will be teaching you History of Magic, dealing with straight facts. Homework is to be completed on time and placed on my desk at the beginning of each class." Binns spoke with an annoyingly monotone voice, and any hopes Tom had of finding this class exiting were completely dashed as the professor began his lecture.
By the time the bell rang to signal the end of class, the only students left awake were Tom, Blythe, Dagon, and one of the Gryffindors in the back of the room. Professor Binns didn't even bother looking at his students as he left the classroom, assigning no homework that first day. Nudging Vincent awake, the four first years found their way to their next class, Charms.
The group of four made it to class just before the bell rang, taking the empty seats near the back of the room. Their teacher was a tall, slightly balding dark-haired man that waited silently for the class to settle down.
"Thank you," he said in a deep voice. "I am Professor Sweeney, Charms teacher here at Hogwarts. Our first few lessons will be on basic wand movements and incantations, and only after I believe you all have mastered that will I begin the practical lessons."
There was a groaning from the class, and Professor Sweeney smiled.
"Yes, yes, I know it is boring stuff. But, fact it, you need to know it. So if you could all open your text books to page three, I shall begin the lesson…"
Class proceeded much as History of Magic had, though all of the students managed to stay awake this time. On occasion Professor Sweeney would ask a question, and the student that answered correctly received a few points for his or her house. The only students paying no attention what-so-ever were the two giggling Hufflepuff girls from the boat sending goo-goo eyes at Malfoy. To his credit, Vince didn't respond or even glance their way, but Tom still rolled his eyes and pointed it out to Blythe and Dagon.
The bell rang and the students were dismissed, heading off to the Great Hall for lunch. It had been yet another class they had no homework in, and slightly more enlightening than History of Magic. At least they were learning things relevant to actually doing the magic this time.
The Slytherin group of four headed back to the common room first to retrieve the things they'd need for Herbology before going to lunch, and Tom took a moment to prod Salazar awake. As Dagon and Vincent left the dorm to go meet up with Blythe, Tom lingered behind for a moment, holding the kitten in his hands.
"It's been kind of odd so far, Salazar. Y'know what I mean? I thought we'd be able to start learning magic right away, but so far it's just been taking notes on whatever the teacher chooses to lecture us on. I sure hope Herbology is better, but since it's dealing with plants it probably won't be." Tom shrugged. "I still don't get the big deal about being a muggle born or pureblood, but I'll just ask that portrait later, I guess. You have a nice nap, Salazar. I'll be sure to bring you some dinner later tonight." He placed the kitten back on the indentation in his pillow and picked up his bag, trotting down the stairs to see his three friends waiting impatiently by the entrance to the common room.
"Took you a while, there, Tom," Malfoy said. "Wadja do, fight off some muggles that were invading your room?" He and Dagon snickered as Blythe rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, guys, let's get going already." She turned, and the three boys followed her out of the common room, trooping down the corridors and to the Great Hall. A gaggle of girls swarmed around them as soon as they entered the hall, trying their best to get Malfoy's attention, though he'd have none of it.
"I'm hungry ladies, please make way."
Obediently they obliged, and a spot was cleared off at the Slytherin table for the four to sit down.
"Gee, Vince, you've already got a fan club," Blythe pointed out dryly. "Next thing you know they'll be sneaking into your dorm and stealing your knickers." She rose her voice into a falsetto squeal, "Oh my god! I got Malfoy's worn knickers! I'm going to keep them in my pocket for good luck!"
The boys guffawed at Malfoy's expense, Dagon spitting pumpkin juice from his nose and spraying the third-year sitting across from him. She shot a glare at him, but Dagon didn't notice, snorting in laughter as he was.
"Malfoy's worn knickers! HA!" He pounded a fist on his table, clamping his lips together to hold back the laughter. "Sell them and earn hundreds!" he sputtered, and the laughter overtook him again. He fell backwards off the bench he was laughing so hard, and the three first years around him were now laughing at his expense.
It took a while for Dagon to calm down, and he still wasn't completely back to normal by the time they got to the greenhouses for Herbology. He wore a giant grin, and many of the students around him couldn't keep from wondering what it was about. He turned almost completely somber when the Ravenclaws they had class with approached, catching sight of another pair of twins that looked completely out of place.
They were male and female, identical down to the last white dread in their hair. Tom wasn't sure how he knew the one was a girl, but he did nonetheless, and held in a snicker at their appearance. Everything about them was completely white. Their skin was as white as a dove's feathers, lips and hair the same color. Under their robes Tom even suspected they wore all white, though he never got a chance to ask. Their eyes were about the only thing on them that wasn't white besides their school robes, and those were just as odd. Both of their eyes were a dark red in color, narrowed in distaste as they realized they were once more being stared at. Ah, well, it was like this back home, too, so they shouldn't have expected anything different.
"Hey, look!" Malfoy drawled. "Albino freaks!" The Slytherins burst into laughter, save for Blythe way in the back. Even if she'd felt inclined to make fun of their appearance as everyone else did, she could have cracked a better joke than Malfoy hands down. She shoved her way through the crowd of Slytherins to approach the twins, but as she opened her mouth to speak the Herbology professor made herself known.
"Children, children! This way to greenhouse one!"
Oh god, Tom groaned; it was the lady from the boat. Already she was grating on his nerves. Speeding up to a light jog he caught up with Malfoy and Blythe, Dagon trailing at his heels as they headed over towards the greenhouse.
"Too bad Professor Falsetto here had to ruin our fun," Malfoy said. "I'm sure you were going to put those two freaks in their place with some well-placed comment about their muggle parentage." He smirked at Blythe, but she stayed facing straight ahead.
"Yeah, too bad." Maybe it was Tom's imagination playing tricks, but Blythe didn't sound too put-out.
"How'd you know that they were muggle born, anyway?" Dagon asked.
Malfoy turned to sneer at him. "First of all, it's completely obvious the way they were hanging around that half-blood, Sean. If they'd been purebloods the other Ravenclaws would have jumped to their defense. And, anyway, I heard it from that snotty prefect guy today at breakfast after you'd left. They have an older sibling in his year, Jack or Jackie or something."
The troop of first years reached the greenhouse, and their conversation was cut short by the professor clearing her throat loudly.
"Attention, please. I'd like all of you to choose a seat, two to a bench. Hurry up, be quick about it."
The students scrambled to find seats with their friends, Tom and Dagon managing to snag a bench together. The Weasley twins paired together, and two of Blythe's room mates shared a bench. Malfoy took the left over girl, leaving Blythe with no one from Slytherin to pair up with.
"You two," the professor said, gesturing to Blythe and the female albino twin, "take that empty bench over there. Come now, we need to get class started!" Blythe and the girl slowly walked towards the bench, taking their seats and looking at anything but each other. Tom felt a pang of sympathy for Blythe, but it dissipated as soon as the professor started speaking once more. He was too busy trying not to cringe as her nasal, whining voice rolled over him.
"Welcome to your first day of Herbology. I am Professor Sanchardry, and head of Hufflepuff."
Glancing around, Tom saw that he wasn't the only one offended by her simpering. He nudged Dagon in the ribs and the two burst into silent laughter.
"…taking it easy, today, and starting with the proper precautions to take around magical plants. Can anyone tell me…?"
Over in the corner of the greenhouse, Blythe tuned out from the teacher's drone, turning slightly to face the albino girl beside her. She whispered out of the corner of her mouth, careful to be subtle enough to not draw attention to herself.
"I'm sorry about what Malfoy said earlier about you and your twin. I tried to get to you two, but Sanchardry decided to show up before I could," Blythe said apologetically.
"It's really not a problem," the girl whispered back after a long pause. "We got it all the time back home; should have figured things wouldn't change."
"Still, though, he's a really shallow prick. My mum went to school with his dad, and she told me they're all the same. I'm Ashcroft by the way, Blythe Ashcroft."
"Tocelas Rogozen. My brother is Tobias, and the kid he's sitting with is Sean Kaldrian." Tocelas gestured towards where her brother sat with the redhead that had fallen in the lake. "Were muggle born, and Sean is a half-blood. That won't be a problem, will it?" Blythe wasn't very surprised to hear the scorn and sarcasm in Tocelas' words.
"Not at all," she affirmed.
"Good." Tocelas and Blythe shook hands, and turned their attention back to the professor.
Tom had noticed the exchange out of the corner of his eye, and chanced a glanced back at the two girls with a questioning look. Blythe and the girl both ignored his gaze. Unfortunately, Professor Sanchardry did not.
"Tell me, Mister Riddle, what is it that you find so fascinating in that corner of the greenhouse?" Tom slowly spun back to face the front of the room, only to find that the professor has appeared right in front of his workspace.
"Er…" Tom fished around for something to say. "I was just admiring the Devil's Snare over in the corner, and wondering when we'd be studying it."
"I see," said Professor Sanchardry. "Tell me, Mister Riddle, what physical attribute about this plant tells you that it is getting old in age?" She was obviously trying to trip him up and make a fool of him in front of the class. But Tom would have none of it.
"Well…" Tom stalled, thinking back to the book he'd read on it. He remembered the Devil's Snare section specifically, mostly because he'd thought it was a fascinating plant. And what boy wouldn't admire a plant that chokes the life out of all it comes across?
"The leaves, first of all. They are drooping slightly, and on most plants that signals a sign of aging. The color is also a dead giveaway. Can you see how it is a rather pale green, and even graying in places? Young Devil's Snare are very vivid in color, usually starting out as a deep, rich green and fading as it ages. And lastly, Professor, you do not keep it contained in any way, shape, or form. Had the plant posed a real threat to any of us it'd not be in this greenhouse at all. Old as it is, it is much akin to a cougar or lion without any teeth; a lot of bark, but very little bite."
Tom smiled at the professor, and he could see the thoughts rolling through her beady little eyes, wondering how she'd been shown up by a first year.
"Good, Mister Riddle. I see that at least one of you have managed to crack open a text book this summer. Ten points to Slytherin." Her words were curt, and she swiftly turned to walk back to the front of the greenhouse, frowning as she did so. A shake of her head and she restarted her lesson.
"Teacher's pet," Dagon muttered good-naturedly to Tom. He grinned.
"Knickers," Tom muttered back. Dagon burst into laughter once more.