Disclaimer: All characters recognized in the Harry Potter books are under copyright of J.K Rowling. The characters Fortunata Flatterwock, Rosa Bishop, Danielle Barnes, Frances Bishop, Neil Bishop, Scott Bishop, Sheila Barnes, Deborah Hart, Richard Prewett, Regen Powis, Jess Duisternis and Drew Trocken belong to me.

-oOo-

Chapter 2 – Keeping Secrets

Getting up from the Slytherin table, he scooped up his History of Magic books and began to make his way out of the Great Hall to the classroom. Secretly he was dreading this lesson, as it bored him to tears. However, he was one of the star students of that subject, so it wouldn't be wise to earn some extra sleep, even though the idea was very tempting.

He was just about to turn into the corridors when he heard a sound coming from a dark corner, sounding echoed and faint as it reflected off the walls, but there was no mistaking what it was.

It was someone crying; and from the sound of it, it was a girl.

Frowning, he wandered over to the shadowed crook where the sobbing was coming from, peering in and seeing a fifth year student, about the same age as him, squatting against the wall with her head buried in her hands.

"Why are you crying?" he asked her curiously, stepping closer.

She quickly darted her head up, tears still running down her cheeks. Her pale blue eyes lit up despite the darkness as she stared at him in shock. "What? Who...I mean – " she stammered as she gazed back at him.

He sighed patiently. "I said, why are you crying?" he repeated, although this time his tone was a little kinder. "Are you all right?"

She sniffed, rubbing her wet eyelids with the back of her hand. Her sight suddenly fixated on the floor as she shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "Yes, I'm fine," she murmured bitterly. "I'll be just fine."

"Liar," he chuckled teasingly, a small grin forming across his face. "Come on, you can tell me. I won't mind."

This time, instead of replying, the girl stood on her feet and stepped out of the shadows, picking up her bag from the floor and whirling around, beginning to storm down the corridor. "Well, you would be like this as well if you were me!" she choked.

"Wait!" he called out, taking off after her and managing to catch up, grasping hold of the sleeve of her robes gently. "Don't walk away like that! It can't be that terrible, can it?"

She spun on her heel, eventually looking straight at him. It was then that he saw her face properly. Her long, dark auburn hair shaped her face delicately, and flowed over her shoulders, almost covering her Ravenclaw badge on her robes. Her eyes were like ice tinted with sapphire, rimmed with crimson, and her pale face was streaked with tears.

"Obviously, it can," he added in a hush, travelling his gaze over her miserable expression and her depressed eyes. "Are you sure you're all right? You look really upset – "

"Well, I am!" she hiccupped, brushing her hair away from her damp face. "It's only my first week back here, and she's starting on me already!"

He darted his eyes around, finally resting them on her. "Who is?"

"Essie, my friend," she explained, adjusting the strap over her shoulder and staring at the ground. "She doesn't mean it, but...somehow manages to say things that really hurt me. I wish she would just think about what she wants to say before she says it."

He nodded understandably. "Yeah, I know the type." A small smile broke out across his face and he held out his hand to her in a friendly gesture. "I'm Tom Riddle," he introduced. "Slytherin."

Hearing his words, she suddenly realised what he had just said. Her eyes fixed onto him, looking up and down at his thick ebony hair, his muddy green eyes and his Slytherin robes, a silver prefect badge also gleaming from the inside of the black uniform. She opened her mouth to say something, but found that all words were lost. Her hand didn't move.

He raised an eyebrow. "And you are...?"

"Oh, sorry!" She tossed her hair behind her shoulders and shook his hand, her cheeks turning scarlet from embarrassment. "I'm Princesa Ozean, I'm in Ravenclaw," she replied, attempting to beam behind her tears.

"Yes, I noticed," he said, pointing to her crest on the corner of her robes, showing the symbol of a blue and silver logo with a bronze eagle in the centre. "Princesa Ozean, hmm?" he smiled. "I'll have to remember that one. Rather an unusual name..."

She laughed. "It's not British, if that's what you mean. It's from my mother's side of the family, you see...she's Spanish, she wanted me to have a name from her country." She glanced away, slightly feeling that she was saying too much. "It, erm...it means 'Princess'."

Tom smirked, raising his eyes to the ceiling and then back down again. "Well, I'd almost guessed that," he chuckled, not moving his eyes from hers. Then he looked suspicious. "Why did you look so surprised when I told you my name?"

"Oh," Princesa said, biting her lip. "It's just...I mean, it's something that I've thought to myself all year – not just from what others say but from encounters and such, that...well, I mean, when you told me you were in Slytherin, I just...I don't know, thought that you were just like the others – I didn't mean any offence!" she added quickly, noticing the look of disbelief on the boy's face.

He rolled his eyes. "Ah, I see," he muttered, looking rather solemn. "And what made you think that all Slytherin's are as awful as you claim them to be?"

"Well," she stumbled, feeling even more uncomfortable now that she had annoyed him. "You remember my friend whom I was telling you about? Essie? Well...she has a grudge against all Slytherin's really, she always has, ever since her first year, and...well, I have too really, because I've grown up noticing the way they behave, and..." she trailed off.

He scoffed. "She sounds like a fantastic friend," he grumbled sarcastically.

"What do you mean?"

"She tells you her view that all Slytherin's are nothing but trouble, yet here I am, living evidence that she's wrong," he pointed out, a dark frown seeming to cloud his brow. "And wasn't she the one that made you cry? What did she say to you, exactly?"

"Nothing," Princesa murmured inaudibly, twiddling her fingers.

"It must have been something if she made you as upset as you were," he replied sensibly.

She moaned in defeat. "Oh, all right – I'll tell you," she snapped. "If you must know, she said some rather horrible things, including the fact that she shot my family back in my face, I mean...I can't help it if I'm an only child! It's not my fault, and she knows that I've always envied her for having a sister, and yet whenever we argue she throws that trollop in my face!"

He blinked. "Oh, right."

"Sorry," she apologised, struggling to calm herself down. "I mean, why would she do that? If she knows how much it upsets me, why the hell does she keep bringing it up?"

He shrugged, suddenly getting a mysterious mask flow across his face. "Some people can be like that sometimes. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel." A small breeze blew through the hallway, creating a sudden chill. Princesa noticed how his eyes seemed to portray a little pain when he said that sentence.

"Yeah," she whispered slowly, feeling rather sorry for him. He looks like he's had problems too, she thought. She was about to say something encouraging to him when the bell suddenly sounded around the school, announcing the start of their first lesson.

"Well, I'd better head off to History of Magic," declared Tom, holding his books close to his side with a tiny smile. "I don't want to be late."

She nodded, adjusting her bag to her shoulder with a shrug. "Me neither," she replied, returning his grin. "I've got Divination. I heard that if you're late this year then Professor Flatterwock puts a curse on you that glues your hands to your chair, so you have to sit on them all through the lesson!"

Tom chuckled. "Divination, consider yourself lucky. It has to be a lot more interesting than a class with Professor Binns." He groaned in boredom.

She giggled. "I can imagine!" Then, holding the strap of her bag to her arm, she beamed at him, her cheeks rosy. "It was nice meeting you, Tom," she said politely. "I'll see you later, maybe?"

"Yes, of course," he answered with a sly smirk, the mysterious glaze crossing over his face once again. "If you can find me." With that, he strolled past her and turned the corner, disappearing into the school's haunting corridors.

-oOo-

All of the fifth year students for their Divination class began to take their seats. A few Ravenclaws had arrived, as well as a few Gryffindors, whom they were taking the lesson with today. They found vacant chairs and began chatting to one another, waiting for the other students and Professor Flatterwock to arrive.

Esterella was already there, her space empty next to her. Sitting on the bench in front were Rosa Bishop, the girl whom she had spent the summer with (as well as Princesa), and Danielle Barnes, another one of her close friends whom she had known since her second year. Both girls were in Ravenclaw as well.

Esterella poked Rosa in the back with her index finger. "Oy!" she whispered.

"Ow!" Rosa cried out, turning around with an infuriated frown. "What!"

"Where's Princesa?" Esterella practically demanded, her face impatient.

The Ravenclaw threw her a dirty look. "I don't know, Essie," she retorted, spinning around in her seat again to face her crystal ball, staring intently into it. "Stop asking me!"

Rosa had been friends with Esterella and Princesa for a long time, getting to know them on the first day at Hogwarts. She was a Half-blood, as her mother, Frances Bishop, was a witch, and her father, Neil, was a Muggle. She also had an elder brother, Scott, who was a Gryffindor and was in his final year at the school. Rosa was very amiable and easy to talk to, with her friendly dark brown eyes and kind voice.

Since her second year, Danielle had been a wonderful companion to Esterella, especially when she had been going through rough times. Danielle was very sensible and empathetic, and often acted like a mother figure for her friends. She was a Half-blood as well, like Rosa, but her father had died last year, affecting her greatly, and all she had left in the world was her witch mother, Sheila. She had rather messy chestnut hair that fell to her back, and blue eyes that seemed to offer shades of comfort in times of dire need.

"That's the fourth time you've asked us, Essie," said Danielle, now facing her friend who was chewing her nail anxiously. "Where is she? I thought she was walking with you."

"So did I," mumbled Esterella, suddenly turning quite guilty. "But...well, we had a bit of a quarrel, and she stormed away from me. I tried to look for her, but couldn't find her anywhere."

Rosa slammed her head on the desk. "Oh, God, not another fight," she groaned.

"I'm sorry!" protested the girl in a shrill voice. "I honestly didn't mean to make her angry! You know what I'm like! Sometimes I just blurt out these things, and I don't mean them! I told her I was sorry...now she'll be cross with me for days." She slumped in her seat, pouting.

Just at that minute, they all looked up to see Princesa jog into the room, her auburn hair flying behind her as she stumbled in her seat next to Princesa, panting. "Hi!" she greeted, smiling at Rosa and Danielle. "Sorry, I got distracted." She placed her bag on the table and slid into her seat next to Esterella, without glancing at her.

The Ravenclaw leaned over to her friend, determined to clear things up once and for all. "Look," she started, as Princesa slammed her Divination books on the wooden desk and suddenly became interested in her tea leaves. "I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't mean to say that, Princesa. I was just angry...I was only playing about with Lucy, teasing her and...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say what I said – please look at me!" she added in a desperate tone, as the girl's response was to imagine that she was invisible.

Princesa only glared at her. "Oh, I'm sorry," she hissed. "Perhaps you realise now what it feels like to have your feelings hurt."

"My feelings aren't hurt!" Esterella retorted in confusion, laying her inky quill on the desk. "I'm not upset at all, I'm just trying to apologise to you! I said I was sorry, what more do you want!" Her temper was beginning to rise to boiling point again. She could feel blood pounding in her ears.

Princesa rolled her eyes and scoffed bitterly. "Oh, so you're not upset? Well, let me tell you something, if I were in your place then at least I would have the decency to be at least a little upset! I mean if you hadn't – !"

"Will you two please shut up!" Deborah Hart, a Gryffindor, growled, scraping the legs of her chair against the floor as she whirled around furiously, her face ablaze with frustration. "You're starting to drive me up the wall with your little argument!"

Esterella was just about to holler back a rude remark when the door creaked open, and Professor Flatterwock entered, brushing her jade green robes out from under her feet and brushing up her waist-length sleeves. "Quiet, please, class," she announced in her silvery, stern voice. "Please take out your wands and turn to page one hundred and three in your books."

Everyone snatched out their wands from the hems of their uniforms and laid them next to their inkwells and parchment, and eagerly flicked through to the correct page that was being asked for. They all respected Fortunata Flatterwock, with her mysterious, elegant nature and her enthusiasm towards the student's learning. She was also ethereally beautiful, with her long, silver hair and her twinkling grey eyes that seemed to shine despite their steely colour.

"Today, class," she announced, drawing a few little symbols on the board neatly. "We're going to be revising over a few things that we've covered last year, as I'm sure you would all wish to be fully prepared for your O.W.L.S that are coming up, am I right?"

A few groans and nods were her reply.

A tweak of a smile grazed her lips. "I thought as much." She ran her finger down a few lines of writing in her lesson book and looked up towards the students sitting in the class. "We shall start off with an easy question: who can tell me what three star signs are associated with the element air?"

A moment of silence occurred before a boy in Gryffindor with thick, shoulder-length brown hair raised his hand.

Flatterwock darted her eyes onto him, like an eagle spotting her prey. "Yes, Richard?"

"They are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius," Richard stated clearly, his dark green eyes firmly focused on the teacher as he gave his answer.

With a nod of her head, Professor Flatterwock continued: "Well done, Mr Prewett, ten points to Gryffindor house. Now, can anyone tell me the three star signs that are associated with fire?"

This time, it was Esterella's turn to shoot her hand up in to the air. If there was any creature that she loved more than any other in the world, it was the dragon, so she was incredibly interested in the fire element. She knew almost everything about them. "Aries, Leo and Sagittarius," she answered, with a tiny grin of satisfaction.

"Very good, Miss Jewell! Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

Richard turned around from his desk and glanced over at Esterella with a smile of congratulation on his friendly face. Esterella beamed back, her cheeks flushing a little.

"Now," went on Flatterwock, clapping her hands together. "Who can name the – "

She was suddenly cut short by the door being shoved open abruptly, and a fifth year boy entered, grasping his books that were almost slipping from his fingers. His chestnut hair was lightly messy, and the shoulder of his robe was pulled down and hanging there. He gave the teacher a sorry look with his light brown eyes as he caught his breath again.

"Mr Powis, you're late for the class," said Flatterwock in a stern voice, her eyes boring through him.

"I'm sorry, Professor," he apologised, tidying his hair a little, noticing that a few students in the class were sniggering at him behind their books. "I-I was sidetracked. It won't happen again."

She raised her eyebrows and drummed her fingers on the desk impatiently. "I would hope not," she muttered in an icy tone, picking up her quill and writing something onto a piece of parchment. "I'm afraid I will have to deduct two house points from Ravenclaw house for your lack of punctuality. Please take your seat."

With a sigh of indignation, the boy slumped into his seat with an exasperated look on his face. He felt the sudden urge to knock his tea leaf mug over but fought it back, instead clenching his teeth and murmuring the word: 'Damn,' under his breath.

With their noses bent in books and quills fervently scratching away on parchment, the class poured over their studies and crammed in information that would be vital for their exams in the months to come.

Danielle prodded the late arrival across her desk with an incensed glare on her face. "So, Regen," she began coldly. "Where have you been exactly?"

Regen cupped his forehead in his palm. "Sorry, I had problems."

Rosa frowned. "Problems?"

"Jess Duisternis!" Regen declared, raising his hands in mock surprise, dropping his quill onto his parchment and leaving a giant blob. "I don't see what she gets from what she does! Once she blocks you in the corridor it would take a spear to get her out of the way! In fact," he added with noticeable zest, "Make that ten spears. She might recover."

Esterella shrugged. "I don't see what's so wrong with her, for a Slytherin, she's not so bad."

Princesa shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Not so bad?" came the voice of Drew Trocken, the Ravenclaw boy who was sitting next to Regen. "Yeah, that's easy for you to say – you're a girl!" He raked his fingers through his thick, red hair and made the impression he was gouging his eyes out.

Jess Duisternis was a Slytherin fifth year who loved to tease with the boys in her year, especially if they weren't in her house. She had long, curly burgundy locks that flowed down to her shoulders and brought out her blue eyes, making her very attractive. The female students didn't have a problem with her and some thought her rather friendly when she was in a good mood, but the boys were a little more cautious as she loved to flirt with them...in her own special way.

"Oh, come off it!" sighed Danielle, rolling her sapphire eyes. "You two are pathetic, she was probably just wanting to talk to you!"

Drew rolled his topaz eyes. "Well, that's a new definition of talking!" He continued working from his book again after receiving a click of the tongue from Rosa.

Princesa said nothing as she scribbled away, trying not to look at Esterella. What was that her friend had just said? 'For a Slytherin, she's not so bad'. She knew that the Ravenclaw didn't appreciate the house very well. She thought them all the same: despicable, annoying and cruel. She sighed, suddenly thinking about her encounter in the corridor and the new friend she had made.

I shan't tell anyone about Tom, she told herself as she wrote. Especially not Essie, she'll think I'm stupid as always. No, he'll be my little secret.