FAN FICTION AU AND TIME TRAVEL

Flipped

Summary

Female Harry Potter (Juniper) wins the war but the cost is too much so she performs a ritual and performs dimension travel after much research when she is 24. Her counterpart is Cordelia Faye Black, the daughter of Altair Black and Adelaide Malfoy. Has memories of both the worlds. Lives in France. When Juniper (Harry) seeps into consciousness, she is 14. Born on Beltane. Thus even though she is a girl, she has a high standing among the Blacks. Has gone to Beauxabatons for her first three years. Born on May 1, 1927. Start school in 1938. Goes to Hogwarts in 1942. Meets Tom Riddle. (Romance and power play)

Disclaimer: The characters and the world in the story belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not earning any profit from it.

Note: I have been a fanfiction reader for quite a lot of years before I gave this fic a shot, so if you see any ideas seeping in that I do not openly acknowledge, just let me know and I will add the credits. I have read too many to keep a track of them but I will try my best.

1) The idea of totems belongs to Catsarecool who is writing A Maurader's plan .

2) The basic idea of dimension travel comes from Hollow Thunder, Vital Lightning by Aariya07. You will see quite a few similarities in the first couple of chapters but it diverges after that.

3) Harry was born a girl as Juniper Anastasia Potter. Everything is as it is in canon except for her romances. This is not because I don't read slash or like it. You will see a lot of them in my favorites but because I don't think that I could do justice to that genre and because I want to do this. If you do not like such fics, do not read. Please do not flame. I will welcome criticisms, I know I am not perfect, just don't meaninglessly bash me for nothing.

4)This is a gender bender. I will bend gender roles like clay, considering it is based in 1940s. :D


For your references

"Talk"

"Thought"

"Parseltongue"


This chapter is dedicated to Alan Rickman. May he live in our memories 'Always'.


PREVIOUSLY

As Cordelia approached the circle of all heirs, she saw that Renatus was the only one supporting Riddle. For the first time, Cordelia was grateful to that jackass.

.

.

.

Cordelia thought furiously and cleared her throat to get their attention. They all turned to her expectantly, "I understand that there is some misunderstanding here."

The lyrics of music of 'Smells like teen spirit' buzzed in her head.

Load up on guns, bring your friends
It's fun to lose and to pretend
She's over bored and self assured
Oh no, I know a dirty word.

She internally smirked, "This is going to be good."


Chapter 3: Frost and baskets.

Tom's POV

He was quietly reading in his room when there was a knock on his door. His court knew better than to disturb him in this wee hour of night unless it was an emergency. The probability of that happening was negligible, therefore this intrusion annoyed him to no end, especially after that conniving witch's act in the court meeting.

"Enter." He called out frostily.

The door opened gently with all the courtesy that any sane and normal person should have but none in the entirety of Hogwarts did. It was not one of his courtiers, the opening would have been hesitant and scared otherwise.

It was Cordelia. "How surprising?" Especially since it was so late in the night and she was a girl in the boys' dorm.

Though there was something different about it, her usual smile was absent. Her expression was unreadable, and looked a tad bit frosty. It reminded him, well of himself. But Cordelia though comparable to him in power and abilities, was not as cold as him. She was emotional, she cared for people and she always smiled and made people feel better about themselves, as far as he had gotten to know her. That cold look didn't suit her."

"May I?" She asked in a clipped tone. As a courtesy, Riddle noted, not because she was afraid of him.

He inclined his head, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms. Black?" He offered the same courtesy. Unlike their hippogriff incident, she did not look amused at his attempt for banter.

"For someone who wishes to control the pureblood circles, you know quite less about them than you need to. Family is everything. Honor is everything, Loyalty is everything. And even though they are traits particularly thought of as belonging to Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, the Slytherins and Ravenclaws do not by any means lack it. You ought to remember that before threatening to harm the daughter of one of the Ancient and Noble Houses in front of the other sons and daughters of the same house. My cousins did not take it otherwise, at least not all of them. They are devoted but the rest of the circle will. Heir of Slytherin or not, you are promoting antipathy between family business. Most Lords and Heirs will not take the discord lightly. You lost composure because you were angry at me and you are seething right now as well. As much as your attention flatters me, I would like to remind you that I am perhaps not worth the losses your indiscretions on my behalf will impose on you. The rest of the house is talking, it would serve you well if you regained control as soon as possible. I apologize for disturbing you at this wee hour. Have a good and ruminating night." She turned around and left.

"You are not going to threaten me back?" It slipped in a venomous tone, but the curiosity was there.

She stopped as she was opening the door again, "We are very alike, Mr. Riddle. You would not have made this error had you been brought up in our society. However, there is one difference, you consider me a potential enemy, whilst I do not. Rest assured, if you attack me, I will defend myself. But otherwise, I am more patient than you are in some aspects. I actually try to solve mysteries rather than despairing over their existence."

She inclined her head, the barest hints of her usual smile graced her lips and she left.

"That conniving little ... Cordelia Faye Black did not just see through his mask, she caused him to lose it."

But he saw her point, he had erred and sent out a wrong message. He could not ask for such devotion this early in their arrangement. As much as he hated her for being right, he knew that she was right. He spent the rest of the night scheming.


Tom's POV

The next day was busy for Riddle as he did damage control. Surprisingly, the damage was not as bad as he was thinking, the Slytherins were willing to give him a chance.

It confused him to no end. Only one person had been unpredictable to him till now, and that was Cordelia and now the entire house was not responding as it should have.

The gears of his brain whirred and he realized that she had intervened not just with him, but perhaps with the rest of the house as well .

He called on Abraxas who looked a little wary.

"Abraxas, what exactly did your cousin say to the rest of the house?"He asked without preamble,

"My lord, she never spoke a word against you. She was not even angry that you wanted to take actions against her…"Abraxas begun explaining.

"That's not what I asked," Riddle cut him off, irritated that his courtier had immediately presumed that he was accusing Cordelia. "Had he been so open and juvenile with his anger?"

"She deduced the argument after people started talking, then she said that you were right to be wary of her as she was an unknown variable in the scheme of things and that she did not hold any precautionary step that you take against her to be anything but cautiousness. Then she chastised all of the house about the lack of loyalty and the obvious dissonance all displayed and said that it was no surprise to her that you did not take the circle's word about her trustworthiness because they themselves were not trustworthy for their lord. But she also said that if you were waiting for her to bow to you, then that is not going to happen anytime soon, she said and I quote, "we are both evaluating each other." And then went on to say that the rest of the house did not share her privilege as you had already proved yourself to them and said that the house should face the fact that perhaps nobody above fourth year could hold a chance against you, much less anyone below," Abraxas replied rapidly.

Riddle was astonished but he swiftly nodded and thanked Abraxas for the details. "So Cordelia Black had done the damage control for him, after he threatened to harm her. This did not add up."

He would have expected it out of people who wanted his favor, or were afraid of him. He did not think Cordelia wanted anything from him, and she sure as hell was not scared of him. She had chastised him, for Morgana's sake. She did not want to usurp his position as well. She could have easily done it last night, the crowd would have swayed towards her after the blunder he had committed. Or she was lulling him into a false sense of security by being nice and helping towards him. But somehow his mind did not agree with that conclusion. He was missing something crucial.

He got out of the common room, and begun walking in no particular direction to clear his thoughts.


Cordelia's POV

Cordelia had a nice and enlightening second week at Hogwarts, with all the classes and the banter with Riddle and even the last night's meeting and interference with the court. Tom Riddle was cold and calculating but there was hope for him yet. She agreed with him that things needed to change, the division between light and dark was cumbersome, the standards of education were not as good as they should have been, and wizards and witches underestimated the influence of muggles.

She had studied a lot about the brewing World War back as Juniper and now as Cordelia. She wondered how Tom was faring, living in the muggle London in the middle of a financial and security crisis. The robes hid it but he was thin, too thin, as thin as June became when she went to the Dursleys. She was worried about him but did not know how to resolve the issue without giving herself away.

"Baby steps", she reminded herself. He needed to trust and consider her his equal before anything else. "How ironic?" She mused.

She was determined to be his first friend. She turned back to her book, even though she had a sleepless night and was tired.


Tom's POV

Tom found Cordelia in the library, pouring over a book of runes, sitting on the bench with her legs outstretched on the table, lazily twirling one of her curls sticking out from a loose bun, with a quill.

She did not look up from the book.

Normally this would have made Tom very angry, today it just mildly irritated him.

"You can sit, you know, it's a free country," Cordelia said lightly without looking up from her book. Tom narrowed his eyes and stayed on his feet.

She shut the book one minute later, taking too long in Tom's opinion and pulled her feet down to sit properly and resting her elbows on the desk and looked at him expectantly.

"My apologies Mr. Riddle, The rune Sowilo is a fascinating read and I had just started in on an interesting bit, forgive me. Please sit. How may I be of any assistance?" She gave a small smile. It wasn't cheery, but it wasn't hostile either. That surprised Tom. He also realized that she looked tired, perhaps from all the damage control she did last night. He took a seat from across her.

And with a start, he realized that he had been trying to find her on a whim. He would not thank her, even though he was grateful. "What would he talk about?"

"Why the interest in Sowilo?" He asked.

"My cousins are not good informers if they haven't yet told you that I read absolutely anything that I can lay my hands on." She said, her smile becoming slightly wider, but she looked tired. This bothered Tom.

"They did tell me that, but something tells me they don't know you that well to provide me with the truth." He said in his charming, soft voice.

"Well, you could always ask me!" She raised her both brows with a wide smile, her eyes sparkling as if his admission delighted her.

"I think I will." Tom Riddle said, a new hopeful light entering his eyes as he looked at her, "Tell me Ms. Black, why did you lie to me the first day?"

"I am afraid you will have to tell me the lie Mr. Riddle for me to answer that truthfully…"Her smile did not go. In fact, she looked smug.

"So you have lied to me?" He raised a brow.

"Haven't you lied to me? Or omitted truth? Or deceived me? I assure you for survival in this place and circle, we all have lied at some point. However, I would not have done it deliberately just for your sake. Ask away," Her eyes had steel and a new fire now.

"And how do I trust that? You can lie again." Riddle pointed out astutely.

"Well, you don't." She easily said then continued after a pause, "But if you want to, it is called a leap of faith. I can honestly say that I have done nothing to add to your distrust. I was my normal, cheeky yet quiet, cryptic self. I have always been like that. Ask others in your circle if you don't take mine or my cousins' word over it. Do you wish that I behave differently? And will you offer me the same courtesy? That is, leaving behind your charming mask each time you talk to me? Each one of us has a mask, even you. What makes the two of us stand out in the crowd is our ability to see beyond it. You cannot just demand people to get rid of it. That's tyranny not skill." Her tone was a bit succinct.

"Very well, Ms. Black," His expression betrayed nothing but he looked amiable and he was surprised that he wasn't furious with her. He had to give it to her, she made sense constantly, "Would you please answer one query that I have then?" Riddle looked at her.

She nodded her head but her expression was guarded. Tom realized that he was not off the hook.

"You said that Hogwarts is more advanced. And yet I see you acing through every single class. Why did you deceive me?" Riddle looked at her with a slight accusation.

"I said the course material of Hogwarts is a bit more advanced in some subjects. That is why I questioned which subjects held you back so that I could write home and ask for books on more advanced material in case I didn't have the books. Abraxas and others were not very helping in that. Hogwarts is a light school with certain specialties, and as I said Beauxabatons is a tad bit frivolous for my taste. I never said that Hogwarts was advanced for me, merely better in some aspects of the curriculum from Beauxabatons. You made your own assumptions about me." She clarified, expressing her shock at his ludicrousness.

Tom was instantly reminded of her wording that day. She was speaking the truth. She technically had not lied, but she had left him under a false impression, whether deliberately or not, he was not sure. He was thinking hard and did not say must have seen him frown as he contemplated about how he had not seen the verbal difference in her speech. "Had he made certain assumptions about her, just because she was a woman?"

Then she looked at him as if he was an interesting specimen of something, "You know I would appreciate it if you do not treat me with such hostility, Mr. Riddle. It is unwarranted. And though, I understand your need to evaluate and test me, for instance I do enjoy the mind games that we play, I absolutely detest your attitude towards me. Forgive me if I am a bit curt, I do not expect you to treat me like some kind of royalty like others do, but I think I have proven myself sufficiently to be treated as a human and not an opponent on a chess field. Good Day, Mr. Riddle!" She got up in a jiffy and had marched out with her book before Riddle could blink.

For some reason, her anger amused Riddle. The soft spoken Black had a fiery side. Even last night, even though her words were laced with anger, she had not lost her composure or courtesy. This talk told him that he could not push her around. It also startled him. He decided to give it more thought.

He was done with the homework, so he went to search and explore the school for any sign of the Chamber of secrets.

It was in wee hours of evening that he made his way back to common room. It was odd, Cordelia was absent.

The Blacks were composed but he could sense their worry. Abraxas was absent too. Before he could ask Orion the matter, Renatus Lestrange had made way to him. Tom tuned out his flattery which went on for a few minutes and ignored the unsubtle accusations flung at Cordelia about what had 'actually' went down last night. If he believed Renatus, then it was him who had saved the day. Tough luck that Tom knew the influence and brain of Lestrange and also the fact that such intricate work was beyond him. He was still distracted though, his mind wandering to Cordelia.

Dorea came to the common room, looking a little pale.

"How is she?" Alphard asked in a whisper urgently.

"What is the matter?" Tom intervened before Dorea could reply.

They looked conflicted.

Tom raised a brow. His mind immediately went to how exhausted Cordelia had looked.

"What is wrong with Cordelia?" He asked again.

"Not her, my lord, Lucretia, she had an argument with Ignatius Prewett. I didn't think you would be interested in a lovers' spat. Cordelia is out with Abraxas." Dorea informed quickly.

Riddle's shoulders sagged in relief as he realized that Cordelia was fine but he immediately realized the affect she was having on him. He gave a brisk nod and left to his room.


Tom's POV

Cordelia was cordial to him for the next week but she never talked to him directly. He ignored her presence as well. He was getting antsy about her as she occupied his almost every thought, he was unable to decipher her. So, he decided to just stay away for a little while. But he did not have to stay away because she ignored his existence.

It was on a Friday when the sun had just begun receding that he returned to his room to collect his potions book after classes, only to find a majestic Black Owl waiting for him. He could not comprehend the situation hence he tilted his head to check if he was seeing it correctly.

He never received letters, except for Hogwarts' course lists each summer. His courtiers had not been rewarded with Tom's address for security reasons. Tom did not trust them.

But he took a step towards the owl and found that it was not a letter at all. It was a shrunken basket, just like the one Cordelia had received last week. He was about to pick it up when he stopped.

He then, hesitantly, threw several diagnostic charms at it and several dark detection spells but nothing stood out. Well, his first instinct had not been to check it for harm. He didn't think that she would do that to him. Where his confidence came from, he had no idea.

He expanded the basket, it was slightly smaller than the one Cordelia received and unlike hers, this was not an a la carte, it was predominantly the plain chocolate raspberry cakes that she had served him and then a little of some other stuff. There was her favorite Treacle tart. She had marked it with names, blueberry cheesecake, some french macaroons, a walnut tart, a red velvet cake and some muffins and cupcakes and there was a neatly tied scroll with a purple silk ribbon.

He took the scroll and gingerly opened it.

There was no salutation, but it read,

Thank you for making me feel welcome this term at Hogwarts.

With lots of love,

Cordelia Faye Black.

P.S. I have more if you want any more of this.

It was not formal, it did not bear the crest of the house of black and she had used 'with lots of love' in her signature for Morgana's sake. Cordelia Faye Black was perhaps the most bizarre person he had ever met in life.

He picked up his textbook, spared a glance to the basket and made way to the common room.

He saw a lot of baskets, even her own cousins had received it. Their female year mates were also giggling with baskets in their hands, Rosier was munching a giant muffin and Zabini was devouring a macaroon while moaning about how delightful it was.

So, she had not singled him out. Tom did not know how to think about that.

He thought of going to the library but changed midway to go the lake. He had to mull about that girl.

He was walking leisurely, looking at the ground.

"You may fall in the lake if you don't look up sooner." A musical, amused but curt voice filled his ears and he looked up to find his eyes drowning in her deep, green pools. She looked away.

Then he gathered himself and took note of his surroundings. The lake looked magnificent and he was mere seven steps away from it. There was a mild breeze and the sky had a thick cloud cover and he could make out the last saffron lights of the receding sun. A few books and parchments lay on grass with a discarded robe and then his eyes took in the form of Cordelia. She stood at the bank of the lake in a skirt, reaching till half her knee, a white blouse and a thin Cardigan over it. She was looking at the lake with her arms wrapped around her torso.

"Thank you for the basket." He said, not understanding what else to say.

Her amusement rose at that.

"You are welcome." She said graciously, "but I would be even happier if you actually ate the desserts."

"Why wouldn't I?" He questioned softly. He realized he had not liked her absence this past week.

She raised a questioning brow. He raised his in response.

"Well, considering that you seem to think that everything I do is to harm you, I assumed that you would just throw the package away deeming it poisoned." She kept her tone composed, but he could feel her ire even then.

"If you thought that, then why did you even bother to send it?" He shot back.

"You may be paranoid and irritating Mr. Riddle but that does not change the fact that your company keeps the boredom away. A Black always reciprocates in kind. You made the transition enjoyable, I offered my gratitude. Now it is up to you to accept or discard it." She said in the same tone with a tinge of sharpness.

"To be honest, the thought of poison had never crossed my mind. I was too busily engaged with the casualty of the missive." He admitted, his lips twitching. He had missed the banter.

"Well then, I warned you now. You would better keep a bezoar handy." She said in a clipped tone ignoring his comment about the casualty, turned around and started to pick up her parchments.

"Not really, I do not think that you could poison me," Riddle said in a smug tone.

"Believe me, Mr. Riddle, there are certain poisons that for them even Slughorn cannot concoct up an antidote. I could easily poison you." Cordelia's tone was very sharp, and her eyes blazoned with fury.

"My apologies, I did not word it properly. I did not mean that you do not have the ability to poison me. I merely meant that you would not do it to me." Tom said, suppressing his surprising mirth.

"Oh why? You honor me, Mr. Riddle, such trust! I did not think you had the ability in you." Cordelia shot back. She still looked annoyed.

"I admit this is my first time practicing it." He said softly.

"Well, how is it suiting you then?" Her tone lost the sharpness but was still a bit skeptical.

"Depends..."Riddle said with mischief back in his voice, "on if you are continuing on keeping me company to thwart your boredom."

"Your charm is fallible in front of me, Mr. Riddle. You forget, we are too alike." Cordelia raised a brow, but her lip twitched a little.

"Very well then!" Riddle trailed off as a snowy white owl swooped down in front of Cordelia and offered its leg.

"Amara!" Cordelia's lips stretched into a full blown smile as she stroked her feathers, the owl settled on her arm and nibbled on her fingers. She gently took the letter off.

"Uncle Hyperion!" She murmured softly. She opened it and gingerly read the contents and her smile, if possible grew wider and wider.

"Yippee!" She again murmured triumphantly.

"You look mighty pleased." Riddle could not help but comment.

"Oh, I am. I cannot believe that none of my cousins ever complained about Binns .A ghost is fine by me but all he yaps about is the goblins, as if he has an agenda against them. I researched on his family name. Turns out one Binnsons was the number one enemy of the goblins in 1560s, probably an ancestor of our Binns. I compiled the information and sent it to Uncle Rion, Abraxas' Dad, and asked if he could dig more. Turns out that Binnsons became too blood thirsty, so much that the ministry who had hired him in the first place stripped him of all honor and wealth. The family fled somewhere and changed their names but Uncle managed to trace back the family tree and bang, we have a culprit of propaganda within our school." She filled him in, her eyes lit with excitement.

Riddle stayed still for a bit, "That is good investigative work, what do you plan to do now?"

"Well, I was going to consult you, of course. You are the Slytherin king and you are establishing your base. I didn't want to come out as a usurper. I had one plan of action. Quite a few of my family is board of governors. Almost the entire dark faction consists of them and the neutral like me well enough. We could pass on the information to them. As for the light faction, we merely need to spread rumors. They are all about equality, as misguided their notion is, they will not accept discrimination. If all the board of governors pressurize Dippet, then then he will have to fire Binns. It will have to be done carefully and gradually, but if executed well, he should be sacked by the end of term, latest by this school year's end. So, what do you propose should be done with information? I mean if you actually want him sacked considering none of my cousins protested. But you possibly could not be satisfied with such lies in the name of education?" She looked at him hopefully and her last bit was entirely a question.

Riddle looked at her, "I know you do not want to usurp me. You could have easily done it when you entered Hogwarts. Though I cannot claim to know 'why are you nice to me when you do not need to be'. You are not bound by oaths, nor do you fear me. What is stopping you from outing me to all the family heads that you seem to have direct correspondence with? Yet, you have not. So, Ms. Black I do trust you but I am wary of what I do not know. And you and I both know and understand that my wariness is not unwarranted. You might not wish me harm but being careful is a precaution. As for Binns, I read books from Library, your cousins preferred sleeping, and I did not plan anything about it because I was occupied in establishing my power base. Your idea has merit, and I appreciate that you shared the information with me, even though you were not obligated to. If it is not too much trouble, I would like to contribute to the planning, along with my lieutenants. "He spoke in a composed, yet humble tone.

And she rewarded him with a smile, not a beam, not a smirk, a full blown smile, wider and happier than the one she had given to her owl and that strangely that made Riddle's stomach a bit uneasy. In that moment, Tom knew that he was forgiven.

"Thank you, I won't let you down." She murmured softly, taking a step closer, and giving him a soft smile.

Somehow, Riddle felt that she was not talking about Binns anymore.

"So…"She turned around and began chattering away and they sat and talked by the lake for a long time.


Third Person POV

"For instance, Sowilo is a protection rune. If we draw it, the wearer will be protected, but I was thinking of an alternative, what if you do a protective ritual, will the rune appear on itself. It has to, wizards and witches cannot have copied the runes, somebody either gave the meaning to the rune in the past or they understood the meaning through earth magic. I wish I could find more about these rituals, I have been unable to find good books about this, and this is frustrating to the least…" Cordelia was speaking passionately and then she huffed. They both were sitting by the lake on the grass with their legs outstretched as they casually talked about anything and everything.

Tom looked amused and he let out a light chuckle, "Happens with me too, the arcane pieces of magic are so fascinating. Too bad they are frowned upon now."

"Only in Britain and parts of Europe, actually. The Ministries are too afraid of temperamental pieces of magic, so they started a hidden anti-dark stance in 1789 under the leadership of a fool. What I am afraid is that it is going to get worse…what with Grindelwald killing people right and left in the name of dark." She sighed.

"You do not agree with his stance." He asked carefully, his expressions stoic.

She gave him a wary glance, "And my opinion matters because..."

"I am curious." He admitted.

"I am not a fool Mr. Riddle, I know you dislike Muggleborns, you agree with Grindelwald in some sense, what you want to know is if I agree with you." She gave him an 'I know you well' look and then looked ahead at the lake. "I am a wild card in your scheme of things. Although you dislike Grindelwald too. Perhaps because he is competition, but more likely, you do not agree with his methods. "She intoned and crossed her legs, "No, I do not believe in the ideology of greater good. I believe that people have an intrinsic value that should be respected and though I agree that Muggles are a threat, my ideas on dealing with it are in regards to precaution and defense rather than offense. I hold no grudge against muggle born except the fact that they are stirring us away from true nature of magic with their religious beliefs. I wish we could change their mentality. But I also wish the same for the purists. As a society, we are stagnant, the nobility and the magic are dying, people are forgetting magic, seeking honor in frivolities and gold and stature rather than magic. We need a revolution, a much needed change issued on both sides of dark and light, if there are any sides to magic. To me it is one entity, I am not selective about what kind of magic I support or practice. It is the intent that matters. Does that answer your query?" She breathed deeply, looking at him again.

"You differ from your cousins." He commented lightly.

She just smiled and nodded, "I do, partly. They would never come near Muggles and they would never see the folly of purists. They are still so innocent, makes me wonder all the time."

Riddle 's eyes looked amused at the jab on her cousins and his lips twitched but he refrained from smiling.

Off a sudden, a light alarm blared from Cordelia's wand.

"Curfew," She muttered, looking beyond, "We missed dinner, there are fifteen minutes left to curfew." She hastily got up, "Come on."

"You have put up alarms to alert you of curfew." Riddle's voice was incredulous.

"Believe me, if you missed curfew as much as I did, you would put up alarms too. I don't fancy getting a detention and unfortunately, I lose track of time too often. Eventually, I learned the joys of alarm and reminder charms." She shot back.

"Lose track of time, how?" He looked curious.

"My dear Mr. Riddle, have you ever been introduced to the fascinating and invigorating world of books? I am sure you have, which is why I do not understand the purpose of the query." She said sarcastically.

"No need to be so caustic." Tom chastised.

"I am not being caustic Mr. Riddle. On the contrary, this is me displaying trust in you." She looked amused.

He raised a brow.

"I am dropping the niceties and protocol." She explained.

He rolled his eyes. He actually did that and then he blinked as if he could not believe his own childish move and Cordelia let out a chuckle, "It is nice to be human once in a while, trust me." She softly muttered.


No cliffies, Yay!

Next up will be another interlude.

Thank you everyone, to those who followed and favorited.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I usually respond to reviews through PMs until it is a guest reviewer.

If you have any ideas or queries, feel free to PM me or leave a review. If I can't give you a clear cut response, I usually make changes to the story so that your questions are answered.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Have a great weekend and week.