Yasmina took a deep breath of fresh air. God, she adored Hogsmeade. The little houses and the small shops gave a fairy-tale look to the village. Admittedly, under the cold October rain, it was a little less appealing than in winter, but still. It was lovely.

Behind her, Hadrian and Mary were walking hand in hand. Since she was alone for the day, Hadrian had invited her to join the two of them. Eve had a date with a seventh-year Ravenclaw while Thomas had asked a sixth-year Gryffindor out. The three of them had left for the village right after lunch. They were now wandering the streets, but since it was raining, they spent more time inside the shops than actually outside.

Yasmina nodded to an auror who was walking in front of Honeyduke before pushing the door open. During the afternoon, they had met several of them patrolling the little streets of the village. It wasn't really surprising – after the disastrous attack of Grindelwald on the Ministry of Magic two weeks ago, security was improved everywhere in the United Kingdom. The explosion in London resulted in the death of 26 people, including the vice-minister. Some Aurors were now posted at Hogwarts because just as Yasmina's father predicted, it was now considered a target. Fortunately, Grindelwald hadn't made any more attacks since the Ministry.

The wondrous smell of the shop made her instantly forget about the raging war outside, obliterating her worries. Grindelwald fell on the back of her mind, immediately replaced by homemade chocolate. The colorful shelves were eye-catching, and she wandered, lost in her thoughts, her fingers softly touching the products on display.

"Do you want some Jelly slugs?" Hadrian asked, suddenly next to her. Lost in her contemplation, she hadn't heard him coming.

Yasmina wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ew, no. Do you really eat these?" She went in another row and found delicious homemade fudge instead. Now we're talking. Honeyduke was without question her favorite shop in the whole village.

The three Gryffindors stayed for almost twenty minutes in the store. Yasmina paid and waited for her friends near the entrance. The shop was packed. Hadrian came to her while Mary was waiting in line. "What did you buy?"

The Head girl took a happy look into her bag. "I have Chocoballs filled with strawberry mousse, sugar quills, treacle fudge, some toffees, chocolate frogs, and a chocolate wand. Oh, I also got bubble gum."

"Knowing you, that might be only for this weekend, right?"

She playfully pushed him away. "You know that will last for at least a week."

When they got out Honeyduke, the cold autumn rain had turned into a veritable downpour. Fortunately, the pub wasn't far away. The three friends ran up to the Three Broomsticks and took refuge inside. They spotted a table near the chimney and sat down there, drying themselves with their wand.

Yasmina rose from her seat. "I'll go get us some butterbeers."

"At least, let me pay," Hadrian suggested while taking out a couple of coins from his pockets.

"Alright, thank you." The Head girl grabbed the coins he was handing her and went to the bar.

As soon as she left, she heard them whispering and she had a strong feeling that they needed to be alone for a while. She did not mind the long queue at the bar and warmly thanked the barmaid for adding a touch of whipped cream into her cup. When she sat back down, handing them their hot beverages, an awkwardness had appeared, although it was barely perceptible. She decided to take her beverage and go, leaving them with the sole company of each other. After all, she was indeed the third wheel in their date.

"Are you still coming tonight?" Hadrian asked her.

"Of course I am! I will probably be in the tower before you two since I plan on leaving soon."

"Come on, leaving already? At least have a couple of butterbeers with us." He insisted while Mary was drinking silently.

Yasmina tried to catch her attention, but her friend was avoiding her eyes. Mary was usually way more talkative, and it was clear that something was wrong. Hadrian was remarkably blind for a quidditch player.

"No. It's beef wellington for dinner tonight and I don't plan on missing it." Yasmina took a large sip of her hot butterbeer and looked around her for an opportunity to escape. Lyall Lupin was near them, but he was sitting with his fifth years Ravenclaw's friends and she didn't want to impose. She also noticed Thomas but his eyes were so subjugated by his date that joining them wasn't an option.

She met a glance thrown in her direction. The Head boy was sitting at a table with two of his Slytherins friends. He seemed highly amused by her distress, his gaze going back and forth between the couple and her. She rolled her eyes at him.

With a slight nod, he pointed to the free seat next to him. Yasmina shook her head. There was absolutely no way she was going to have a drink with him. He shrugged his shoulders and she was able to read "too bad" on his lips. The Head girl turned back to her friends just to notice that they were sharing a rather passionate kiss.

She looked away, taking a long sip of her butterbeer. "At this point, why not?" she mumbled, standing up. "I'll be right back," she said louder to her friends before walking away.

She could see the Head boy's satisfactory smile while she headed his way. He quietly told something to his friends and before she could join his table, the two other Slytherins stood up and left.

Yasmina sat down on the seat left by Avery and put her beer on the table. "Where did they go?"

"Flirting," he said, pointing at another table where three girls seemed incredibly pleased of being approached by them.

"Didn't you want to join them?" She mocked him and he only blinked, nearly bringing a laugh to her lips.

"Your case seemed more urgent."

"Thanks." They both took a glance at Hadrian and Mary, who seemed to be arguing. Mary's cheeks were red with anger and her boyfriend was nodding quickly. Yasmina frowned. "I don't know what's wrong with them. They aren't usually… like that."

"The girl is annoyed because Prewett wanted to spend the day with you instead of going on a date alone with her."

"What?"

"Well, he did invite you to join them today, didn't he?"

Hadrian had indeed invited her to join the two of them while they were waiting for Slughorn in potions. Mary wasn't there when he did. She had welcomed her with a smile today, but now that Yasmina was thinking about this, her smile didn't reach her eyes. "He did. But how can you possibly know all that? I did not take you for the gossiping type."

"That's called observation skills, Shafiq," he rectified. "She has watched you in irritation since you entered the bar because her dumb boyfriend was swooning all over you."

She finished her drink, staring at her friends in silence. She knew Hadrian had a thing for her, they had dated in fourth year and he was still flirting with her when they were alone. Yasmina liked him, but not enough to break his ideal relationship with Mary. She would have to talk to her to avoid unnecessary tensions within their group of friends. She would go to Mary tonight and tell her that Hadrian was simply a good friend.

"Stop watching them." The Slytherin put his hand on her forearm, making her head quickly turn towards him. "Do you want another drink?" He asked, letting go of her arm.

Did she? She was curious, she could not say otherwise. How was Tom Riddle, so far from school and books? What was the worst that could happen? She nodded and he raised two fingers at the level of his face. To Yasmina's astonishment, the barman hurried up to their table. "What can I bring you, Mr. Riddle?"

"We'll have a hot butterbeer and a strong black coffee."

Yasmina watched the man walk away. "I thought we needed to go to the bar to order. How long have they been waiting tables?"

He sat more comfortably on his seat, casually running a hand through his hair, slightly dishevelling them. "Oh, they're not."

Of course, people would do anything to please him, even outside of Hogwarts. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and he grinned charmingly. Even wearing his usual uniform, Riddle was looking more nonchalant than usual, almost approachable.

The barman came back with their beverages and left after Riddle had paid. Yasmina looked at his coffee with curiosity. "I wouldn't have taken you for a coffee type."

"It helps me keep up with my brain when I feel it's working too fast."

Humility was not one of his main features. "And does it happen often?"

His eyes shone with a playful glow. "Quite frequently, actually. Especially when I'm dealing with you."

He took a sip of his hot beverage without looking away from her. Then it hit her. Yasmina finally noticed what her friends were desperately trying to tell her in the past few weeks. Tom Riddle was flirting with her. Merlin. She almost choked on her butterbeer in consternation.

He was flirting with her. Tom Riddle, Head boy was flirting with her.

What the hell was wrong with him?

A month ago, he was violating her mind and now, he was paying her butterbeers and teasing her. Even if she tried to keep her mouth shut, she couldn't help it. That damn temper. It would be the end of her.

"Why are you flirting with me?"

He was visibly taken aback by her bluntness. But his astonishment left a mark for half a second on his face before he came back to his usual self. "I only bought you a butterbeer."

"I am not talking about the drink."

He paused, staring, thinking. Maybe his coffee wasn't strong enough to actually keep up with her. She almost smiled at how much time it took him to come up with an answer.

"Doesn't hurt to try."

She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by his easy answer. "Come on Riddle, you know I'm not that kind of girl that swoons all over you and would die for a wink. You perfectly know that your tricks won't work with me. You'd better try with someone else." She clinked her cup on his before gulping it down, hoping the burn of the beverage down her throat would somehow stop the frantic beating of her heart.

"Perhaps that's why Dippet named you Head girl. I told you, you are quite different." He said, his index tracing the patterns on the wooden table.

Now that she had realized that he was flirting with her, everything became so much clearer. His behavior over the past few weeks was now understandable. Strangely, he didn't seem upset about her rejection. It's like he knew what she would say. As soon as she put down her empty bottle on the table, the barman brought her another one. Before she could say anything else, two young men joined them.

"Looks like Tom's choice was better than ours," observed Theodore Lestrange before taking the seat next to her.

Avery sat on her left and let out a mocking snort. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Shafiq is way more demanding.

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Avery," Yasmina said ironically before her smile softened and she nodded at the other. "Hello Theodore."

"Yasmina."

It has been a while since she last talked with Theodore Lestrange. He eyed her at length, taking in all information he could on her by her appearance. Riddle cleared his throat, watching their interaction with visible curiosity. "First-name basis, are you?"

"Aren't you?" Theodore taunted. "Don't you live in the same apartment?"

"Shafiq wouldn't let me call by her first name. She doesn't think I deserve that honor," Riddle commented to her bewilderment. He looked at his friend. "How do you know each other? Pureblood family meetings I guess?"

The Head girl wanted to tell him to mind his own business but Theodore answered before she could open her mouth. "Yes, part of. Yasmina's family is very close to mine. We usually meet several times a year."

Riddle's voice was showing an evident interest. "Really?"

Only a few purebloods at school knew about the friendship between the Lestrange and the Shafiq. Both Theodore and Yasmina wanted to keep a low profile with this. As a proud Slytherin, Lestrange didn't want everybody to know that he was spending so much of his holidays with a renowned hothead Gryffindor. For her part, Yasmina wasn't fond of that "pureblood supremacy" and wanted to stay as far away from it as possible. Being part of the Sacred 28 without having to constantly prove that you weren't a supremacist was quite difficult.

She exchanged a look with him. "Come on, Theodore, we're not even friends anymore. Our parents were close at Hogwarts and that's why we see each other often. And that information is not common knowledge, Riddle, so keep your mouth shut."

Avery gulped down the rest of his Firewhisky. "Told you that she was demanding."

"Your father didn't think I was that demanding when he begged my father to let me marry you, Avery." Yasmina retorted with irritation.

Theodore laughed loudly whereas Riddle raised a brow. Avery sighed in exasperation. "That's low, Shafiq, even for you! You know that my father went behind my back for this."

"Really? Didn't you have any say in the matter?"

"Why do you ask? Do you?"

"Of course I do!" Yasmina glared at Avery in astonishment. "My father won't decide who I'll marry. My grandparents left Egypt decades ago to come to England because they wanted to live in modern times. They are back in Cairo, now, but only for business. You've met my grandmother; you know what she thinks about this."

Theodore hid his amused smile behind his drink. But Riddle seemed stunned by Yasmina's response. "Still, arranged marriages are quite commons to protect blood purity."

"Not for the Shafiq" Theodore replied and she nodded.

"That is interesting. That means that you're free to flirt with whomever you want." Riddle smirked. "How convenient."

She choked on her drink. Yasmina could have sworn to have seen a teasing expression on Riddle's features, yet when she looked again he was back to his impassive self. If Avery was clueless about what was going on, she did detect a satisfied smile on Theodore's face, who was looking down on his drink to avoid her gaze. What did they know that she didn't? And mostly, why on earth did Riddle believe that she would flirt with him? His self-confidence was increasingly irritating.

Yasmina took the attention away from her by ignoring Riddle's comment. "How did your seduction of these Hufflepuff girls go?"

Avery snorted. "Terribly, actually."

"What happened? They seemed in awe of you."

Theodore shrugged his shoulders. "Oh they were. But there was a big age gap."

"Ah, I did tell you that they were a bit young," the Head boy asserted.

"A bit? A bit?" Avery cried out indignantly, attracting the attention of everyone around. They are in their third year! How can girls possibly look like that at thirteen? Of course, they didn't let me know how old they were until I asked them to come and visit us tomorrow night. You can imagine their faces."

Riddle merely smiled, an inch of amusement on his lips, but Yasmina had to hide her face behind her hands to conceal a shocked laugh. She caught the eyes of Thomas, who was staring at her in bewilderment. After all, it was well known that Yasmina Shafiq wasn't particularly fond of green ties and dark glamour. Yet, strangely, her afternoon wasn't all bad.

"That magic is called make up, Avery. It can be deceiving."

"Well, I call that lies," Avery answered her, still irritated.

She laughed and they started discussing various evenings they attended together. Pureblood families gathered at least twice a year, once in the Christmas holidays, once in the summer. Riddle hadn't taken part in these reunions, yet he was listening with undivided attention. Even though she despised this blood segregation, pureblood events were always entertaining in some ways and Yasmina had a great time remembering several family scandals that had happened. When she was trying to catch her breath after yet another round of hilarity over the disastrous behaviour of the Black family members, she met the Head boy's attractive gaze as he watched her laughing without looking away. Her head felt dazed.

To be fair, that dizziness was probably due to her fourth butterbeer, not to her counterpart's black eyes. There were almost no students in the pub anymore. Thomas and his date were gone, just like Hadrian and Mary. Night has already fallen outside, and with a twinge in her heart, she realized that she had missed the delicious dinner.

"I should go."

Theodore looked at his watch. "It's eight already. You should hurry if you don't want to miss the last carriage."

"What about you?" the Head girl asked while standing up and putting on her cloak.

Riddle picked a French fry from Avery's plate. "Don't worry about us, we'll manage."

She paused, but she couldn't find the words to express how strange it was for her to have spent a good evening in their company. "Alright then, I'm out. Thanks for the drinks."

They saluted her and she walked away. Just before passing the entrance door, she heard Theodore question the Head boy. "Why didn't you suggest walking her back to the castle?"

"Theodore, you still have a lot to learn about women."

Maybe Riddle was the one that had a lot to learn. He was a bit naïve to believe that his charming tactics were successful - at least not with her.

The castle was incredibly quiet when she got out of the carriage. The rain had stopped, but the cold humidity still passed through her thick clothes, her body shivering. Even inside the castle, Scotland's coldness was beginning to take hold. The Great Hall was already empty, so she had to stop by the kitchens to grab a sandwich and some snacks. By the time she arrived in the Gryffindor tower, it was almost nine o'clock.

"Mary!" she called, recognising the blond ponytail near the Fat Lady portrait. Good, she could settle this case once and for all.

"Hey," the concerned said, without much enthusiasm. Still, she waited for her.

"Listen Mary. I'm very sorry I had to impose today. I didn't think before accepting Hadrian's offer. I realize now that you wanted to spend the day with him and I apologize. Still, I had a great day and I'm happy to have spent it the two of you. You two are my friends and I hope that you know it."

"Thank you, but don't you dare apologize. We had a great day too." Mary grinned and turned around to open the portrait.

"Wait." She insisted and her blonde friend waited. "Mary, you know what I want to say. I don't like Hadrian as you do. He's a great friend, but nothing more. You guys are perfect together."

Mary sighed. "He likes you, you know. He's clearly attached to you."

The Head girl leaned against the wall. "I know he does. He's had a thing for me for a while. Do you want me to tell him to back off?"

Mary took the time to think before giving her an answer. "No, you don't have to. If he would rather be with you than me, well that's okay and I can't do anything about it. But I don't think he's there yet."

"You know I would never do that to you."

"I know." Mary smiled before pointing the portrait. "Do you want to come in?" Yasmina nodded and they entered the Gryffindor's common room. "Look who I found!"

Eve raised her butterbeer at her. "Hey Yasmina! Were you lost?"

"I know, I know, I'm incredibly late. I'm sorry, but I brought something to make up for it."

She handed them a huge platter of cookies and they all reached out to grab one. The Head girl sat on the couch next to her best friend. She was already wearing her pyjama and her blond hair was up into a shapeless bun.

"How was your date?" The Head girl asked, grabbing a drink.

"It was terrible. The guy was so boring. I was back at the castle at two in the afternoon. I pretended that I had urgent homework to finish before tomorrow."

"Poor fellow," commented Thomas.

Yasmina grinned. "What about you, Thomas? When I saw you, your date was seemingly going pretty well."

Pretty well was an understatement.

"It's was incredible. She's funny and amazing. We had such a good time."

Eve leaned forward. "Will you see her again?"

"Yeah, I've already asked her on a second date." He answered casually, but the group of friends teased him with joyful exclamations. He ignored them, but his expression became mischievous, as only he could do. "And you Yasmina, how was your date?"

She dismissed his comment out of hand. "Oh, you know I'm not the dating type. I stuck with Hadrian and Mary, who were kind enough to let me follow them around all day." Yasmina smiled at Mary who smiled back. Everything was back to normal.

Thomas smiled dangerously and she felt her blood turn cold. "I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the drinks you've had with Tom Riddle at the Three Broomsticks."

Yasmina was surprised that he had waited so long before revealing this crunchy detail. She thought that by now, the news would have made it around the castle. Hogwarts students loved gossiping, especially when those gossips included the Head boy. Eve jumped on her feet, spilling her butterbeer on the carpet, while the twins screamed in excitement. "What?"

"No way!"

Mary nodded. "It's true. Yasmina left our table and decided to sit with him instead."

Yasmina shook her head, a little amused by her friends' reaction. "It wasn't a date. I wanted to give Hadrian and Mary some privacy and Riddle invited me to his table, that's all."

Thomas' mocking smile didn't leave his face. "Well, you seemed to have fun, even when his Slytherins' friends joined you."

Yasmina didn't feel the need to tell them that she had known Avery and Theodore all her life. She shrugged "Yes, I admit I had fun, okay? It wasn't all bad. But god, it wasn't a date either."

One of the twins called her out. "How many drinks did you have?"

"Er… Four."

"Four!" Eve gasped. "You had four butterbeers with Tom Riddle! Did he pay for your drinks?"

The Head girl nodded while grabbing grabbed another cookie. Eve looked at her like she was the dumbest person on earth. "And you still think that it wasn't a date and that he isn't flirting with you?"

"It wasn't a date," Yasmina repeated, irritated. There was no way that she would go on a date with him. "His friends were with us, for god's sake!" She sighed at shot a sideways glance at Eve. "You might be right about the flirting thing, though. In fact, I did ask him what the hell he was thinking by flirting with me."

Thomas and Mary busted out laughing, but Eve hid her face behind her hands, moaning in desperation. "Gosh, Yasmina! You really need a lesson or two about courting men. You can't bluntly ask them why they are flirting with you!"

Yasmina stood up, putting down her half-eaten cookie on the table. "Why not? He is wasting his time. I don't want to date him. I don't want to become his girlfriend or his toy or whatever he might call girls who fall for him."

None of her friends answered her, but some of them raised an eyebrow with incredulity. Their disbelief drove her crazy. "How can you not believe me? This is insane. You all know how constantly irritated I feel towards him. All I want is a decent colleague with whom I can work without wanting to curse him. If for that I need to have a drink with him once in a while, why not? But you're out of your minds if you believe for one second that I want to be with him. He's the worst–"

"It's alright, Yasmina. We believe you," interrupted Mary with her sweet voice. "We won't talk about this again unless you want us, okay?"

"Yeah."

She crashed into the armchair and sighed. The Gryffindors started discussing the next quidditch match and Yasmina felt the tension fade away. She grabbed her half-eaten cookie, angrily wondering why her closest friends couldn't believe her.

Excluding her outburst, the night went by smoothly. Exhausted, Yasmina left for her quarters around midnight. She might have said goodbye to her friends a bit dryly, but they were accustomed to her temper and knew that she would be herself again tomorrow morning.

It was way past curfew, but she wanted to sleep in her own bed. Since she was Head girl, she was authorized of being out of her apartment after curfew. Nonetheless, it wasn't her patrolling night and she wanted to avoid being caught by another prefect. Her main advantage was that she knew who was patrolling tonight and what their itinerary was. She carefully avoided some corridors, deliberately choosing a longer way to get to her quarters.

Yasmina passed by the Charms hallway and then near the library. She didn't particularly like walking in the castle at night. The deserted corridors were dark and the cold humidity reached inside her clothes. The worst were the ones without any windows, like this one. The few torches scarcely dispersed couldn't really light the way forward. Her hair stood up on the back of her neck and she nervously walked a pace faster. Fortunately for her, she was alone. No one could see how little Gryffindor courage she actually carried in her heart.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard a noise behind her. Yasmina quickly turned around, wand in hand, but no one was there. She waited without moving, carefully listening. Suddenly, she heard a muffled sound, like a cape dragging on the stone ground. She pointed her wand in front of her. "Who's there?"

Nobody answered. She straightened her back and projected her lumos spell further into the corridor. "I don't have all night. Show yourself or I'll take thirty points from your house. You cannot be out this late." At least her voice wasn't shaking.

Another answered. "What if I take points off from your house? You're also out late."

She took two steps towards the voice, her wand still up. "I'm Head girl, I'm on patrol and you're out after curfew."

"So are you, Shafiq. It's not your patrol night," affirmed Riddle, removing the powerful Disillusionment charm that hid him from her vision.

She lowered her wand but walked up to him. He was wearing an outside cloak and he smelled like fresh air, just like he had just come in from outside. "What were you doing outside so late? Were you still in Hogsmeade?"

The Slytherin seemed bored. "It's none of your business, really."

"You are out after curfew… hours after curfew. I'll have to remove points."

"Remove points?" he scoffed, haughty. "What are you doing out this late?"

"Head duties. I thought I heard something suspicious and went on patrol by myself," she lied swiftly.

"Really? Didn't you have a night out at the Gryffindor Tower?"

She froze. He rolled his eyes and ignored her, before simply walking away. Yasmina felt her anger rise within her chest. "There is no way you are leaving before giving me an answer." He sighed, but at least, he stopped walking. She went to him again. "Where were you?"

"Out," Riddle replied more dryly, turning again to face her. The warmth in his irises was gone, left behind in the Hogsmeade pub.

"And where is that? What were you doing out after midnight?"

"Listen," Riddle said, taking a step towards her. "Maybe we're getting along, but that doesn't mean we're friends. I don't have to tell you anything"

"You're right, we're not friends. But you still owe me an answer." Yasmina commanded with her most imperious voice.

She raised her wand, but before she could throw any spell, he surprised her by abruptly pressing her against the wall, grabbing her arm. He pinned her wrist against the harsh surface over her head, preventing her from using her wand to hex him. Riddle looked down at her, his black eyes shining in menace. Her legs almost liquefied under her, but she held on and met his piercing gaze, refusing to look away.

"I answer to no one."

His tone was as cold as his deadly glare. She clanged onto her wand, but when his fingers softly brushed against her closed hand, she felt it open against her will. Bloody Hell, why wasn't her body answering to her? Like a caress, he delicately grabbed her wand and let his fingers slowly slide to her shoulder. Even if her arm was free, her brain couldn't resort to pushing him away, affected by his proximity in the darkness. He lowered his head and she felt him breathing on her neck. His closeness sent a shiver down her spine and since his body was so close to hers, she knew he felt it too. She held her breath.

"Stop threatening me," he whispered into her ear, emphasizing every word.

He threw her wand away and it fell several meters farther. Riddle looked down at her again without moving away, gauging her reaction. He was studying her openly, unwilling to let her leave the confined space between his body and the wall. She tried with all her will to appear impassive and irritated, but when he smiled pretentiously, she knew she had failed.

Riddle was clever. For sure he had seen her dilated irises, even in the darkness of the corridor. For sure he had perceived her heart rate accelerating through his own chest pressed against her. For sure he had heard her hesitant breathing when his lips were so close to her neck.

For sure he had noticed that she wasn't as indifferent as she claimed to be.

The Slytherin made no movement to let her escape. He stared at her, seeming to be thinking at full speed about his next action. She froze when she noticed his eyes drooping for a split second on her lips. But Riddle finally took a step back, leaving her enough space to move away from him. Yasmina immediately slipped between him and the wall and walked a couple of steps to distance herself. When she turned back to face him, he was already far away.

As soon as he disappeared at the end of the corridor, Yasmina let out a deep, frustrated grunt. The Head girl sat down on the floor, her back against the wall. She barely restrained herself from hitting her head against the stone, angry with herself.

What was wrong with her? She despised the guy. She hated his arrogance and his selfishness. She hated how everything he said strung her to the core. She hated how weak and stupid she felt when her brain wasn't able to keep up with him. She hated how he thought that he could seduce her with a few winks. Why did she react this way?

Why did she have to feel so attracted?

Ugh. Yes, he was unquestionably handsome and yes, he had loads of charisma. But she was immune to good looks and charms. As a pureblood daughter, she had seen tons of gorgeous young and rich wizards. She has always looked past it and discovered most of the time that these men were brainless idiots. Yasmina didn't let herself be fooled by charming smiles.

With him, Yasmina felt like an amateur. She was sure that the Slytherin was manipulating her mind. But she would not let that intimidation attempt distract her from what she wanted to know.

She hid her face behind her hands, breathing in deeply. What was Tom Riddle, the perfect yet dark student, doing outside so late? Why was he out so often? What was keeping him from sleeping at night? At most of all, what was he hiding? No matter what it took, she would find the truth about his nocturnal activities.

She knew it, Tom Riddle was hiding something.