Lestrange Manor, 1943
Tom Riddle couldn't stop thinking about her. Maèlys.
It's been a week since the Yule Ball at the Malfoy manor.
It drove him crazy.
Why did he stay?, he asked himself over and over again.
Why did he stay and watch?
He couldn't find one plausible answer.
His first instinct when he'd heard the noice had been to follow it and find out what caused it.
But why did he stay after he saw them? Why not leave?
He thought of her beautiful dress pulled up to her hips and her creamy white legs wrapped around the man's waist.
He thought of her moans, each one had sent an electric wave through his body and he had to supress a pleasurable shudder.
And he thought of the eyes. Her mesmerizing blue eyes as she looked at him like he was the one fucking her against the shelves. He couldn't look away.
He wanted to find her, grab her and shake her until she tells him what kind of spell she'd placed upon him.
He'd never been interested in the basic pleasures of the body and certainly didn't want to start now.
Since she first stumbled through the door's of the great hall she had humiliated him multiple times in front of his peers and in the classrooms.
She openly challenged him and she always came out the victor.
But that's going to stop now.
She would not destroy what he built himself for the last six and a half years, he swore himself.
He had to find a way to make her bow to him, or he'll get her out of his way.
But first, he had to find a way to bring her to talk.
He hadn't been sure if she would come to the New Year's Eve party of the Lestrange family. This event wasn't as exclusive as the Yule ball of the Malfoys and more guests were invited but as the hours went by and she still hadn't shown up he lowered his expectation for her to come.
So, he tried his best to charm as many important people as possible. After all, he'll graduate in a year and he's the best student the school has seen since Albus Dumbledore. He hadn't decided yet what he'll do after his graduation and it didn't hurt to have a few powerful people as sponsors.
Also, he needed to find the families who supported his cause.
Therefore, he was deeply involved in a conversation with the Rowle and Avery heirs when Amelia Travers came to their little group and excused herself and her fiance.
The Rowle boy soon after excused himself too and so, Tom stood alone in the middle of the room.
The black-haired man looked after both men. Rowle may be the family heir but he was still was boy, too young to understand politics and war-related issues. And Avery only seemed to chase skirts, even though he already had a fiance.
As he looked around the room, he saw Torquin Travers and his younger daughter. And next to Louisa stood Maélys.
He knew that this party wasn't an environment as easily to control as Hogwarts. Maybe he should be more patient and wait a few days until they're back at the school.
But the moment he spotted her, her eyes seemed to find his and she smiled like the devil she was.
No, she was not the innocent girl that just lost her parents.
Tom knew better than to believe her little charade.
Somehow, deep inside of him, Tom knew that she knew exactly what she was doing.
She knew exactly what she was doing when she beat him at their chess game and their duel, when she acted hurt after he asked her about her parents and when she allowed him to watch her in the library.
There was a certain element of truth behind everything that people did. Everything that people did told you a little about them.
And Tom was determined to find out what that truth about Maélys d'Avaugour was.
But first, he would have to play her little game.
Maélys stood next to Louisa and watched her drink her third glass of wine.
"You might want to slow it down, dear," she said, "Or you won't even notice when the fireworks announce the new year."
"No, on the contrary, I'm way too sober for this," Louisa contradicted and reached for another glass.
"Oh, come on. It cannot be that bad."
"You're right. It's worse than that."
"He just wants one dance."
"Yes, because father told him that I'm eligible for marriage."
"But that doesn't mean that you're going to marry him. There's still plenty of time until you graduate to find a suitable husband."
"Still! How could father think that I will marry a man that is twice my age and in need dire need for a wife!"
Maélys sighed.
"As you wish, but if you're going to keep drinking like that, then at least eat something. If you don't, you'll pass out before midnight and even the fireworks won't be able to wake you up."
Louisa mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like "Sounds good to me", but grabbed a few sandwiches from the food plate.
"Good girl," Maélys said while taking a sip from her glass.
She looked around the room and immediately saw the man that Louisa's father wanted her to dance with. He truly was not a sight to behold.
Caspar Crouch had short grey hair with a neat parting and a narrow toothbrush moustache. Maélys noticed that in certain lights, he took on a skull-like appearance. The man already had a wife but she'd died during the birth of their son, Bartemius. Now, Crouch was looking for a woman to raise his child and be a mother to him.
But a sixteen year old girl was not fit to be a mother for a toddler and wife to a man who was - at least - twice her age.
Disgusted, she turned away from him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Tom Riddle was still watching her. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she entered the room.
She smiled knowingly.
She had known that it would be risky to let him watch her during her little escpade in the library at the Yule ball, but she had been willing to take that risk.
And it had paid off.
Maélys understood that he was a dangerous man despite his age. She had been told that many times but still ...
She liked playing with fire and has never burned herself before.
"My head is spinning," groaned Louisa, "I think I will get some fresh air."
"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Maélys and helped her friend get up from the chair.
"Yes please."
Arm in arm, the two girls walked into the wide balcony. The moon was already high up the sky and fluttering fairy light illuminated the snowy gardens of the estate.
Louisa sighed.
She was glad that she had found a friend in Maélys.
At first, when Professor Slughorn had told her that she'd get a roommate and she'd now have to share a room with another girl Louisa'd thought that she'd be like the other girls in Slytherin.
Arrogant, snooty and no interest in academics.
The other Slytherin girls, she'd soon noticed, would rather talk about future husbands, make-up and the newest edition of the Witch Weekly.
Her sister Amelia had fit perfectly into that circle and had found many friends, if one could call them that.
Louisa had always felt like an outsider when talking to the other pure-blood girls.
She now regularly met with a few Ravenclaw students in the library to study together or talk about the newest spells and potions they learned that week. But the girl could not call them friends. They rather were acquaintances.
And thus, the brown-haired Slytherin had been relieved when Maélys turned out to be a patient and studious girl.
And for the first time in her life, Louisa had felt understood by a peer and not just tolerated.
Smiling, she took a step closer to Maélys, laid her head on her shoulder and closed her eyes.
Drinking the wine so quickly, had made her head dizzy and she breathed in the cold winter air to clear her head.
"Thank you," she said into the silent night.
"What are you thanking me for?" Maélys asked her.
"For being my friend," Louisa answered quietly.
"Then I have to thank you for being mine too."
They again stood near each othre in silent and as the minutes trickled by, more and more guests filled the balcony.
It was nearly midnight.
Tom Riddle was the only person who rather watched the two girls than the fireworks.
It was midnight. The bells were ringing and high above their heads one of the most beautiful fireworks were in full motion.
But his eyes were not trained onto the colourful nightsky but the blond girl, who tightly held her friend.
He hadn't found the perfect moment to talk to her yet. There was always the Travers girl next to her, holding her attention.
And she hadn't even looked in his direction once since she arrived - not even a glance.
Maélys' only had eyes for the girl in her arms, and Tom only had eyes for Maélys.
Therefore, he was the only one who noticed when Louisa Travers lifted her head and kissed Maélys on the stroke of midnight.
Tom felt like he'd felt on the Yule ball.
Like he was only watching because she allowed him to.
And like on the Yule ball, he could only stay and watch.
It was only when the last firework exploded and the sparks faded away, he looked away.
He'd need to be a little bit more patient.
