Scotland, Hogwarts 1944
Tom Riddle stood by the fireplace in the Slytherin commonroom and played with his uncle's ring.
It was late and long past curfew. A few students had been studying but the last of them had went to bed ten minutes earlier.
So, Tom was alone when Maélys entered the room.
"It's nearly two in the morning," he broke the silence of the room.
"I know," she answered.
"You are aware that I, as a prefect, have to take points from you for late arrival."
"I am."
It was quiet for a moment and only the fire crackled.
"Why, Miss d'Avaugour, were you wandering about the castle at this hour?"
She smiled. "I wasn't wandering around. I was in the library."
"The library? That cannot be. I was inthe library and did not see you there?"
He raised an eyebrow. "So, where were you really?"
"I did not lie. There's a table at the far end of the Legal Section. It's a very unpopular area. Not many students know there's a table."
Tom didn't answer. He silently cursed himself. Of course, he'd known that there's a studying area in that section. But he'd never seen anyone actually sit there.
"Well, if you're done with your interrogation I'll go to bed."
With that, she walked past him but she stopped before the door that led to the girl dormitories.
"I forgot to wish you a happy birthday," she said as she turned back to him.
"Excuse me?"
"At the new years's eve party?", she answered, "It was your birthday, wasn't it?
He was at a loss for words.
How did she know that it had been his birthday?
But before he could voice his question she already vanished through the door.
He cursed inwardly.
How did that conversation - again - turn in her favor?
He'd wanted to confront her but she'd left him speachless twice since she had entered the room.
Something was wrong with her. And he burned to find out what it was.
The next time he tried to corner her was at the piano room. He had come from a meeting with Professor Beery, when he had heard someone play.
But the moment he walked towards the door the playing stopped. Slowly, he pushed the door open and entered the room.
It was empty.
No one sat by the piano. Only the window was open and ice-cold air and snow blew inside. The room was freezing.
Had he imagined the music? Maybe he was going mad...
No, he shook his head. Someone was trying to mess with him. And he did not like that.
With long strides, he walked to the window and closed it.
For a moment, as the looked outside, he thought he saw a girl vanish through the huge castle doors.
Huffing, he left the room and took out of his pocket a golden coin.
He gently pressed upon one side and waited until it heated up. Then he made his way into the dungeons, to an empty classroom no one had used in years.
Pleased, he noticed that all of his knights were already gathered when he walked through the door. And all conversations came to a halt, as their lord made his way to his seat.
"Good evening, Knights," he greeted them.
"Now, Rosier, what did you find out about d'Avaugour?"
Louisa sat quietly next to Maélys in the library. The librarian, Madame Williams, had nearly thrown her out after she had cried out when her blonde friend suddenly appeared next to her and startled her.
Now, she didn't dare to say a word out loud, fearing that she would be banned from the library for a week. In a few weeks, all of the students would take their end-of-the-semester-exams and she couldn't afford a ban.
From time to time, Louisa threw a glance to her roommate but always quickly looked away.
She could still vividly remember their kiss on new year's eve.
They still hadn't talked about it and Louisa grew nervous.
The girl didn't know what to feel. She had liked the kiss, of course, but...
She simply didn't know what was wrong.
Louisa had been confused for a while now.
She'd never felt such feelings for another woman and hadn't known that it was possible that two girls could be more than friends.
But then, shortly before the winter holidays, she'd overheard two seventh-year girls talking about their love for each other.
So, on new year's eve, she kissed Maélys. But she-
"What's wrong, Louisa?"
Maélys had looked up from her Charms essay and found her friend absently staring at her.
"Uhm..." Louisa stammered.
"I was thinking about the new year's party and remembered that we never talked about what happened," she whisperd quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation.
"Well, do you want to talk about it now?"
Louisa could only nod.
"Do you want to go for a walk around the lake?" Maélys smiled.
"Yes, please," squeaked the girl and quickly packed up her bag. With a spin of her wand, she sent the books on the table back to their place on the shelves.
At the castle gates, Maélys spoke a heating charm and smiled at her friend.
"Let's go!"
Quietly, the two girls walked down to the lake, past first-years who challenged a few fifth-year student to a snow-ball fight.
Once they reached the lake Maélys turned to her friend and Louisa took a deep breath.
"I don't quite know where to start," she confessed.
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I really liked the kiss. But I'm simply so confused..."
She trailed off.
"Well, what confuses you so?", the blonde girl asked.
Louisa looked away and slowly started to walk.
"Ever since we became friends, I felt attracted to you. But I don't know if I'm attracted to you the same way I'm attracted to men."
Maélys was quiet next to her and Louisa threw a nervous glance in her direction.
"Please, say something."
"I understand what you're saying. When I first kissed another woman, I was just as confused as you're now," Maélys smiled, took a strand of Louisa's hair and brushed the strand behind her friend's ear.
"Now, I understand that I can be attracted to both men and women. But it took some time for me to realise that. And you're going to need that time too to figure out who you're interested in."
"I guess then that I'll have a lot to think about," Louisa said relieved.
She'd grown up in an environment where she learned that women could only be attracted to men and to like a woman was unnatural.
The two girls soon changed their topic to the massive homework their teachers had given them.
"Don't they know that we have to learn for our exams? I don't have the time to write a five-foot long essay about Wandlore when I still haven't memorized all of the ingredients of the Scintillation Solution!", Louisa complained.
"I can help you memorize it if you want to," Maélys offered, "I found the perfect room for us to study in until it's time for dinner. No one will disturb us, or tell us to be quiet."
That night, Tom returned to the piano room. But this time he did not enter the room. Instead, he stood outside the door and listened.
He knew that it was Maélys who played. It was the Moonlight Sonata. The same piece she played the last time they talked in that room.
Hours passed and he still stood motionless in his spot and listened to the piano. It was one in the morning when the music stopped and he held his breath.
A soft wind breeze opened the door further. Did she open a window?
"You can come in, Mister Riddle. I can't have my listeners standing in an uncomfortable corridor," her voice called for him to come hin.
There was no way, she had knewn that he was there. How?, he asked himself for the hundredth time regarding her.
Gnashing his teeth, he entered the room. He hadn't wanted to admit to her that he'd been standing outside for hours but now that she called him inside he couldn't just leave.
"Come in and sit down," d'Avaugour said and indicated to a pleasant-looking sofa, that had not been there a few moments ago.
Silently, he walked over and took a seat.
"Do you want to hear anything particular? Any wishes?", she smiled.
"The Moonlight Sonata, please," was all he could say.
"As you wish."
Maélys played more than one piece for him. And while she played, Tom felt his eyes grew heavier until he couldn't keep them open anymore. But his last thought before sleep consumed him was that he hadn't been tired and he wondered what magic was lulling him to sleep.
She played the whole night until the birds started singing and the sun shone through the high windows. The candles she'd lighted when she'd entered the room had gone out hours ago. But she didn't need light to know where the right keys where.
She looked to where Riddle sat on the sofa and noticed that he'd fallen asleep at one point.
Smiling, Maélys stood up and left the room.
As she walked back to her dorm room to wake Louisa up the rest of the castle woke up too to start a new day.
Meanwhile, Tom Riddle slowly opened his eyes and glanced around the room.
The music had stopped and the girl did not sit by the piano anymore.
He was alone. And she'd left.
