Flashback (3rd year):
"Today we will be practicing Cheering Charms," squeaked Professor Flitwick from the tall stack of books he stood upon to see over his desk. "Please get into pairs, and start practicing the charm. Mr. Nott will be passing around the homework."
"Want to try them silently?" asked Seline, her green eyes daring him to turn down her challenge.
They liked to make the lessons more interesting by adding a challenge or two. To back down was the ultimate disgrace, an affirmation that the other had managed to take the coveted spot of top student.
"Bring it on," said Tom coolly.
They took turns casting the charm, each attempting to outperform the other. Performing spells silently was something normally attempted by N.E.W.T students for a reason - it involved tremendous focus, a skill that doesn't pop up overnight. Though Tom had exceptional powers of concentration, he could not keep his attention on casting the charm. His thoughts kept wandering, and for the first time he found it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand.
"Snap out of it," he whispered.
He looked Seline straight in the eyes, determined to beat her at the challenge she had suggested, and he was instantly mesmerized by how vividly green they were. They reminded him of snakes and their hypnotic power to enchant their victims. With difficulty, he wrenched his gaze away from her eyes, but then it caught on her blonde hair curling around her shoulders, as light as his was dark.
"What's going on?" Seline's voice broke into his reverie. "Stop daydreaming!" And with that she shot a perfect Cheering Charm right between his eyes.
Tom shook his head. He felt slightly dizzy, as though he had just emerged from underwater. Then the warm, fuzzy feeling of the Cheering Charm flowed over him, and he grinned lazily at her, perfectly content.
Nott came around halfway through their practice, putting the two rolls of parchment on their desks. Out of the corner of his eye, Tom saw Seline's score, just a point above his. Maybe it was the effect of the Cheering Charms, but he didn't feel the familiar jealous anger bubbling inside him. Seline smiled triumphantly at him, and he felt himself smiling back.
"Hey, why're you so happy?" asked Avery that evening at dinner through a mouthful of steak-and-kidney pie.
"Cheering Charms," Tom said, shooting a glance down the table, where a few Slytherin girls were laughing.
"Uh huh," said Avery, following Tom's eyes. "I don't think it's just the Cheering Charms."
"Why do you say that?" asked Tom sharply.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" said Avery. "You love her, don't you?"
"Who?" he said, feigning ignorance.
"Seline Saiorse, you nit! Who else?"
"Oh, shut up, Avery," he snapped.
Avery shrugged as if to say, What can I do if you don't believe me? and started up a conversation with Rodolphus Lestrange.
Tom laughed, secretly thankful that Avery could not perform Legilimency. For once Avery guessed correctly. Tom Riddle was in love, and nobody knew it better than he.
Long after everyone else in the dormitory had fallen asleep, Seline lay awake, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought about a comment made by Lisette, one of the Slytherin girls she spoke with at dinner.
"I swear, Tom Riddle is so hot!" said Teresa McCallahan."I totally want to ask him to come with me next Hogsmeade weekend, but I'm too shy to ask him in person!"
Seline snorted. There was no way that you could call a girl who dressed in skin-tight miniskirts and tops that left nothing to the imagination under her robes "shy." All the same, her blood boiled. Tom deserved better than silly, materialistic girls like Teresa.
"Are you kidding? You don't have a chance with Tom Riddle. Didn't you see that smile on his face in Charms when he was working with Seline?"
"You like him, don't you?" said a girl named Lisette, enjoying seeing Seline flush red.
"Why do you think I like such a know-it-all?" she shot back, biting down the urge to turn them into mice for the school owls's evening snack.
The girls laughed.
"Of course you don't," said Teresa in a patronizing voice, and the talk turned to the latest style in robes.
Seline remembered Tom's expression when he was daydreaming in Charms, staring at her like she was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. Lisette's words echoed in her head: You like him, don't you?