Chapter 3 : The Slug Club

The bare walls of the bathroom seemed to enclose upon Elizabeth & suffocate her as she progressed to helplessly stumble away from the mirror. The man, whose unnatural features reflected upon the looking-glass, abided to casually staring her down with those shiny, so shiny brown eyes of his. Elizabeth wanted to scream but the growing lump in her throat left her voiceless . She wanted to run to the door but the cold, wide-eyed gaze of the stranger in the mirror left her rooted to the ground. "Hello," he repeated his greeting anew, seeming to have chosen to believe that she might not have heard him properly. What seemed to strike Elizabeth as truly frightening was not those wide, observant, mannequin-like eyes of his nor the alien peculiarity of his face, no. It was the fact that she knew he was merely a work of her imagination in her past dreams, no matter how realistic he looked to be. "It is only polite," he said, his orb-like eyes reflecting Elizabeth's horrified face like a mirror itself," to greet someone back."

"H-hi..." Elizabeth choked as if controlled by the demanding look of his eyes that was crookedly disguised by patience. "That's more like it," he breathed in satisfaction. "What-," she ached to carry out the the sentence with "are you" but she wasn't too keen to figure out what that would spark. "What do you want ?" Elizabeth's skin quivered as the temperature dropped and she edged closer to the door as the light of the bathroom seemed to fade and it all appeared to have happened when the man in the mirror dropped his disguise and frowned in displeasure. She listened to him with her heart shrinking in fear," Well, you could say I'm only mildly interested in you, that's about it." That was about it ? No, it was not. It was much, much more, Elizabeth figured as she found herself drowning in that ugly glare of his. "Interested in you and the gracious Mr. Riddle."

"I barely know him," Elizabeth said. She could feel the hot sweat trickle and roll down her forehead. "It's very cowardly to renounce someone just to preserve your own safety," he stated coldly. "Renounce ?"

"Why did you save him, Elizabeth ? What does he mean to you? "

"Was I to leave him to die ?!"

"Yes ! Yes ! That's exactly what you should've done !" His shrieking shook the ground with such force, and Elizabeth found herself struggling to maintain her balance. She turned her back to the mirror and pulled and jerked the doorknob helplessly only for it to click and spring upwards again. "It won't open unless I want it to," the man in the mirror remarked with a notable tone of thoroughly being unimpressed. Turning once to gaze at him furiously, Elizabeth resorted to banging her small fists against and screaming,"Help !" at the top of her lungs. A sigh of exasperation sounded from her back in the mirror. "Don't tire yourself," he said," you must've figured that I'd be sure not to have anyone catch wind of our conversation."

"What do you want from me ?!" She give in after her voice was lost in desperate pleas for help, and slid to the ground with her back to the door. "A few things," he stated. "Which are ?" Elizabeth stressed impatiently. "How did you listen to us the night before the attack ? How did you get to us ?!" He interrogated her and Elizabeth let her eyes glaze over as she stared at him in profound disbelief as if the words that came out his lips couldn't have sounded any more doltish . "One thing," she said calmly, getting to her feet," you're a figment of my imagination and now I'm about to leave !"

"Not so fast, young lady !" He bellowed. "Well, here's the thing," she stated turning away from the door ,"I was dreaming. You and that gentle friend of yours were in my head. I didn't know who you were plotting to murder and what happened at the greenhouse was a coincidence, so whatever you're up against is none of my concerns." He looked like he was about to say something just when a gentle rap was heard on the door. "Elizabeth, are you in there ?" Elizabeth never thought she'd be happier to hear her sister's voice. Before she could turn back and give the man her meanest glare, the lock of the door clicked and it swung open with a creak. Joelle was standing there with a different look in her. Her blue eyes no longer glistened with pride ; their color was quite faded, in fact. Her lips trembled and before she bursted into tears, she hurled herself into her sister's arms. Taken by surprise, Elizabeth patted Joelle on the shoulder and asked in bewilderment,"What's the matter ?"

"What's the matter ?! I thought you died !" She whimpered, tightly clutching Elizabeth around the neck. She shook her head from side to side, saying,"No, here I am, one piece." Just when Elizabeth thought her lungs were going to burst, Joelle let go of her and dabbed the corner of her eye tenderly. Was that the same Joelle who constantly accused Elizabeth of privacy breaching even if she was standing ten hundred feet away ? The same Joelle who forever held her chin up high to the sky, a friendly reminder that she was above all ? "Oh," she said, pacing around the dorm," you should hear what the other girls are saying."

"What are they saying ?" Elizabeth asked in mild curiosity that professionally masked the utter shock she was feeling on the inside. "All sorts of horrible things," Joelle sniffed," they're jealous, of course -"

"Goodness, Jo, what are they saying ?" Elizabeth interrupted her sharply and inhaled the stress in. Although they were far away in a different sector of the castle perhaps, Elizabeth's ears were ringing with the sounds of girls murmuring gossip about her. It was far from anything she'd ever expected. "Listen, Lizzie, all the girls fancy Tom Riddle and they go into extremes to get his attention but it never works. But you, you never put in any effort and stole him away from them at the listen."

"I didn't steal," Elizabeth interjected angrily, slightly trembling. Her wide eyes were shining and watery and her face could've suited the description of a fresh tomato. Joelle followed her as she weakly stumbled away into the nearest bed. "Leave me alone," she breathed when she felt the springs of the matters sink as Joelle sat by her feet. "I can't Elizabeth. Professor Dumbledore told me to fetch you. We need to go to potions and you can't afford skipping another session. This is our OWL year, after all. C'mon." Joelle muttered soothingly as she reached to brush Elizabeth's hair. Elizabeth looked up to her with tear-stained cheeks. "I can't deal with them." She moaned.

"Yes, you can. I will sit beside you and dare they say a word. C'mon."

Joelle had to carry her back bag and her sister's over one shoulder as she used the other hand to grab Elizabeth through the corridors and down to the dungeons. "Maybe I should just go back. You can tell them-"

"Don't start," Joelle hissed through clinched teeth and tightened her grip on Elizabeth's sleeve. Elizabeth looked awful with her hair tied in a messy bun with countless threads of angry hairs poking out in every direction. Her eyes were fixed in a wide gaze, as if she'd seen the horrors of the world. But Joelle didn't seem to care. She was determined to get them to Potions. They edged closer towards the dungeons when they stepped down a dim spiraling staircase which lead to the underground of the castle. The air was colder and the light was almost extinguished. How could anyone study in such grim surroundings let alone sleep in a dormitory there ? Joelle swung Elizabeth's bag into her arms once they had stopped right outside the dungeon, the hum of the class continuous and low behind the shut door. "Hang the bag over your shoulder and take a breath. God, you look dead." Joelle said and rapped twice on the door. "Come in," they heard.

Elizabeth walked in behind her sister and the dungeon was so very quiet. It only took her a brief glance to see that every head in the classroom was turned to her. Their scathing stares were those of a vulture anticipating the death of its prey. Elizabeth kept her eyes downcast as she traced the billowing hem of her sister's black robes to the back of the dungeon, her ears acute to the murmurs of her peers. Joelle set her cauldron on the wooden desk and said," You can heat it meanwhile I go fetch the ingredients in the drawers."

Elizabeth felt her dry lips with her tongue and nodded vigorously as she sightlessly stared at the black board ahead of her. Measured cool breathes slipped out of her as she struggled to maintain her lapsing state of calm. She might've feigned ignorance all she could but the boys still stared, and she might've played it out brave as long as she desired but her ears weren't mute to the whispers of the girls. Her mind was multitasking ; she kept a portion of it wide-awake to the movements of her classmates, and the other portion for the boy sitting a few desks to the back on the opposite side of the dungeons. Peeking from the corner of her eye, Elizabeth caught Tom Riddle gazing intently and very curiously at her a dozen of times. She hadn't even noticed Joelle scurrying to the desk, her arms heavy with a load of ingredients. "Have you been watching the cauldron ? Good." She bustled and thrust a dozen of dead dung beetles in her hands. "Now crush these while I stir the cauldron," Joelle bossed, and catching Elizabeth's wandering gaze she snapped," And focus for Christ's sake."

She scooped the pestle and took to hammering the demised pests with her sister working by her side.

In a moment or so, Professor Slughorn was pacing around as the dungeon gradually sank in fumes and crackle of boiling liquids, and in a moment or so, what Elizabeth had feared the most happening. On the desk opposite her, there sat a girl named Marci with a snobbish look about her. Her red-hair looked pleasantly childish tied in knots of white ribbons Elizabeth had worn ( and hated ) when she was much younger, and she had her narrow, menacing hazel eyes upon her. Marci's sneer uplifted into charming smile of glistening pearly teeth once she'd caught Elizabeth looking back at her. Elizabeth found it hard to even give her a painful pretentious grimace in return so she blinked and turned away. Marci Harlingen was as much as an eyesore to Elizabeth as any broken flooded public toilet was. They were inseparable as first years and now, and to Elizabeth's delight, estranged. The truth was that Elizabeth could've spent everyday of her life searching for a reason to like Marci, and Marci, with her big, ruthless, gossipy mouth and her mean streak, would've given her a million not to for every one of those days. "Hi, Lizzie," she beamed, her hands entwined and her long eyelashes fluttered. Didn't hear a thing, did I ? Elizabeth thought to herself and carried on crushing the beetles. "It's so good to see you back here," she carried on," I was so worried about you, you know." Elizabeth caught herself grimacing humorously to herself at these words. She'd hurl herself off the Astronomy Tower before Marci Harlingen would express sincere worry to anyone, anything that's been injured if it was not one of those sparkly red long nails. "I visited you at the hospital wing and I would've braided your curls if not for Madam Klark. You know, Lizzie, sometimes, I remember how much fun we used to have back then before our little, um, fallout, and to be honest with you, I miss those days." Is that bile rising in my throat ? Elizabeth deliberated the obvious bit of lie in disgust. She shot keen glances toward Professor Slughorn, hoping he'd came around and tell off that grisly bit of vermin blubbering to her back. "Is that your cauldron whistling, doll ?" Joelle chortled to Marci, distracting her. That was enough to get that, as Elizabeth would put it, leech of her back for the rest of the session. The ringing bell popped the bubble of silence and as the chatter and scraping of chairs sounded loud and clear, Professor Slughorn was heard calling out," Hand in your flasks before leaving !"

Slughorn's desk was already crowded mainly by the tall figures of Riddle and his Slytherin cronies. Joelle, sensing the possibility of undesired run-in with such unpleasant lot perhaps, said," You can go. I will hand in your flask and catch up with at the Great Hall. Go." As Elizabeth squeezed into the jostling throng moving towards the exit of the dungeon, she heard the pompous tone of Slughorn say," Ah, Miss Emerson, just a moment of your time please !" Sighing deeply and cursing the fates, Elizabeth pushed back and retraced her tracks to her professor's table. Joelle's face was set in helpless defeat as she watched Elizabeth approach her and the Slytherins. Riddle was looking directly at her, his face reminded her of the calm of the sea before a storm, unbothered that Elizabeth was faltering under his gaze. The Slytherins were in a whispered exchange of sneers and chuckles and every know and then she was struck with a shrewd glare followed by a hushed scoffing. "How good it is to see you, Elizabeth !"

"Uh, likewise, Professor." I wish he'd stop, she thought, feeling on the edge with Tom staring her down in such calm manner. He needs to stop. Whatever this man wants from me ? She tried to avert her eyes away from the flickering pair of Slughorn's. "I have asked your sister to keep some notes for you covering the material that you've missed." They were both looking intently at Joelle now. She smiled and she said," Yes, Professor, I still have them back at the dormitory. I will give them to her once we are back there."

Elizabeth kept her eyes glued to her pair of boots, she stared closely as if intrigued by their black leather. Her bangs swung low above her narrow eyes like undone curtains and she swept them away swiftly behind her ear. Nodding vigorously, Elizabeth tried to suppress a most feeble grin as she said," Well, thank you for that, Sir. Um, Joelle and I will get a move on ... now ?" Joelle agreed to that with a swift nod but before they'd gotten on their heels, Slughorn added," Not so fast, Miss Emerson. I was hoping I'd tell you about a little gathering I hold down at my office every once in a while." Elizabeth licked her dry lips and tried to keep from stuttering as she repeated," A - a gathering, Sir ?"

"Yes, a gathering," he stated," In fact, I am holding one this Saturday. It'd be great to have you around." He gave her a wink once he'd finally caught her eye, and she looked up at Tom almost instantly. Three good heads taller than her, he stared back, his face momentarily devoid of emotion, but his handsome features bloomed when he'd allowed himself a gentle smile once their eyes had met. Tried as she might to handle him with suspicion but the sight of that charming smile left a tingly, warm sensation coursing through her chest. "I don't know if I'd be up to it, Professor," she looked back to Slughorn. His curled mustache covering his mouth, he responded,"Nonsense, it'd be a fine evening. You will thoroughly enjoy yourself. I insist that you come." Elizabeth found herself helplessly glancing to her sister with the poker face, awaiting to be rescued. She felt like a fly with its fragile wings being swept away by the raging wind into the widow's web that was Slughorn's evening party. Too much homework, detention with Professor Dumbeldore, a meeting with the Headmaster : her head was spinning with excuses to say no. "Fine then, Sir. I guess I'll be there," Elizabeth gave in at last. After chatting up a very appealed Slughorn, Joelle and Elizabeth walked out of the gloomy dungeon. Their footsteps echoed as they fell upon the dark stone, and Joelle said,"Quite a busy week for you, ay ? The girls are already obsessed with you and Tom. Can't imagine what they'd do if they hear about the Slug Club." Elizabeth was trembling and she snapped, chewing her fingernails," I don't need a reminder of it, thank you." Behind them came the Slytherins pouring out of the potion's dungeon, their shouts loud and clear. They ought to have taken a turn around the corner and headed down to their lair - dormitories. They all seemed to hold their breaths when Riddle sped out of their midsts to catch up with Elizabeth. Although she stopped just when her sister had, she kept her back to the resonant falls of Tom's boots approaching her. Her index finger hung loosely from the edge of her lips, she seemed to be shivering like someone with an awful cold. He lightly touched her shoulder when he stood by her side," Elizabeth, Joelle," he pronounced in a greeting. "Hi," Joelle squeaked back and Elizabeth nodded her acknowledgement, hoping to appear to be as disinterested as disinterested is. "I haven't thanked you for what you did the other day."

Elizabeth was chewing her nails again. "You don't have to really. It's alright." He touched her shoulder again. Stop. Stop. Noticing how bitter she seemed, he added calmly,"Alright, I hope ?"

No, get your hands off me. "Perfect," she breathed in, turning to grin at him, which she wished she hadn't. The gleaming flames of the torches illuminating the path of the dungeons swirled in his dark eyes like bronze lights reflected upon the surface of a black pond, and it was hard not to drown in the inky sight of those eyes. Now that they were facing each other, their faces were a few inches apart, and before long, Elizabeth was admiring the pale features of his that seemed to have been carefully sketched upon his face. "I will see you Saturday evening," he whispered. Blushing furiously, Elizabeth dropped her gaze to the ground and found herself incapable of pulling her breath let alone say something in return. Tom turned away, pacing hastily into the opposite direction. "Oh, don't," Elizabeth moaned once Joelle had opened her mouth. It felt like her whole year was about to go down in flames, not just this one week.