"So what exactly happened last night?" asked Jillian with her mouth full of bread. "You've been awfully quiet all morning."
Letting out a long sigh I lifted my gaze from the breakfast table and turned to face her. I explained her my intention to go to the restricted section, accidentally finding Tom and almost getting caught.
"He just laughed at me like I was nothing. To me, competing over better grades was only a friendly game, but apparently to him it's the only thing that matters!"
Jillian nodded understandingly. "Don't worry about him, he's nothing compared to you."
There was a silence, apart from the chattering of the students round the Great Hall. It didn't feel appropriate to just ignore him from now on; I had to get back at him.
"You know what? I'm going to prove him wrong. I will become the best student in Defense Against the Dark Arts and he's going to lose!"
"You don't need to prove yourself-", she began but I had already grabbed the Dark Arts textbook from my bag and slammed it on the table. "Will you help me?"
Jillian looked at me wearily and sighed. "I guess I will. But maybe a bit later, we have Potions in five minutes."
We arrived just in time before the class began. Only when Jillian took her seat at the front of the class did I remember who was seated next to me. Tom was peacefully going through his homework assignments as I sat down and defiantly moved my seat as far away from him as possible. He glared at me with an amused spark in his eye but said nothing.
Halfway through the class, Slughorn announced that we would have to do a homework project with a partner that would crucially affect our final grade. The assignment was to brew an antidote for common poisons and the winning pair would get extra points on their potions exam. I managed to cast a couple of hopeful glances at Jillian when Slughorn announced that the task must be completed with the person sitting next to you. My insides filled with disappointment and I accidentally let out a small groan.
"What's the matter with you? If you have something to say, then say it", said Tom.
"I know you think I'm lesser than you and that I'm an idiot or something but I just want to get this assignment done, so you're just going to have to deal with that!"
"I don't think you're an idiot", he stated with a matter-of-fact tone.
"Then why did you act so arrogantly after that... library incident?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I thought we had a competition. I was being competitive, not arrogant." He took a long look at me. "You're a little sensitive, aren't you?"
"I am not!" I snapped which made him laugh, something I hadn't seen him do before.
"Whatever. So, are we going to win this thing or what?"
During the next months I was forced to spend more and more time with Tom due to the assignment, but after a little while I noticed that it was becoming easier to be around him. We had to do all sorts of research for the assignment since we were expected to make this potion completely on our own. Tom was still rather distant, but had significantly decreased his arrogance. Because of this I slowly let go of my fantasies of defeating him in the Dark Arts as I no longer felt inferior to him. By the end of the project I had to admit we were a pretty great team.
We were sitting side by side in our usual seats as once more another Potions class was about to end. This was the lesson in which we were supposed to present our potions. Slughorn circled around the classroom, evaluating the results of each pairs work. When he reached our desk he paused, sniffed the potion, and let out a delighted exclamation.
"Excellent! Simply excellent! I think we have our winner!" he praised. "Well, I think that was all for today. Class dismissed!"
As we were gathering our stuff I saw Jillian heading toward me out of the corner of my eye. She looked quite tired and annoyed and slammed her textbook on my desk as she reached us.
"Congratulations, you two!" she huffed. "You managed to brew a brilliant potion meanwhile ours looked like black goo since that Griffin kid boiled it for too long! Do you have any idea what it was like to work with him? Not very great, I'm telling you!"
I let out a little laugh as we were heading to the door. "Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad." She was just about to reply when we were interrupted by Slughorn.
"Elara and Tom, would you stay here for a moment?" I glanced at Jillian who closed the door behind her and waited in the hallway. Were we in some kind of trouble?
"As you know, the best potion brewers will receive extra points for the final exam. But I also have a request to make", he said. "Ever since I began teaching I have gathered a small group of gifted students from each year. It's a club where you can spend time with like-minded individuals and make meaningful connections with successful people. After today I'm convinced you two would be an excellent addition to this club. So, would you like to join?"
This club was more than familiar to me, because Lucretia was a part of it. I remember her being insufferable in her first year when she was asked to join. I happily pictured the look of dismay on her face when I got to tell her that I had been invited as well. Next to me Tom's eyes had lit up and he seemed just as excited as I was. But the expression on his face didn't depict the childlike excitement I was feeling, instead it made him appear almost unpleasant.
"Of course we would", I answered, glaring at Tom. In the blink of an eye the animalistic look was gone and he was nodding enthusiastically. As if I had just imagined it all.
On the last few weeks of school before Christmas I noticed him adding his name to the list of students who would stay at the school during the Holidays. I found this curious but didn't question him about it, knowing it would have been pointless. But as we were warming ourselves before the fireplace in the common room one evening, he suddenly brought the subject up.
"I'm staying at the school for the Holidays", he blurted.
"I noticed. How come?"
He was silent for a long while. I began to think he wouldn't answer me at all, until he sniffed loudly and sat up. "Because I don't have anywhere worth returning to", he muttered bitterly to the flames.
"Won't your family miss you?" I asked gently. He shot a hostile glare at me, making me panic. Obviously I had said something horribly inappropriate.
"No. They won't, because I live in an orphanage", he spat. "My mother died giving birth to me."
"Tom, I'm so sorry I shouldn't have asked", I whispered. "What about your father?"
He was staring at the flames again, clenching his jaw. "I don't have a father", he growled. There was something odd in the way he spoke. Almost felt like he was testing how I would react.
"Oh Tom", I sighed. I cautiously moved towards him and slowly put arms around him. To my surprise he didn't push me away, so I laid my head on his shoulder and sat with him while the night around us grew darker.
I couldn't offer any words of advice, so I just stayed there, breathing quietly. I observed Tom carefully while he was deep in his thoughts. His features had softened and he looked almost sentimental. He had let all the harshness and hostility down and that was something I rarely ever saw him do, even after that night.
A few days later I left the school for the Holidays. It was good to be back home, but I found it difficult to not think about Tom all alone at the school. None of the other Slytherins either of us had acquainted with had decided to stay.
My brother Orion was bombing me with questions about Hogwarts. He was to attend in two years, but he had been eagerly waiting ever since Lucretia started at Hogwarts. Too eagerly, if you ask me.
"What is your favourite subject? Is it true that Slytherins common room is a cave under water? Are Gryffindors really the stupidest house?" he inquired. I glanced at Lucretia who was sitting on the other side of our Christmas dinner table.
"What have you been telling him?" I mouthed at her, but she only grinned mischievously.
"Calm down Orion, you'll see for yourself one day", said my mother and turned to me. "Your father and I are so proud of you for being in Slytherin like we once were. And for getting into that little club of Slughorns, of course."
"Thanks, mom. I really feel like home in Slytherin", I replied, like I was expected to.
"Well, I'm glad", she huffed. "Have you made any friends yet?"
"Oh, she's made a friend", snorted Lucretia. I shot a deadly glare at her.
"What? It's not exactly a secret that you spend all your time with that weird Riddle kid."
"He's not weird", I snapped.
"Yes, he is. Let me tell you Elara, there's something very odd about that boy", replied Lucretia and sat back.
"Who is this... Riddle?" my father joined the conversation. "I don't want you around any suspicious people."
I sighed. "He's not suspicious. He is my friend", I grunted.
"Riddle... I don't know anyone by that name..." muttered dad.
"You know how important family is, Elara. How can we trust him if we know nothing about his background?" said mom. I let out a frustrated sigh but remained silent.
I couldn't possibly tell my parents where Tom was from. Not only would they not take it well, it wasn't their business in the first place.
My parents were usually very dear to me, but it seemed like the older I got the more I felt like they had no interest in me, only who I was supposed to be. The only things that mattered were my grades and a well-maintained social status. That Christmas dinner was the first time ever I felt like I didn't belong to my home.
At last it was time to return to Hogwarts for the spring semester. As I entered the castle with Lucretia, I was pleasantly surprised to find Tom waiting for me near the entrance to the dungeons.
"Tom!" I exclaimed and ran to give him a hug. He flinched slightly but didn't push me away. Above the stairs that led to the upper floors professor Dumbledore was glaring at us intensely. I met his gaze, but as soon as I did a mocking voice cried out behind me.
"Aww, how adorable! When is the wedding?" yelled Lucretia. She was lingering near us with her usual group of friends, all cackling like a pack of dolled up crows. I grimaced at them and glanced back to where Dumbledore had been a while ago, but he had disappeared.
The spring semester passed by in a blink of an eye. Tom and I had sort of became friends, but our social circle grew a lot during that time, thanks to the SlugClub meetings. Jillian had also accepted in the Club since she had turned out to be an exceptional Quidditch player, even though it was rare for a first year to even make to the team. Lucretia was being her usual taunting self toward us at the meetings, but even she calmed down after a while. Soon the first year came to an end, and it was time to say goodbye to Tom. For the last two weeks he had been in a considerably bad mood, and I assumed it had to do with him having to return to the orphanage. I had overheard him ask the headmaster for a permission to stay at school for the summer too, but his request hadn't been granted.
"Will you write to me?" I asked him at King's Cross station as we had just arrived.
"Yes. But I must go now. See you next autumn", he replied and proceeded to walk toward the portal between ours and the muggle side of the station in a manner that implied he would rather eat a hat full of sand than walked through that gate. My heart was aching for him and I was furiously thinking of ways I could help until Lucretia purposely bumped into me to shove me where our parents were already waiting.