"You're clearly not the real Eileen Floquet."
It rebounds like a distant echo in the void. That sentence is what Eileen used to live with everyday of her life since she has woken up from Death, but the weight of these words is like a massive anvil that comes smashing the ground of her mind from inside. What does he know? How could he know? Since when? A lot of questions hanging on a thread of sheer panic. She feels the world crumbling while the eyes of the group were fixed on her unmoving form. She had feared this moment more than any other. The one where she would be faced with that inevitable eventuality that she had only put off again and again for too long.
The twinkle in Riddle's eye remains serene, convinced of a circumstance that is logically impossible. He isn't questionning Eileen. He is surrounding her, entrenching her in the trap that is closing in on her with a sharpened certainty.
"Who are you really?" he asks again.
"I am Eileen Floquet."
"No, you're not."
"What do you want to hear?! Who am I supposed to be then?" The stress is turning anxiety into anger.
The weight of everyone's scrutiny is no help for the situation. She can't move from the conjured chair. She finds it impossible to get away from the snakes pinning her wrists to the armrest. Seems like she wouldn't escape the interrogation at this rate. Riddle isn't known to do things in half.
"Girls, if you would be so kind as to leave us."
Confused, Eileen watches as Sadell and the other two are politely dismissed from the questioning to come. That's weird, she'd thought Riddle would want a large audience for this type of powerplay. Atheis is frustrated to miss the show. Elizabeth simply nods, following Eldwins who wears an expression Eileen has never seen before. It's the first time she is so anxious about them leaving like this, condemning her to something potentially deadly. Is he afraid she would reveal confidential matter? Paranoia has truly infected his brain now that he held the reins over the entire House.
Once the trio is gone, Riddle leans a little more over the sofa, elbows on his knees. "Now that we have a bit of privacy... This is the last time I will ask: who are you, Floquet?"
No doubt he is being serious when the glare he is sending her is full of murderous intents. The thing he doesn't know is, Eileen doesn't give a single care to what he is going to do in order to get answers out of her. He is not going to kill her. Not like this. The only thing she fears the most at this moment is being in pain. The idea of torture creeps up her body with a nauseating feeling. She hates pain to the core.
"I am a bloody nobody," she says with as much sincerity as possible. "You find me changed? Ha, it's pretty normal not to be the same anymore when I Iived a near-death experience while being sick. It had changed something inside me. The fear of Death no longer exists and now I only want to enjoy life like anyone else until the end."
She sees him tense as soon as she mentioned Death. She hasn't forgotten how the son of a bitch is afraid of leaving this world and following the cycle of Life.
"I don't believe you one bit."
Surprisingly, it's not Riddle who says it but Malfoy. His sharp grey eyes dive into her skin like spears.
"A witch that escapes Death and heals a deadly illness overnight would've been printed a million times on the newspapers. For weeks. Yet, no one has heard of this fallacious story."
The others nod as well. She hadn't thought of this. But the answer is easier to tell.
"My parents hate me. They couldn't care if I died or lived, because as soon as I was born I already was a failure to them. Sorry if you believed my life was a happy story outside of Hogwarts."
Ha. Eat this Malfoy.
"Tch."
"Do you know what saved you back then?" Orion asks suddenly and Eileen almost has forgotten he was here. And with a question more than on point added to that, the little bitch.
"Don't know, don't care."
His smile gives her the creep.
"Floquet. You know that I'll be searching for the truth myself if I find you lying. Are you sure this is your final answer?"
"Yes, it is."
They stare at each other for a minute. Because what can Eileen answer right now? 'Hey, I'm not from this world, you're Voldemort and you're going to die by a simple expelliarmus for prophetic reasons.' Then Tom shakes his head as though disappointed, and pursues.
"Alright. Then if you are so sure you're the real one, why hiding?"
Eileen bits her lip.
"While you have strongly decreased in therorical classes, you seem to excel in magical's given the show you unintentionally gave us before."
"What show?" Lestrange enquires, truly intrigued. "Did I miss something?"
"No."
"Yes," Riddle counters. "She used her wand to duel against Parker and his little band once."
"Huh, really."
"And then, she duelled against me."
This time the uproar is deafening. Malfoy sits up on the sofa looking outraged while Avery and Mulciber remain speechless. Only Orion nods vigorously, murmuring some "true, true" like a politician in the middle of a debate.
"My L— Riddle, you're joking right?"
"And when exactly have I ever been joking around Nott?"
"But... it's Eileen Floquet! She can't even get a Wingardium Leviosa correctly!"
Yes, exactly. This is the reaction she wants right now.
"And yet there she was, casting numerous spells that could put a sixth or seventh year to shame. Oh, I almost forgot the wandless, wordless one that got me by surprise for sure."
The amount of shock painted on the boys is ridiculous. Well, okay maybe not that much. She would also be dumbfounded as well if Eileen was told Myrtle Warren managed to get even in a duel against Malfoy. It has been a battle of life and death to be honest, one wrong move and she could have been reincarnated into a damn mandragore next. She didn't want to die, and her core simply resonated with the strong will to hang onto life. Thus the big explosion of magic as a last resort when Riddle was straddling her on the floor. It was the same spell that had magically weakened her too.
"Are we talking about the same Floquet?"
"I don't know, are we?" Riddle repeats to Eileen who forces her own gaze down. The questioning is seriously getting on her nerves and it's only the beginning.
She can't bear the look of suspicion in the eyes of Mulciber or Nott. The look of interest in those of Riddle and Black. The doubtful one in Malfoy's and Lestrange's. They are all surrounding her and examining their prey like scientists look at a special specie, ready to dissect it without an ounce of pity, just out of their own curiosity. She feels almost naked, weak. She can't believe after all of the efforts she made, she still ends up powerless in front of Riddle.
She wants to deny everything and let them talk until they get bored. She wants to reset the events, get back in time, beat Horny's ass so that Myrtle could stop hiding in the bathrooms, they would not encounter Riddle getting out of the Chamber and Eileen would remain the invisible, uninteresting loser no one wished to have anything to do with her.
She tries a last attempt to escape the situation.
"My... recovery has been super efficient. Like, a LOT. Gave me super powers and whatnot... pretty cool if you wanna know. It has a price, of course. In exchange of powers, my brain has been reduced into a one of troll, thus explains my poor results in theorical classes. You should try dying once or twice guys, who knows what kind of gift Life could offer you out of this experience."
They all are staring again. This time, their gazes are scarier than before. The silence streches up until Mulciber decides it's been long enough and calls out his Lord. "Riddle, can I...?"
"Please."
With the boy's permission, he picks his wand out and aims at their prisoner. Eileen has no time to react or brace for the incoming spell. It hits right in the sternum, spreading a guttural pain all over the area like a thousand of broken glass has exploded from inside. She immediately coughs blood, wheezing as the suffering increases. Red covers a large part of her white shirt.
"Fu...ck...!" she sputters. "H-Hu...rts..."
"Impressive. You're still able to talk after that," Riddle marvels like he just found the most valuable treasure to put his next Horcrux in. Oh, so it's like this Harry Potter must have felt everyday.
"Then let's see if you still can after this one—"
"N-Nh... wa...it. 'll... talk."
He stores the wand away, satisfied with her choice. Eileen waits to be healed, and waits again until she becomes aware he wasn't going to do anything. Cursing the bastard in all languages she knows (only three), she tries to stay awake while gathering a lot of her strength. Even if blacking out sounds like a salvation right now, they will only Renervate her as many times as they wish anyway.
"D-Don't like... to be... n-noticed. Don't want p-people to... have– h-high expectations for me. Would be too... d-disappointed..."
God. The pain is slowly killing her.
"A-And I-...'m too... too lazy." She ends up by giving up to the screen of darkness that takes her.
She doesn't know how much time she spent uncounscious, but the next thing she knows, a sudden shock pulls her from sleep without warning and she can breathe again. Blood is still splattered on her lower lip and clothes, but Eileen is fine again. Although her position remains the same as earlier; on this damn chair, restrained by snakes wrapped around the tender skin of her wrists. Red lines start becoming visible under the vicious tiny beasts.
She is a bit dizzy from whatever they just did to her. It still hurts so much but the pain is slowly reducing to stinging chills coursing through her entire body.
"Maybe that little experience helped you clear your mind?"
She barely can think straight for a couple of seconds. To hell with that, she can't think properly anymore. "Clear your mind Harry..." she mumbles incoherently. Hey, that sentence does ring a bell.
"What was that?"
"Don't know. Did we go too far maybe?"
"Hardly," Riddle cuts sharply. "Floquet, are you with us?"
"Think so?"
"Then answer this question: what is your purpose here?"
What's up with the stupid question? She is about to ask just this but then... No, no. Telling Riddle he is stupid would result to more pain. Eileen doesn't like pain. Hell, who does? What was her purpose here already? Oh, yes.
"I want to... have a normal life. A better life without c-counting the days I have left. To grow up as a normal person... with normal friends, a normal job and get a normal death afterwards. I only wish for the most boring, plainest... e-existence among all of you, the main characters. But hey- Fate is a real son of a bitch ya know? Putting me here above everywhere else... Well. I can enjoy magic and if I remove the pain in the ass you all are from the picture, it's not so bad after all..."
"I can't believe she just insulted all of us with no fear," Orion laughs. Although his enthusiasm remains the only one among them, because his friends aren't taking it so lightly. They look like they want to hex her more than ever now.
"We definitely broke her."
Avery is starting to panic and Eileen has the sudden urge to burst out of laughter because his face is so funny. Riddle is calmer than everyone else. The boy is already aware the delirious state she is in is only temporay. A slight side effect caused by the short period of time between Mulciber's spell and the Renervate. It's for the best actually. Because the girl is barely thinking straight at this moment, and might greatly help in loosening that solide tongue of hers.
"Are you light or dark?" he interrogates out of the blue. The others stop their ranting to focus back on the questioning.
"I don't know. Maybe Light?"
Ha, Tom thinks. A smart Slytherin would have lied if not Dark. No one can survive this house by supporting the Light. But sending himself back to the day he duelled her, she might not be wrong. Is there maybe a Light side in the Floquet bloodline he needed to check? He would leave it to Malfoy as his father has access to some personal folders at the Ministry.
"Are you a Time-Traveler?"
She suddenly becomes all quiet. Something eerie passes through her apathetic expression for a moment. It's like she is in a paralytic trance, regaining a tiny ounce of lucidity for less than five seconds before a veil of emptiness covers her face once again.
"Fuck off Malfoy. You read too much fantasy novels. What's next? You'll think I'm the reincarnation of Merlin?"
"Fucking bitch—"
Strange. Very strange indeed. He stands up from the sofa. "Floquet. What do you know?"
"Nothing!" She burts out a little too fast. She realizes it too, but too late. The thing is, instead of clapping her mouth shut like as anyone with a modicum of intelligence would have done, Eileen keeps the words flowing out like an open tap.
"... Okay, in fact I might know a bit. I'm just a little too perceptive sometimes. I figure things out pretty fast, like what is Slughorn's favourite wine and if he not-so-secretely took a sip this morning, who Lestrange have shagged last week –Jena Crowley– , how Atheis tries to bring out the cleavage of her unbuttoned shirt as soon as Riddle is around..."
"You seriously deducted that?!" Lestrange's exclamation provocked the disgust of Malfoy and Nott. Those boys are honestly too enfolded in blood and nobility that the simplest idea of their friend initiating contact with a non-pureblood girl gives them goosebumps.
The idiots.
"I think every Hufflepuffs are in the loop now. Didn't you noticed the stares from their table since Tuesday?"
"Not only a half-blood but a Hufflepuff, Reinhard? How low are you willing to go just to satisfy your insatiable libido?!"
"She got a really nice body. You should have seen her breast..."
"May salazar prevent me from being infected by your stupidity," Nott groans.
"Enough."
One word. Only one, and the noise shuts down instantly in the common room. It speaks volume on what the young man here has already achieved, but this isn't something kew for Eileen who is content to be fascinated by how the future tyrant order controls his fervent pawns.
Riddle suppresses a sigh. If the prick was alone, she bets he would have rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you still can lie in your delirious state. I truly regret not sticking with my initial plan. I should have drown you with vaeritaserum."
She snorts. "I don't care if you don't believe me Riddle."
"I think you do care, Floquet. Want to know why?"
"Go ahead," she sings like she is the one with all the good cards in hand. Like she wasn't stuck on that chair, held still by mini snakes hissing threateningly every time she tried to move her wrists.
Riddle can't help but smile in anticipation of what he is about to reveal.
"Because I heard you say the strangest things when you weren't perfectly conscious of it yourself."
"What?"
All the boys gathered in the common room are now listening with rapt attention.
"Don't you remember? You said I''m going to get killed by my own self. That my biggest fear will lead to my doom someday."
Did she, now? Impossible. There is absolutely no way she could have— Oh, wait. Yeah. That's right. She remembers cursing the bastard our loud when she saw the red writing on the walls next to Sanderson's body for the first time. Was Riddle around the crime scene the whole time? What was he doing here, if not to gloat about his ridiculous, cliché schemes of attacking everybody with his giant reptile pet?
His voice is coming closer.
"And while you were agonizing in the lavatory. You screamed something at me even weirder than last time. "Don't you dare kill Myrtle again"... was it? "Again"? Would you care explaining this to me?"
Uuuh. It becomes harder and harder to maintain her mind cleared of blurry shapes and buzzing sounds. Eileen can't difference what to hide and what to reveal anymore. She feels like her head is going to explode and the only hope she can pray for is the annoying questioning to end very soon.
"I don't know..."
Riddle is now in front of her, eyes gleaming with a thirst for answers. He leans forward, putting more pressure on her tightly bound wrists. She barely reacts.
"Are you a Time-traveler like Abraxas suggested?"
"No... No, I don't know. I don't know."
"How could I have killed Myrtle again if it never happened before?"
"Stop. My head... it hurts–"
"Tell me what you know."
"I can't."
"How did Myrtle die?"
"You killed her."
"How?"
"You know how. I need... I need to sleep. Let me sleep for a bit..."
He is so close to her face, she can feel his odourless breath when he says in a low whisper:
"Floquet– I need you to answer these questions if you want me to leave you alone. Can you do that for me?"
She would do anything just for the pleasure to close her eyes and be swept away into nothingness.
"Mmm'okay..."
"Answer sincerely. Are you a Time-Traveler or not?"
The buzzing in her ears and head intensifies. She lets out a small hiss as well as a groan, trying to focus on the words she has to say in order to be offered some peace.
"...No."
There is a pause in the common room where no one utter a word for a minute. It's so tense, she can barely catch Riddle's heart beating fiercly- Ah, no. It was only when she felt the pounding in her own chest until it hurt that Eileen realizes it's not Riddle's heart.
"Alright," he says as he pulls away from her personal space with an air of disappointment.
She has her eyes closed now. She can hear distant whispers all around her, although Eileen can no more pay them any attention. She wants to sleep so bad. The world of blackness is calling her.
"One last question before we let you go Floquet."
It's not Riddle's voice. Maybe Black's? She really can't tell.
"What do you think of Tom Riddle's reign? About him grabbing power and titles all over Britain until he becomes Europe's greatest Dark Lord?"
Again, a stupid question. It has even become impossible to sigh in her state but the intention isn't lacking, believe her.
"I don't care as long as I'm away from the scourge of humanity."
Yep. Definitely something she must plan now before pandemonium blasts off in magical Britain.
"I hope the next generation is prepared for what it's coming, 'cause I don't intend to stay longer... to watch Britain in chaos. S'not my war dammit. Not my problem. Fuck Fate... oh my, y'dunno what's comin' H'rry..."
It is her final mumbling before she peacefully enters the worlds of dreams, leaving the others in a mix of emotions including confusion, amusement and dread. Because she has revealed more than they thought, but still not enough at the same time.
Who is Eileen Floquet?
It was the one question she hasn't truly answered except in blatant lies even a four years old kid would be able to tell.
One thing is sure though: they're going to keep a firm eye on the slytherin outcast from now on.
Next time she wakes up for good, it's with the familiar ceiling of the dorm welcoming her to the real world. The daylight pours the sun's rays through the lake where it comes smashing into the glass devoid of the green curtains. Groaning, Eileen covers her face with one arm, clearly intending to grab some hours of sleep more.
"Wake up, idiot."
"Mmmnh... Sadell?"
"You're going to be late for breakfast."
Sounds of clothes with cases opening and closing one after another announce the start of the morning for the Slytherin's popular girls trio. Crap. Why do they have to get up this early on a weekend?! Eileen starts thinking all of sudden.
"Are we Saturday?"
"Sunday, idiot."
Such kind words. She rolls over on the mattress to greet the other witch with a sleepy mocking smile.
"Hello to you to Atheis."
"Shut the fuck up," is all she retorts before slamming the door behind her.
Blinking the confusion and the rest of sleepiness away, the slytherin sits up on the bed. Sunday, huh... Already? No, wait. It was saturday when she left the hospital wing. It couldn't be sunday at the moment. Or... maybe... No way. The last thing she remembers is her being dragged into the Great Hall, Dippet's mediocre speech, briefly meeting with Harvey and then...
... Then?
Something's wrong.
"Hurry Eileen, or I will drag you out of the dorm with a binding spell."
"Hum- Sadell?"
"What?" she impatiently turns around. Eileen is still sitting on the edge of the mattress, looking unsure.
"What happened after lunch?"
The word "yesterday" gets stuck on her tongue, because it's still nonsense to Eileen who has absolutely no memory of the day before since the end of lunch.
Elizabeth stops what she is doing, meeting Sadell's glare before looking away. The black haired girl sighs, putting away the conjured mirror next to the window for better luminosity.
"You don't remember?"
"I wouldn't ask otherwise..."
"You collapsed."
It takes a moment for Eileen to process the words. She blinks once, twice. Tries to recollect the mental pictures of the event from the day before but... nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"I... collapsed?"
"Black mentioned something about the side effects of a potion given to you by the mediwitch. Seems like it took you out of surprise in the middle of the hallway. Elizabeth and I had to carry you to the dorm ourselves. You owe us one for this by the way."
Wow. So that's what happened. Yes, there was something the woman told about some side effects. Eileen hasn't thought it would happen to soon. It's like blinking through time and space, similar to what teleportation would be. Merlin, that could have been more dangerous. What if she fainted alone with only Riddle around? Would the magic-maniac do some weird, disgusting rituals on her body? Would he kill her for good just in case?
The little rise of panic shuts down instantly. She gets on her feet, stretching until the backbones crack.
"Jeez. That means I slept for a whole day and I still feel tired!"
Demeris scoffs. "Must be the side effect of your eternal idleness."
Later that day, it is Hogsmeade all over again. Now that the murder case has been solved, every students above third year could enjoy a bit of fresh air they seem to have hugely missed. Even Eileen. She felt far too confined within Hogwarts' walls, locked with a forthcoming murderer who was more than assurely preparing something for her. Why? Because it can't be otherwise. Riddle doing nothing after the fight in the bathroom is just too good to be true. She hasn't been unscathed but- he doesn't ask her anything. He doesn't threaten her at all to obtain answers. And she knows he wants answers. He needs them, that's for sure.
It makes her so stressed out nowadays that she almost went to Orion in order to have some hints about Riddle's unDark-Lorded behaviour... That is to say, everything isn't back to normal since her return from the hospital wing. She doesn't know what the bastard told them but some of the group's members have something changed in their attitude toward the black sheep of Slytherin.
They're still pretty hostile, there is no doubt. But at the same time their comebacks aren't as hurting as before. Rather, it's like the boys were hesitating between condescension and curiosity the rare times they intended to speak to her. And isn't it even weirder?
"Why are you looking at me Mudblood?"
Ah, well. Everyone but the pumpous Malfoy who still thinks of Eileen as the dirtiest trash that dares to breath the same air as him. She arches an eyebrow but then decides against provoking the irritating Malfoy heir by wordlessly looking away. The expression he makes is even more disdainful although the idiot seems pleased with her docility.
She can't believe it. Eileen has planned to go to her favourite hiding spot to enjoy the newest volumes of some muggle books, only to have Sadell taking a painful grip on her arm to lead her away with the rest of the gang. That thing too, is something Eileen can't get used to. Eldwins initiates too much contact without any particular reason for a girl of her statut that shouldn't be touching "dirty-blooded" people like Eileen. Is she aware of what she was doing? That little incident led the slytherin outcast to their favourite pub and their usual table once again, with Eileen squeezed between Eldwins and Nott who glances at her with a strange expression.
"What?" she asks bitterly. The situation is not to her liking at all.
He snorts. "Why so grumpy today?"
"I shouldn't be here," she murmurs so lowly that only Ezekiel can hear.
"Why?
She blinks. "'Cause I don't want to? I'm supposed to be elsewhere, far away from all of you to enjoy peace."
"You enjoying peace always result in us having to carry you to the hospital bed," Sadell interrupts suddenly. "We are tired of taking care of the Slytherin's good-for-nothing so all you have to do now is sit, enjoy your drink and behave."
She wants to retort so bad that she had to bit her tongue. So, instead of taking part in the discussion, Eileen leans back on the U-shaped couch with the back of her head laying on the top of the backrest. Aaah. She should have feigned illness in front of the gullible potion teacher, that way she could have avoid the little gathering in the dorm, alone and at peace.
"Abraxas, do you know if your parents will hold a ball this summer too? I want to escape my family for a bit before I go crazy."
"Beg for me to invite you Logan, then I will think about it."
"You bastard. I would come uninvited if I have to. My sisters are super annoying every time I come back from Hogwarts!"
"Ha. Try our wards and see if your body doesn't end up pulverized in two seconds."
"I would like to see that happen."
"Shut up Reinhard!"
"Riddle, you're free to come whenever you want. My parents are quite fond of you since last year. It wouldn't be a problem if you want to spend all summer by my house."
"You are too kind," the other drawls as Malfoy's face brightens up with pride.
Eileen wants to puke. Next to him, Atheis also takes her chances like an idiot. "Riddle, I know my house isn't as fancy as Malfoy's but if you ever want to come..."
At this, Nott cracks a laugh between two sips of butterbeer. "Ooh? Greengrass is making her move again. Inviting a man to your home? Do you think you're worth Tom's time?"
She glares with murderous intent. "Well, seeing the failing grades you got this year and the numerous tasks you were given and couldn't complete, I think that my worth certainly is above yours, indeed."
Ezekiel has the decency to look embarrassed. Satisfied with the lack of response, she turns to Riddle again, only to be interrupted by Orion.
"Wow, looks like your grew a firmer backbone over the month Atheis. Although you're still not an asset valuable enough to get Tom's attention I'm afraid.
"What do you know, Orion?" she hisses.
"A lot. Unlike you."
Sadell takes this moment to intervene. "Are you all really argumenting over him like children? Riddle is not a toy."
"Yeah," Orion mocks, and then playing the comedy until the end, he adds, "Riddle's mine."
Mulciber spits out a mouthful of butterbeer, spreading sweet liquid over Avery next to him. "For Salazar's sake!" Aiden groans in a disgusted grimace. The other doesn't seem apologetic when he realizes who the victim is. He shrugs.
"Karma."
"Even though I am flattered, Black, I am saddened to announce that I'm nobody's. And don't you dare do the puppy eyes because I could not care less of your falsely heartbroken spirit."
Orion's laugh intensifies so loudly that the whole pub would have given them the cold stare if not for the privacy charm Riddle has cast around the table. Eileen is speechless. Rare are the times where Riddle is capable of humour like this.
Showing traits of impatience, Atheis tries to grab his attention once more. "So... what do you say Riddle? Will you come?"
"Ah," he says and already looks conciliatory. "It would be my pleasure to go. Alas, a lot of preparation for what is to come in the future must be made. We won't see each other over Summer I am afraid..."
Look at how the bastard can lie without a gram of effort. The fake consideration sticks all over his being like a breeze. Atheis is constricted. "Oh... Thats too bad."
"Eldwins," Riddle calls out without any transition. "Did you find the thing I asked for?"
"I did. It was tiresome to convince my cousin to search it in the family's vault for days, but she managed to retrieve it."
"Good."
"The problem is: the book is charmed so that it can't leave the main house or can't be manipulated by others than the Eldwins lineage. I still can send copies of the pages you want–"
"No, no need. Let's meet at your home during Summer if you don't mind."
It's like she can barely believe what she just heard. She quickly comes back at reality, nodding solemnely while Atheis wears an even more crestfallen expression than before.
"And you Floquet?"
She startles. Following the annoying voice, she meets Orion's inquiring blue eyes. "What?"
"What are you doing for holidays?"
"Huh."
"Going somewhere? Meeting your boyfriend? Getting depressed?" Does he think he's being funny?
"Haha!"
... Apparently for Mulciber, yes he is.
"I don't know. I guess I'll go with the flow. Do you think the muggle world would be a flagship destination during summer?"
As she thought, she is assaulted with a lot of glares. Honestly, she just wanted to get back to being invisible and drink at peace. Of course, Riddle has to be the one making it impossible.
"It's not."
"Why?" slightly irked, she dares to take things further.
"Have you ever lived a war, Floquet? Have you ever known darkness and despair? The feeling of being locked into a little box and thrown into an ocean of fire without any escape? This is what it is in muggle London right now. You'll see destroyed buildings, panic spread all over the city, clouds of smoke so thick you can't see more than a foot away. You could even choke on the toxic fumes and die. Every new day is a game to know who is going to die first. Your mother? Your brother? The neighbours? The grocer?"
...Okay. Eileen hasn't thought of this at all. How could she forget the muggle war they had to learn a hundred times at school when she was still alive? How could she forget the horror that psycho had to live through everytime he was out of Hogwarts? That was insane, really. To be able to experience that kind of thing and still live to tell the story. Well, he isn't Tom Riddle for nothing.
"Okay, muggle London is a no-no. Then what about other countries? A muggle Dublin must be terrific to visit."
The glare she receives tells her to shut up for good. Okay, it's time to go back to merging with the shadows then.
"You never learn," Sadell sighs. Eileen shrugs and prepares herself to be forgotten anew, when Riddle's voice rises again. More cynical.
"Speaking of which, I hope you're ready for the week, Floquet. Because you're certainly not going to take the OWLs at your current level."
She frowns. "... What do you mean?"
He looks more impatient this time. "The tutoring lessons are still ongoing."
"WHAT?!"
"Watch your tone," Malfoy growls.
"But I thought– Weren't they suppose to...?"
Oh. Now that she thinks about it, Riddle did tell her the lessons were not over until he says so. Meaning: she's stuck with the Heir of Slytherin until the end of the year. Multiple times. Alone. Yep, that's it. She's going to prepare a plan to escape Hogwarts as soon as possible.
"Tomorrow, the Astronomy classroom at five o'clock after Transfiguration. Be late and you'll be doing your OWLs without your legs."
Well. If it doesn't sound fun as hell.