evelynn | t.riddle

1 | A HALLOWEEN SURPRISE

Everyone's in the Great Hall for the Annual Halloween feast, and twelve-year-old Tom Riddle watches everyone eat the sweets without care. He's about to take a Cauldron Cake when suddenly he senses something.

It's dark and cold - the cold that seeps into your very bones, no matter what you do to try and prevent it from happening, and stays there - with an undercurrent of what feels like electricity running through it, and... it's getting stronger. If Tom didn't know any better, he'd say...something or someone was coming.

But that's imp- never mind, it's perfectly possible despite being in the middle of Hogwarts and buried under all its Wards that are supposed to be impenetrable.

Because all the candles suddenly went out simultaneously, and even the Charm on the ceiling went dark as that electric coldness got a hundred times stronger. Strong enough for even the other students to feel it and shiver.

Tom, however, is long past shivering, more like frozen in place - there's something in that darkness, something he can feel drawing closer.

So much for Hogwarts being so safe.

He figures nobody will come out of this alive, considering how powerful this feels. Powerful, Dark, and incredibly alluring - if he weren't frozen to his seat in anticipation and no small amount of fear, he'd want to know more about it. He doesn't even have to look at the professors' table to know Dumbledore's gaze is on him suspiciously, but then everything does. He does not have to worry about meeting the old fool's gaze.

There are several shrieks from the First-Years across the hall, and even more, when there's a sound a lot like a gunshot Tom once heard - unsurprisingly, resulting in screams across the entire hall from what sounds like all seven years - and the coldness and electricity spikes hard for a moment before starting to fade.

As the darkness lightens, everyone's looking around in fear - wondering when the other shoe will drop, most likely, right up until a Ravenclaw Third-Year shrieks once more, drawing everyone's attention as she grabs at the person next to her frantically. Similar reactions from the Hufflepuff table tell him they've found the other shoe, and it's already hit the floor - and it's terrible.

Then there's an unfamiliar groan and gasps of 'She's awake!' 'Bloody Merlin!' and 'How is she even alive?!' coming from everyone that's in eyesight of...this girl.

Even the Slytherins are trying to see the newcomer, and Tom manages to get a glimpse of raven-black hair that seems to suck in the light and pale skin - though the latter is hard to see since there are more injuries and blood than skin to see. And then she gives a wet, rattling cough that makes a splattering sound on the ground that has Tom almost wincing - he knows what that's like, coughing up blood.

Although, he can't say he's ever been cursed as much as he's sensing on her. His magic sense, better than almost anyone else's in the school, actually has him feeling sympathy for this girl - he's never sensed anything so dark before, and it's all coming from her. It can't be particularly healthy...or even painless, for that matter.

And then she elicits several shrieks, gasps, and a few retches when she grabs her right shoulder and...pops it back into place.

Now THAT is some impressive pain tolerance. Even he has to admit and reluctantly admire that level of endurance. He's seen someone pass out from a finger getting popped back into place.

And then Albus Dumbledore comes down the aisle, wand in hand and says, "Now, children, don't crowd her. Let me through, please."

The Gryffindors that had managed to gather around to see what was going on move out of the way, making an opening for him - and then, taking everyone by surprise, the girl yells, "No, stay away from me! Stay away!"