Hogwarts: a school of Witchcraft and Love (Tom Marvolo Riddle x F!reader)

Chapter 1-04

The quiet flipping of pages and distant shuffle of books being organized on the bookshelves provided a steady sort of ambiance.

You hadn't had many if any opportunities to spend time with Tom recently, but Avery's unwelcome antics had brought you back together, and you weren't going to pass on the chance even if you couldn't speak with the librarian constantly breathing down your necks and watching you like a hawk.

It was like she was waiting for you to make a mistake-longing for you to slip up and break any of the rules so she could chew you out and then kick you out. Every miniscule movement you made felt frowned upon.

Madam Pince wasn't like that just to you, though. She seemed to possess this same unwelcoming attitude against the handful of other students spread out across the many corners of the room. On one instance you waved at her when she walked by your table by the window but all she returned was a disgruntled glare before she marched on.

As soon as you found a place to sit, Tom immediately began searching through the shelves until he found the volume he was looking for. You heard him flip it open. While he was busy looking for the page he bookmarked, you glanced around.

The inside of the library was exactly what you'd expect from Hogwarts. Dozens of floor to ceiling shelves filled with books, ancient manuscripts and dark wooden beams, between them hundreds of narrow rows and polished teak study tables to sit and read to your heart's content. The only wall that didn't hold literature of all sizes was the one with the windows-the one your table was closest to-off which hung lanterns with a single candle flickering in them.

The back of the library was practically abandoned at this time in the evening and the few students that were there all sat in the front and appeared to be sixth-or seventh-years studying. It was only the very start of the semester so you weren't sure what they were reading up on. Perhaps they had failed one of their tests and needed to retake them.

All in all, the ambient was serene.

Until...

From somewhere in the labyrinth of books, you heard the sharp clap of a book hitting the stone floor, followed by a bitten-off curse. You gulped and feared for the one responsible.

Apperently, the librarian thought—or hoped—that to be you because in no time at all, her bone-white shrivelled face came popping out from behind the shelf behind you.

You and Tom both turned your heads at her and shook them, not us, silently telling her you weren't the ones that made the sound. Her irritated eyes peered around briefly but after seeing no evidence laying on the ground, her head disappeared from where it came.

You stared at Tom who shrugged with one shoulder, only to both jump in your chairs when Madam Pince began scolding a male student further away, definitely not in a whisper. He was presumably the one that broke the silence.

You felt bad for him, hearing him mutter a string of apologies and that he really needed to study for his O.W.L.S. because he didn't pass them, only to hear Pince mercilessly retort that he "wouldn't have failed if he treated the books the school generously supplied with care". She all but shouted this at him, seconds before ordering him out.

Tom and you connected your gazes.

"Harsh," you mouthed at him. He nodded but didn't look nearly as pertrubed as you did, and broke eyecontact to go back to perusing the pages. It only took another moment before he seemed to find the correct passage.

Your eyes dropped to the open entry he presented before your nose. The pages were stained yellow from time and the cover felt old under your fingertips as you brought it closer to your face.