Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

53: Fire with fire.

The night before her O.W.L.'s came much quicker than expected. She knew it wasn't necessary, yet she still made her way to the library after dinner to spend some last hours reciting everything she needed tomorrow. Flo always wanted to get a good night's sleep before big tests, and was already tucked into bed around 8.

She got quite a lot of work done, sitting alone at a table on the second floor of the library. The fire and mug of red wine gave her some much welcomed warmth. A little after 10, bent over her potions book, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. As she looked up, she spotted Ash Greengrass, her younger fellow Ravenvlaw.
Ash stopped in front of Shivs table and handed her a prestine white envelope. It was sealed with wax, embedded with the Selwyn family sigil. 'Non Ducor, Duco' in small cursive writing under the seal.

'I was asked to give this to you,' Ash said, shifting from one foot to the other nervously. She looked like she wanted to say something.
Shiv put the letter aside and looked up at her. She gave the girl a polite small smile. 'Whats up?'

Ash folded her hands behind her back. 'We never really talked about it..' she said softly. 'I'm really sorry you had to find her. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you.'

It was heartwarming and very welcome to have someone react in an empathetic way towards what happened with Myrtle. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by more footsteps on the stairs. Both girls looked over to see who it was.
Tom came strolling up the steps, hands in the pockets of his trousers. He stopped next to Ash, and gave her a small, curt nod that she took as her sign to leave.

'Goodnight, Siobhan,' Ash said, and she threw Shiv a small smile. Then, she looked up at Tom. 'Riddle,' she said flatly, and walked away.

Shiv had to bite back a grin. 'She's a witty one,' she said, and she watched Tom sit down in front of her. 'Kinda reminds me of myself sometimes.'

Tom raised his eyebrows at her and started taking out some books.
Shiv took this time to open the letter Ash had brought her. It was a small piece of crisp white paper. No words of encouragement the night before her exams, she guessed. Her eyes scanned the few lines of slanted writing.

Dear Siobhan,
Let's hope you make the best of it tomorrow.
Don't embarrass us. Even Cillian managed to get 9.
Luckily, you have always looked good in white.

Dorian.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Passive aggressive letters had always been her father's specialty. One she didn't appreciate much. It was a clear message, though. If she wanted to play the game and try to gain independence, he still held that threat of marriage.
She tucked the piece of paper deep down in her bag and faced Tom again.

'What are you here for?'
'I want to study.'
'You could do that anywhere.'
'But I want to do it here.'

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on behind those dark brown eyes. He looked down and started filling out something that looked like an official form.
Reaching over the table, she grabbed his cigarette case and took one out. She lit it, crossed her arms, and kept looking at Tom. She was annoyed that he came here on such an important night. There was no point in trying to concentrate when he was near, not with the way they were acting around each other now.

'You can keep looking, but it won't do you any good on a night like this,' Tom spoke without looking up.

Shiv sighed and took a drag of her cigarette. She chose to ignore his words. 'What are you doing?'

He didn't respond, but pushed the form towards her. Taking a closer look, she realized it was the request paper for the wands he wanted. The bottom of the paper showed a price indication.