Modification || T. Riddle || Completed

Chapter 4: Midnight Astronomy

Chapter 4: Midnight Astronomy

Estela enjoyed her Charms lesson. The class had learnt the Silencing charm which renders the victim temporarily mute. She had managed to silence three Gryffindor girls who were whispering about her and Riddle. Her Charms teacher, Professor Filius Flitwick, gave her a negative glower in front of the Gryffindors, before sneaking a sly grin to Estela, taken aback that she silenced the three girls at once.

She headed back to the Ravenclaw Common Room and completed her homework as quickly as she could, eager to get it over and done with. When she had finished, she sat in front of the magnificent marble fireplace in a comfortable blue chair made of leather.

She watched the flames dance in their place in a vibrant ocean of ruby, orange and yellow. Above the fireplace, hung on the wall, was a large portrait in a thick golden frame of a beautiful yet austere looking woman. She was tall, and had shady hair and dark eyes. She looked down at Estela and smiled, her face looked reassuring and warm. The woman in the portrait was Rowena Ravenclaw - founder of Ravenclaw House.

Estela glanced towards the grandfather clock to her right and noticed it was time to head to her first ever prefect meeting, followed by her first ever round of duties. Her stomach fluttered a bit out of both nervousness and excitement as she thought of her new responsibilities.

Estela entered the prefect common room and sat with the other new prefects. She greeted them all apart from Riddle and Rita Leighton, the female prefect for Slytherin. Riddle and Leighton were sitting apart from the rest of the group, in deep conversation with the Head Boy, Beckett Lawrence, and the way they spoke in hushed tones started to make Estela's blood burn with annoyance. She could tell already that there would be undoubted favouritism towards them.

The Head-Boy, Beckett, was tall and well-built, and you could tell from his broad shoulders and thick arms that he was a Quidditch player.

"Beckett?" Asked a Hufflepuff girl who was standing in front of the group, fiddling with her sleeves as she waited for the Head boy.

But Beckett Lawrence did not even bother to budge until he had finished his conversation with Riddle and Leighton, and Estela disliked him instantly.

When Beckett could finally be bothered to join the Hufflepuff Head girl, she smiled kindly at the group before she began. "First of all, I'd like to congratulate you all for being selected to become prefects for your respective Houses. Not only is it a great privilege, but it's also a lot of hard work that needs to be taken seriously."

From her side, Beckett gave out a bored huff, as though he was urging her to get on with it because he had more important places to be.

The Hufflepuff girl flushed pink. "You will all be beginning your duties as prefects tonight, and each house will be assigned a different part of the castle to patrol. At first, you'll patrol in pairs, but once you become more comfortable you will begin to work independently. This gives you a chance to get to know your fellow prefect a bit better, as you'll be working together throughout the school year."

The girl waved her wand and multiple pieces of parchment flew out of her bag and landed on each of the new prefects' laps.

"Here are this week's patrol timetables, and the new schedule will be posted every week on this bulletin board," she said, gesturing towards a corkboard to her right with a smile. "If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask, but that's all I have to say for now. Is there anything you'd like to add, Beckett?"

The broadly-built Slytherin boy shrugged lazily, and he looked like a mountain compared to the petite Hufflepuff by his side.

"Right," she said, her tone a bit deflated. "Well then, time to start your first rounds of prefect duties. Enjoy!"