my love, my loss ─── tom riddle

001.

the before

or

autumn, 1942.

( eila )

SIXTEEN.

THE WORD felt odd on her tongue, but it was always like this on birthdays, right?

Eila had to admit she'd felt a bit of shock when she had woken up and realized she'd made it this far. When she had left her bed and went to the window, the sun had shone directly into her eyes and that dizzy feeling she knew all too well had returned. She couldn't think about all of that right now, though. Right now she had to focus, because she was running, and she was winning. Winning was what she did best.

As selfish as it sounded, winning made her feel alive.

She wasn't sure if Abraxas knew she was only racing him back to the dungeons so that he wouldn't get her in trouble for being out past curfew. Maybe he just assumed it was one of the many spontaneous things she did for no reason at all. Either way, she didn't really care what he thought of her right now. She had managed to avoid detention for nearly six years and she wasn't going to break her streak now.

Abraxas was close behind, but all that mattered was that she was still beating him. His legs were longer and his endurance was probably much better than hers, and somehow she was still ahead. She would have laughed out of satisfaction if she wasn't out of breath.

Their robes billowed around them and their school bags thumped against their sides as they sprinted through hallway after hallway. Here they turned left, there they turned right, and now they had reached the secluded stairwell that led to the dungeons. This would be a challenge.

Eila began the downward descent, trying not to trip down the stairs. Abraxas was still right behind her and his shoe soles were hitting each step more quickly than the last. By the time she reached the bottom of the staircase, her lungs and muscles were on fire, but her legs kept running.

They were sprinting through the dimly-lit dungeon corridors now, their shoes angrily hitting the stone floors. Their footsteps echoed through the hallways and the shadows their bodies cast flitted around the walls. Abraxas was nearly at her side now. Eila's side felt as though a dagger had stuck in it as they neared the hidden door to the Slytherin common room.

A new surge of adrenaline coursed through her as she heard his breathing right in her ear. She took a few long strides before leaping towards the part of the hall where the wall would slide open, but-

"Abraxas!" she shrieked as he practically tackled her to the ground. She didn't fall from too high, but she hit the ground hard nonetheless. They were both panting and coughing as Eila shoved him off of her. "I won," she exhaled.

"You did not," Abraxas said between breaths, causing Eila to slap his arm jokingly.

She started laughing, making him chuckle also, though they were both still trying to fill their lungs back up with air. She turned around partially from where she was leaning against the wall and lifted a fist to hit the stone. "Concordia!" The wall parted to reveal the common room, mostly emptied of students and shrouded in darkness where the firelight did not reach. The students in lower years had already retired to the dormitories, but a handful of fifth, sixth, and seventh years still milled around. Abraxas and Eila climbed through the open wall, which slowly closed after they had made it inside the common room.