The Girl from Azkaban ~ Tom Riddle (18+)

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖙𝖞-𝕾𝖎𝖝

~✧~

It was like last year, only different. The first of September came sooner than expected and the holidays ended. It was time to say goodbye again, but this time it was harder for Taraphina. This year she was on her own. Neither her brother, nor Tom, nor the rest of her group of friends accompanied her. They had already graduated and now it was up to Taraphina herself to get her degree over with. It was strange to think that she had loathed Abraxas's entire friend group last year and was now even in a relationship with what she considered the worst. It was strange and also a little creepy how quickly things could change.

Taraphina had hardly slept the night before she left for the station, she didn't know if it was the excitement or the thought of living without the boys for a while.

A little suspiciously, she walked up the steps of the carriage and looked over her shoulder at Tom one last time. Then the carriage door closed and the train rolled off after a loud honk.

She thought it would be harder to say goodbye, but to her surprise it was surprisingly easy. Only in a week's time would she learn to understand how long and lonely a year could feel.

Taraphina strolled through the train and thought about where she could settle down. As she was already very late, most compartments were already full. She kept walking, passing the compartment with girls from her house and year, but quickly moved on. She was in no mood to hear the dramas of the various pureblood families, she had enough of her own, though Tom would certainly have enjoyed the latest gossip.

In one of the rear compartments of the train sat four first years and to her surprise she even knew one of the boy. The black-haired boy was Theodore's little brother and she could already tell by his cheeky manner; a little glance was enough to confirm it.

She didn't even have to ask if she could join the young students, because as soon as the dark-haired boy spotted her, she was pulled into the train compartment. The boy proudly told his friends about Taraphina and before long the one-sided conversation degenerated into a big round of questions about Hogwarts, the Houses and the daily routines.

"So what all have you experienced at school with Theo already?" asked what must have been the smallest of the group.

"Oh, uh," the witch faltered and thought about which stories would be age-appropriate to tell, "Once we left our common room after curfew and sneaked through the school. It was very funny, we stormed the kitchen, trashed the Great Hall, but at some point Slughorn caught us because the paintings gave us away."

"And did you get in trouble then?"

Taraphina smirked at the memory and shook her head, "No, Slughorn is our tutor and since we hadn't gotten on his bad side before, he let us get away without punishment. So I always put up well with Slughorn."

Everyone laughed but eventually the question Taraphina remembered asking too came up, "What if we don't get into Slytherin?"

The little ones looked at her with big fearful eyes, Taraphina still remembered that fear very well. They all came from pureblood families so she could well imagine the fear the younger ones had of sullying the family pride. If they could be sure they would still be loved equally by their families, Taraphina would have told them that the hat always looks for the house that is the best choice for you. But with the background knowledge that her parents seemed to love her less and less despite the fact that she had ended up in Slytherin, she could only say, "The Hat will respect your wishes, even if it affects the choice of which house would be best for you." Taraphina only hoped that none of the children would now be denied their desired house after all. Otherwise, she would have to watch something much worse happen to them than to her in their younger years.