butterfly effect, tom riddle

11. | past

I pushed open the trapdoor, coughing as dust attacked my nostrils.

I squinted and inspected the atmosphere around me, to see that I was in some sort of storage room. Propping myself up with my arms, I stealthily climbed out of the trapdoor, glancing back at Tom, who was watching me—still in that tunnel.

"It's fine," I grunted, brushing dust off myself. "You can come."

At this, Tom slowly started climbing the ladder to the trapdoor, and I watched in slight amusement as he climbed out of it. He mimicked my motions by brushing dust off his robes and examined the place we were in apathetically.

"What is this?" he demanded, directing his sharp gaze in my way.

"A storage room," I answered shortly. "I suppose it belongs to a store here, or something. Only one way to find out."

I nodded towards a door in the back of the room, which obviously lead somewhere outside of this rather dusty storage room. Tom stared at me intently for a few seconds, before nodding and following me.

The two of us made our way through the storage room, and I put a finger on my lips warningly at him as we stood outside of the door. He appeared a bit piqued at that, but I didn't really care.

I leaned against the door, pressing my head sideways against the seemingly unstable wood. Through it, I could hear the bustle of a young crowd and childish laughter. Whatever store this was, it was clearly popular among the children and teenagers.

Quietly, I pulled the door open slightly, peeking through the crack. The sugary aroma of sweets wafted through my nose, and my eyes widened slightly at the sight of the store; it was clearly some kind of candy shop, and was brimming with Hogwarts students.

"Come on," I instructed lowly, turning to Tom, whose eyes flashed with irritation once again—I got the impression that he didn't like it when people told him what to do, but I didn't really care.

I slipped through the door as inconspicuously as I could, and Tom followed after me, his face scrunching up in repulsion at the sight of the store.

As soon as I exited the storage room, I realized what this place was; Honeydukes! There were some small changes here and there, but it was still the same Honeydukes from my time era.

"Do you want some sweets?" I offered, smirking slightly at Tom's nauseated expression.

"Let's just get out of here, Swan," Tom grumbled, staring disdainfully at a small boy devouring cotton candy in the corner of the shop.

I let out a small laugh, following the tall boy out of the shop. As we passed by the crowd, I saw a group of fourth year girls eyeing Tom and giggling to each other, causing me to scoff inwardly.

"I take it you're not a sweet tooth, then, Tom?" I asked, as we stepped out into the chilly air.

"No," Tom answered tersely, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"I like them," I said with a shrug, as the two of us strolled through the busy streets of Hogsmeade. "Except for cotton candy. I despise cotton candy—unlike that boy in the shop."

I grinned teasingly at him, to which he only responded with a cold look.

"I'll see you around," Tom announced suddenly, causing me to blink in surprise.

"Er—you're not going to come with me?" I asked, feeling my heart sink slightly—I was starting to actually enjoy his company, despite my strong dislike of him.

At this, Tom scoffed derisively. "What, come dress-shopping with you?" he questioned in a mocking tone.

"Well...no," I muttered, feeling my cheeks heat up slightly in mortification. "I suppose I'll see you around, Tom."

Feeling too embarrassed to stay in his presence any longer, I wheeled around and stalked away, my eyes skimming over the cheery crowds of students for any sign of my friends.

Thankfully, it didn't take me long to find Norma and Ethelle; I noticed them through the windows of a clothing store, looking through dresses.

A small smile formed on my face at the sight of them, and I pushed the door to the store open, causing a small jingle to echo through the place. The shop was bursting with teenage girls, all searching keenly through clothes; it appeared that Slughorn's parties were quite popular among the Hogwarts students.

"Norma, Ethelle!" I called, spotting them and squeezing through a group of girls to get to them.

At once, my two friends glanced up, their eyes searching the store until they landed on me. Norma beamed and waved, while Ethelle gestured for me to join them enthusiastically.

"So, did you get permission from Professor Dippet?" Norma asked, as soon as I approached them. At this, my lips curved into a sly smirk.

"Not really—but that doesn't matter," I replied, winking wittily at her. Norma frowned slightly, while Ethelle started to laugh. "I got here through a secret passage."

"You could've gotten into really big trouble if you got caught, Viviette!" Norma rebuked, shaking her head reproachfully at me.

"Yeah, but she didn't get caught, Norms," Ethelle countered, rolling her eyes. "You worry too much."

Norma grumbled underneath her breath as Ethelle enveloped me in a tight hug, before pulling away.

"I can't decide between these two dresses," she informed me, pulling out a pair of sparkling, long gowns.

One was a deep shade of maroon, puffy and glinting in the light, while the other was identical, other than the fact it was a pretty shade of baby pink.

"Do you think that, along with my hair, this red one will make me look too red?" she asked worriedly, gnawing on her bottom lip.

"It'll look lovely on you, Eth," I gushed, admiring the sparkly material of the dress. "You should go for it! It'll look way better than the pink dress."

"See? I told you!" Norma exclaimed, shaking her head in exasperation at the auburn-haired girl.

"Okay, and I believe you now," Ethelle retorted with a small shrug, causing Norma to shoot me a deadpan look.

I giggled, watching Ethelle take the dress with her to the counter, ready to purchase. I looked over at Norma, who was sifting through the dresses carefully.

I joined her, thinking of what dress I could wear. In my time period, I had also been part of the Slug Club, and I always wore blue dresses—to represent my Hogwarts house, and to bring out my eye color. But my Hogwarts house was different now—I was a Slytherin.

Almost as if on cue, my hand paused sorting through the racks, lingering on emerald green silk. Holding my breath, I pulled the dress out, instantly mesmerized by its rich color and design.

"Norma...I think I found my dress for the party."