butterfly effect, tom riddle

25. | past

The air became warmer in temperature and the sky became an astounding shade of blue, signaling the arrival of spring and easter. After that odd encounter with the Knights, I avoided them at all cost—Maverick was rather insistent on befriending me, but I managed to evade him majority of the time, as well. I became closer to Tom—who continued to treat me with the utmost respect—and Antoinette, which did nothing to improve my already damaged relationship with Norma and Ethelle. It seemed as if we would never become friends again, and that was truly starting to bother me.

On Friday, the day before easter break, our last lesson of the day ended with Defense Against the Dark Arts, which also meant that we would be having our last dueling class. Everyone was rather upset about it, seeing as after easter break, Professor Merryheart would return to note-taking and quizzes.

"Expelliarmus!" I exclaimed, aiming at Tom—who was my dueling partner, as always.

His reflexes were, as always, irritatingly quick; he deflected my Disarming Charm with an effortless wave of his wand. His sooty eyes shone as he smiled affably at me.

"I am curious, Viviette—why is it that you always use that spell?" Tom quizzed, shooting a spell at me that I dodged by simply stepping out of the way.

I shrugged, a sly smile creeping into my lips. "I have a feeling that one day, it'll beat you."

Tom's brows knitted in befuddlement at my words, and I was satisfied to see that he was truly puzzled. My smile grew as I hastily deflected one of his spells with a simple Shield Charm.

"And why do you think so?" Tom asked, keeping his tone polite—although the underlying impatience within it was nearly tangible.

I shrugged, containing a smirk. "Just intuition."

I sent another Disarming Charm his way as sneakily as I could, but wasn't surprised when he swiftly blocked it. His lips curved into a victorious smirk, and he quickly sent a spell my way—but I ducked at the last second, narrowly avoiding it.

"That's all for today, class!" Professor Merryheart bellowed, putting an end to the countless spells bouncing against the classroom walls. "This was our last dueling class of the year, so I hope you all enjoyed it and are now proficient."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ethelle groaning quietly as sweat dripped from her forehead like a waterfall. I almost released a chuckle, before realizing we weren't friends anymore.

I wheeled around to face Tom, sending a polite nod in his direction, which he returned with a smile as sweet as honey. It was unnerving, to say the least.

I pocketed my wand and turned to leave, my mood dampened after that cruel reminder that Ethelle and I were very unlikely to be friends again—but was stopped in my tracks by strong fingers clasping around my wrist roughly.

I spun around questioningly, my brows connecting as my eyes locked with a pair of dark brown ones. Tom's gaze was as intense as always, but his smile was soft and inviting.

"We have a meeting today, with the Knights," he informed me lowly, his eyes watching my expression carefully. I made sure my face stayed as blank as possible. "Meet us in the Room of Requirements after dinner."

I blinked, before nodding and, without another word, walking away. A meeting with the Knights—just what I needed.

I strolled aimlessly through the slowly emptying corridors of Hogwarts, disheartened. Neither Norma nor Ethelle seemed willing to put an end to our feud—and my only friends seemed to be my teenage grandmother, the darkest wizard of all time, and the dark wizard of all time's sycophantic followers.