butterfly effect, tom riddle

25. | past

How delightfully pitiful.

•

Dinner that day was even more depressing. Everyone around me seemed to be bursting with joy and laughter, seeing as this was the last day of school before easter break. I was not so cheerful; I would have to remain at Hogwarts this year, seeing as I did not wish to return to that dreary Muggle orphanage—and neither did Tom, which was probably the main reason for me not returning.

The majority of Slytherin house seemed eager to abandon the castle—most of them were wealthy, spoiled children from prestigious pureblood families, who lived in lavish mansions. As I examined the joyous crowds of students, I couldn't help but envy them; they would be able to return to the comfort of their homes, and they would be able to embrace their mothers in bear hugs.

I had checked the list of students staying at Hogwarts this easter, and to my dismay, Tom and I would be the only members of our House to remain. Perhaps I should have been glad—this would give me a chance to learn more about him.

Just then, a familiar student plopped down on the seat next to me. I whipped my head around, meeting a pair of coal-colored eyes.

"Tom," I greeted tepidly, forcing a half-hearted smile at him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you, but you don't seem to be," Tom answered, his brows furrowed in faux concern. "You seem...sad. Are you all right?"

I opened my mouth to conjure an appropriate response, when yet another familiar person occupied the seat across from me. I turned my gaze away from Tom's, and blinked as my eyes met a pair of big brown ones.

"Viviette," Norma Quirke breathed, and I noticed her visibly swallow as her eyes darted around nervously. "Er—hi."

"Er—hello," I acknowledged, my heart beating thunderously against my ribcage. "Norma. What—what is it?"

"I—well, I just—I just wished to talk to you," she admitted, anxiety decorating every syllable of her sentence. "Ethelle doesn't want me to, but I can't stand it anymore."

Her wide, chocolate eyes darted leftwards, and I followed her gaze to see Ethelle watching us disapprovingly. Once Ethelle noticed my gaze on her, she looked away and resumed her conversation with Anita Rosier.

"I just want to know why," Norma implored, as I averted my gaze from Ethelle and turned to her. "I don't get it. Did we do something to you? You just—after the Antoinette and Theodore incident, you didn't comfort Ethelle or anything, you just defended Antoinette for no reason. And now you're hanging out with her. I just don't understand."

"I told you," I said, though I felt too happy that Norma was finally speaking to me again to sound angry. "After you guys left, I noticed that Antoinette was struggling against Theodore, so I blasted him against the wall. Then Antoinette told me that he was having arguments with Abraxas or something, so that was why he was doing that—as some sort of twisted revenge or something. She was innocent, that was all I was trying to tell you."

Norma's brows knitted in concentration, and I could see her thinking deeply about what I just said, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip contemplatively. After a few moments that felt like a millennia, she finally nodded.

"I'm sorry we didn't listen to you," she apologized. "I—I just...maybe I should talk to Antoinette? Learn it through her side of the story as well?"