Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

48: Rubeus Hagrid.

'It's a good plan, but I really don't know about it,' Siobhan said in a low but urgent voice. She was drawing small flowers on the piece of parchment in front of her.
The library was almost completely deserted, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The crackling of a fire nearby overrode her voice no matter what, luckily.

'It's the perfect plan,' Tom answered as he poured himself some whiskey. He filled his glass further than necessary, and then poured the remaining liquid in Shivs now cold tea. She stared down at the different shades of brown liquid mixing together.
'It's the perfect plan,' he said again, taking a sip. 'He was caught trying to raise some werewolf cubs under his bed last year. He's been rumored to have an acrumentula hidden somewhere.'

She looked at Tom as he lit another cigarette, the ashtray in front of them already overflowing. He leaned back and crossed his arms, blowing out smoke through his nose without taking the cigarette out between his lips. 'Or do you have a better plan?' He asked, raising his eyebrows with a faked curiosity.

She sighed and reached across the table for his silver cigarette case. Taking one out, she leaned back herself. She was sitting on the other side of the table, and put her feet on the chair, hiking up her knees the way she usually did. She had always been unable to sit straight at a table for long.

'Say you do frame Rubeus successfully. Isn't it a bit strange if you suddenly step forward as the hero when everyone has been so suspicious of you?' She asked, taking a deep drag of the cigarette. These were all genuine concerns, but she was desperate. She couldn't have the school close down.
Still, it was one thing to commit sins yourself, another to let someone else take the blame for it.

Rubeus Hagrid was a large but quiet boy. Friendly giant type. He was a Gryffindor student two years below her, only 14. He was never very book-smart, and they never talked, but he had helped Shiv cross a puddle on her way to Hogsmeade once. It was large and stretched across the whole path. She had been wearing a very expensive pale blue robe that touched the ground. When he saw her struggle, he had lifted her up bridal style without saying a word and carried her across the muddy stretch of ground.

'Not if I play it well. I must visit Dippit as soon as possible, plant a few seeds,' he answered, his eyes expressionless again, as if he might as well be talking to a voice in his head. 'Besides, they're more suspicious of you than of me, if I listen to the rumors.'

She knew he was right. People hadn't said it to her face (except Paul Spout that one time), but there were definitely whispers going around about her involvement in Myrtle's death. Some people just called her negligent, others straight up speculated that she had something to do with it.
Shiv put out her cigarette and rubbed her eyes. It was late, well after midnight that Tuesday, and it was time to go to bed. She downed the mixture of whiskey and tea with difficulty, but was glad to feel the warmth of the alcohol spread through her limbs afterward.

'I'm tired, Tom,' she said as she started  gathering her things. Merlin, why was she so chaotic. 'Can we continue talking tomorrow?'

'No,' he said flatly, and he leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on the table. 'There are a few more things I need to talk to you about.'

Shiv groaned quietly and looked at the pocketwatch attached to her bag. 'And you waited until.. 2:30 to bring that up?'

Tom nodded. 'I did. Anyway, once everyone leaves on friday-'

She cut in, annoyed with his behavior. 'There is still a very big possibility that you and I will have to leave as well.'

His eyes flared with that intense coldness again. Whenever his eyes lit up in that way, she saw a glimpse of his darkest side. Sadistic, cruel, absolutely ruthless. Like he didn't care who was in front of them, they were all equally as inferior to him.