Masquerade¹ → Tom Riddle ✓

chapter eight

By mid-November, a thin layer of snow coated the cobbled pathway that led to the Quidditch field. Students began to lose their initial excitement of being back at school and the dropping temperatures meant that Quidditch practise had been exceptionally challenging.

School had only been in session for a month and yet somehow Slytherin was already powering ahead with house points, setting them up for a clear win at the end of the school year. Slytherins weren't necessarily the best students, however, the teachers adored them or were too scared to ever remove house points from them; either way, no other house stood a chance against them.

Despite her OWLS being in May, the upcoming mock assessment had Evelyn revising every free hour of the day. Between revision and Quidditch, she barely had any time to herself and had already begun to feel worn out. Due to all the stress of revision and her extracurriculars, Evelyn had forgotten to reply to Professor Slughorns peculiar invitation to join him and other students for dinner.

After her final lesson of the day, Evelyn headed to the Owlery, careful not to slip on the icy paths on the castle grounds. She pulled out a piece of plain parchment, leaning it against the wall and beginning to write.

Dear Professor Slughorn,

Apologies for the delayed response, I have been rather busy with Quidditch practise and revision for my upcoming OWL exams. However, I am owling to you to let you know that I will be able to attend the first Slug Club meeting. As I have a prior commitment to Quidditch practice, I may appear a few minutes late to the meeting.

Thank you for the opportunity,

Evelyn M. Rivers
Ravenclaw Prefect.

Evelyn sealed the envelope with a cobalt blue wax seal and handed it to Olympia who obediently stood on the window perch, her claws wrapped tightly around the wooden handle. She placed the envelope inside of Olympias beak, her beak clutching it tightly as she flew off around the castle. Despite Professor Slughorn being inside the castle, she felt it more professional to reply via a letter. Additionally, her love of Olympia made her all too willing to send unnecessary post as it gave her the opportunity to spend time with her.

Despite the frosty chill in the air, the upcoming Quidditch game against Hufflepuff was still continuing as planned. Only once she stood in the wings of the pitch did she feel as though the game was truly happening. Practising in such harsh conditions had made her feel confident about the team's success, regardless of how much Hufflepuff had been practising.

As Captain, Lily stood in front of the team, inspecting their uniforms to ensure they were ready to make her proud and win. "Right!" Her voice echoed throughout the small wooden box in which they were stood. "Anyone that doesn't play to the best of the ability will get hexed. We need to win this match if we want a chance at winning the cup." Winning the cup was almost definitely out of the question but nobody thought to bring that up and burst Lily's bubble.

A few students nodded their heads in acknowledgement of her words before mounting their brooms and getting ready for the match to begin. Without another word, they flew out onto the pitch in formation and did the traditional loop before taking to their positions. As soon as Evelyn was in position, butterflies danced around inside of her, twisting and turning in unsettling movements.

When Madame Oakley flew onto the pitch, Evelyn knew the game was about to begin. "Right, now! I want a clean and safe game- no pushing, hitting, spitting or intentionally wounding the opposition. And with that- let's begin!" She threw the Quaffle up into the air and quickly darted out of the way as the two central Chasers darted forwards towards it- Lily successfully swooping down and picking it up.

Lily flew forwards, waiting for the other Chasers to get free, she weaved between the defence and fairly easily threw the Quaffle towards the central goal. The central goalpost was never usually a safe bet as the Keeper should be closest to the centre however Lily managed to score with ease due to the slow reactions from the Hufflepuff Keeper.

"Ten points to Ravenclaw!" Evelyn heard from the stands where the announcer, a loud third year, stood watching the match unfold.

Squinting was the only way Evelyn could see far enough up the pitch to anticipate the opposing teams' next move. Players shot across her path of vision, blurring together into one. Not one Hufflepuff player gained possession of the Quaffle for long enough for Evelyn to need to move, allowing her an easy game with little skill required. In a short space of time, the game progressed greatly for her team. Ravenclaw scored three more goals and from what Evelyn could see, their seeker, Eloise, was hot on the tails of the golden snitch. She weaved her way around the pitch, narrowly missing other players as she sped past them in a daze towards the golden snitch.

"Eloise had caught the golden snitch! Ravenclaw win the game!"

After the game, the Ravenclaw common room was a mess. Students lingered on every surface, drinking stolen butterbeer in celebration of their victory. Despite most students having no interest in the sport, they were interested in the after-party and the stolen alcohol that came with it. Music blasted across the room, muting the sounds of celebratory cheers coming from the Quidditch team. After staying what Evelyn seemed a socially acceptable amount of time, she quickly made her escape out of the common room and towards the library.

"Where are you off to?" She heard Daniel call from behind her.

Evelyn froze like a deer caught in the headlights. "Daniel, you scared me! I'm just heading to the library, far too loud in there for me." She pointed to the common room where she could still hear the music blasting.

"I understand, it's quite overwhelming for me in there too. Playing today though, it gave me such a thrill."

"It's like that, worse when you lose but it still makes you feel all warm inside. You played really well today Daniel, anyone would think you'd been playing for years not months."

His cheeks flushed a light shade of pink at the compliment, his hands finding their way to his face in an attempt to cover it. "Thank you, I can't wait for the next match." With that, he swung open the common room door and headed back inside into the chaos.

By the time the clock struck nine, the library almost empty. Taking up her usual seat, she lit the lanterns beside her and began to work. Her eyes flicked between textbooks and notebooks for what felt like hours until she had written so much her hand ached. When she stopped, the library was already dark, the lanterns failing to illuminate the room enough for Evelyn to see. With a quick wave of her wand, the tip of it illuminated, sending out light into the library. She packed her books away briskly and made her way out of the library.

"Good evening Evelyn," Her heart jumped out of her chest for the second time tonight as she spun around to see Tom Riddle stood behind her. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but if you must know I was studying to escape the party in my common room."

"I heard that you won your match, though I'm not sure how much you contributed to that. You didn't seem to move during the game." Evelyn was sure she hadn't seen him at the match, he wasn't the kind of person that cared about Quidditch, and especially since it was a team sport and he did not seem like the type to work well with others. "You should probably get back to your common room, it's not safe to be out alone this late."

"Hogwarts, not safe? You must be joking Tom. Hogwarts is the safest place in the north."

"I'm sure it is, but that doesn't mean bad things couldn't happen. Be safe Evelyn." He clutched a book to his chest, turning as he began to walk away.

Evelyn sighed as he left. As the book in his hands swung beside him, Evelyn caught a glimpse of the title and found herself confused. In Tom Riddles's hand was a book about the dark arts, a book she would have sworn belonged in the restricted section.