Masquerade¹ → Tom Riddle [Rewritten] ✓

CHAPTER TWO

"Well that barely counted, it was just a Pumpkin Pasty!"

"And a packet of Drooble's."

"And far too many Bertie Botts." Evelyn added.

"And three chocolate frogs.

By the time the girls arrived at the castle, they had only just finishing listing off all the confectionery Sara had consumed on the train journey to Hogwarts. "I like my food!" She cried in her defence.

"So do we, so let's get inside, hope the Sorting Hat speeds through the Sorting Ceremony and then eat!"

Nodding in agreement, the trio dashed into the Great Hall and made their way to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down in their usual seats by the exit. "Ready for Quidditch this year? What position will you try out for?" Sara asked.

Evelyn had been on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team since her third year at Hogwarts, first playing as a Chaser and then eventually moving on to play Keeper during her fourth year. "Well, I have statistically better odds of getting Chaser, so I'll probably go for that. I still want to play this year, but I don't know how much I'll be able to commit when we have our OWLS in May!"

"Don't let the Aiden hear you say that! You won't even be allowed to try out if he hears you won't commit!" Sara warned her, partly as a joke but she knew the Quidditch Captain was less than forgiving.

"Hush, he'll never hear me from all the way over there!" Evelyn looked down the table at Aiden who had more than contently seated himself right at the front of the Ravenclaw table, ready to greet the first years that were sorted into his house.

"You never know!"

By the time the last student was sorted into Hufflepuff, Sara looked as though she might faint due to the hunger she was feeling. "If Professor Dippet doesn't give us food in one minute I will personally make sure he regrets it!"

As if on cue, Headmaster Dippet raised his hands and as he did, food appeared all over the tables in the Great Hall. Roast potatoes, vegetables, steamed dumplings, mashed potatoes, pies and rolls of bread were all piled high on the table. "Thank goodness!" Sara cried out as she shovelled a bread roll into her mouth.

Evelyn piled her plate high with the golden-brown pie, mashed potatoes and added a small serving of vegetables to keep up appearances. Before she had seen the food, Evelyn had not realised just how hungry she truly was, she hadn't eaten properly since she left her house earlier that day and the sight of food had made her all too aware of that.

The trio ate in silence until all the girls had wiped their plates clean. "Ooh, dessert!" Lily spoke with wide eyes as an assortment of desserts arrived. "I might have to sneak some of them for tomorrow."

"Day-old custard tarts? Lily that sounds awful!" Evelyn was not the largest fan of custard tarts, especially not ones that weren't fresh. She was far more interested in the chocolate eclairs she had spotted across from her. "Sara, pass me those eclairs!" Sara handed over the plate of eclairs to Evelyn who slid two onto her plate with a toothy grin. "Merlin these are beautiful!" She took a bite of the eclairs and sat back as a flavour explosion took place in her mouth. Evelyn tucked into her eclairs whilst Lily devoured several custard tarts at once.

"Evelyn, are you excited to help the first-years and give then the grand tour of the Ravenclaw Tower?" Sara asked.

"It doesn't exactly need a tour!" Lily spoke with her mouth full, crumbs of pastry falling from her mouth as she spoke.

"As long as they were all rightfully sorted and can actually answer whatever riddle the knocker asks, then everything will be alright." Evelyn sighed as she recalled several instances in which she had arrived outside Ravenclaw Tower to find a gaggle of stranded first years, unable to answer the riddle.

"Merlin I can't deal with finding first years waiting outside the Tower anymore, it ruins the fun of the riddle!" Sara said with annoyance.

"We were first years once, I'm sure they're not too dissimilar to us!" Added Lily between custard tarts.

"Well, none of us were ever dumb enough to get locked out of our own common room though were we."

Sara opened her mouth but before she had a chance to share, Headmaster Dippet's voice boomed throughout the Great Hall. "I should hope you have all enjoyed this Welcome Feast, now I should think you would want to rest in your common rooms after such a feast. First years hang behind the other students and your prefects will lead you to your common rooms! Alright, off we go now students!"

Then the Great Hall was in chaos. Evelyn stayed firmly in her seat, merely watching as all the students raced out, darting between the slower students to get to their common rooms first. When the hall eventually cleared out, all that was left were the eight prefects and four small bunches of meek-looking students.

"Right everyone, we'll wait for the other first-years to leave before we do so that we don't all get caught on the stairs at the same time." Daniel said from beside her, watching as the first batch of students made their way out.

"So when we get out of the Great Hall, you'll all need to stick quite close to us, especially on the staircase, so that you don't get left behind. Then we'll head to the Ravenclaw Tower."

"Now," Daniel butted in, "when we get to the tower, the knocker on the door will ask you a riddle, if you answer correctly then you can go inside and if you don't then you'll just have to wait for someone else to come and get the riddle right."

A few of the first years squealed, in excitement or fear, Evelyn couldn't quite tell which. "Right follow me now, stick close together!" She called out in an authoritative voice as she made her way out of the Great Hall. She led them out onto the staircase, earning several giddy laughs as the stairs around them began to shift. "Now, you'll see that the stairs move so pay close attention whenever you're here!"

By the time that they arrived at Ravenclaw Tower, Evelyn had grown tired of the first years. Despite being more than grateful to have been made a Prefect, the number of peculiar questions she had had to answer for them almost didn't seem worth it.

"What comes down but never goes up?"

Evelyn pointed at the bronze knocker on the door. "This is the knocker it will ask you a riddle and you have to answer it to gain access."

"Does anyone know the answer?" Daniel turned to face the small group of first years, eyeing each of them up and down one by one. When the only response that he received was a group of blank stares, he was all too happy to share the answer. "Well of course it's rain." He flashed them a toothy grin as the door flung open.

"Everybody, welcome home."