Ambrosia • TMR

C.1

She was drug through halls painted light grey and into a green painted room filled to the brim with loud children. Screams, giggles, and arguments filled the room and it looked too cheery for a orphange in this day and age. Also far too loud, just walking in the room told her she would have a headache soon enough from prolonged exposure.

Observing the room fully, she noticed the silent children around the corners of the room both older and younger. The woman who, based on the pensive memories of Tom Riddle that Dumbledore had shown her, had to be Mrs.Cole left the room soon after leaving her by the door. Once more she stood in a doorway completely and utterly lost. She began to hope this wouldn't become a regular occurrence.

She walked towards a quieter spot in the room where only a lone boy around her physical age was sat. "Do you mind?" She inquired as she gestured to sitting next to him with a hand. He looked up from the book he was reading with a raised eyebrow but didn't say a word jerking his shoulders up in a half-hearted shrug. Since he seemed not to care what she did, she shrugged back and sat down with her legs crossed, resigning herself to people watching as his gaze returned to his book.

That's how the girl's first evening spent at Wool's Orpahanage went. Watching children both older and younger than her play or argue over toys with shrieks, giggles, and elementary taunts. Keeping an eye out for the infamous Tom Riddle, some part of her half-heartedly hoping to see the handsome boy from the diary once more. However, once she was sure he wasn't in sight, she relaxed and spent the rest of the night in an companionable and comfortable silence next to a nameless boy in a timeless place.

The matron came into the room at a time where the sun came down and the sky through the dingy window was dark with the moon as the only illuminating light. "It is nighttime, children. Head to your rooms immediately." Her voice was commanding but had nothing on McGonagall. "Girl!" Our heroine's head snapped to the woman because who else could she be talking to?

Sure enough she was looking at her seeming to stare right into her soul for a few seconds. And the matron had the gall to think of her as unnerving. She irrationally wondered of she was using legilimency on her but dismissed the thought. A muggle remember?

"Yes ma'am?" Years of pure blood formal training drilled into the girl unwillingly snapped into place at the sharp tone. She was distastefully reminded of Petunia. "You will be rooming with the boy beside you until further notice. Understood? Good. Now get to it."

Locking eyes with the boy beside her, who was just starting to get up before the matron had called out to her and was now staring at her with black dead fish eyes, she decided to be social for once in both of her lives.

"I'm Irene Black." she said softly while gathering herself up off of the dingy floor with grace expected of one hailing from the Black family.

"Tom Riddle." His voice wasn't cold per say but merely...detached.

Well shit.

Irene definitely wasn't expecting Tom to be her physical age. Now that tidbit of information certainly changed any plans of killing him as he was because she was anything but a child murderer.

The girl-who-lived followed after the boy-who-was-evil without another word. It wasn't until they reached a door that looked just like the rest that they've passed did the boy stop walking.

There was only one bed, she noticed belatedly. The room was gray, had a small wardrobe, and a small nightstand. It wasn't the best but better than a cupboard for sure. Not that she had expected more this was an orphanage after all. There was a small folded pile of grey clothing on the bed that she noticed.
"That must be for you." The boy next to her acknowledged on his walk towards the wardrobe, glancing minutely at the pile.