Beta: Cloudy
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Tomorrow morning would be the start of the holiday break. Harry and I would be sent back to Grimmauld's Place to celebrate Christmas with the family. I'd shrink and bring along my vanishing chest and try to visit Tom on his birthday, but I didn't think I'd be able to sneak out very easily. Especially since I had to share a room with Harry and the Weasley family would be staying in the house as well.
For tonight, I spent the evening with Tom. By that, I meant that we silently worked on separate projects side by side and enjoyed each other's company. When Tom got engrossed in work he wasn't a talker. That was fine because I was perfectly happy with his presence.
Plus every time I got to see his handsome face it made me smile. There was something deeply satisfying about having a cute work buddy that doubled as a flirt buddy. Excellent motivation.
I wondered how many other students at Hogwarts snuck glances at him while he worked. I tried to picture it—Tom said he studied most often in the library so I could easily imagine some red-faced Ravenclaw boys and girls stealing sneak peeks at the focused Tom. The thought made me giggle, which drew Tom's attention to me. He had been working in the living room on a spell he had invented.
He wanted to create a way to move between mirrors. He had accidentally made it work on the first try earlier on, but it would only work for non-living things. Any plants he had put through the enchanted mirrors were literally scorched coming out the other side.
The sweet boy had been frustrated thinking he had perfected it first try, but nope. He was quite relieved it did not work because his math showed it shouldn't have worked. I found a couple of flaws in his equations (he accidentally put a comma where a decimal should have gone) that were easily fixed to explain why the mirror enchantments worked the way they did. Now he was back to the drawing board figuring out the kinks.
He had bought two more black boards—both enchanted to hover in the air above him. Tom loved to float while he worked.
I asked him to levitate me once, but it was such a bubbly feeling I couldn't concentrate at all. I had no idea how he was able to handle it, let alone adore it.
He raised an eyebrow at me.
"You're so pretty," I told him with a smile.
"Mm-hmm." Tom cocked his head. "If I'm too distracting I can move to the study."
"Nope." I beamed. "I was imagining how your fanclub probably stalked you in the library while you worked."
"I did not have a fanclub."
"See, I know you said that before, but I cannot believe that," I said with a shake of my head. "You're so pretty."
"I assure you," he said confidently, "I did not have a fanclub."
"You didn't have any students stealing glances over at you while you worked?" I teased.
"That is very different from a fanclub," he pointed out.
"Aha! You did, didn't you?"
Tom rolled his eyes. "Surely you have better things to think about, Rosie."
"Nothing is more important than you."
He gave me a dry look.
I giggled, "Okay, okay. Umm... Hmm, okay. What exactly are you wanting to do with Voldemort?"
I reached forward and dipped my quill into ink. It was something I had been intending to ask earlier but it kept slipping my mind. Tom leaned back at my question, cocking his head as he considered how to answer.
"Ideally capture its soul to extract memories into a pensieve," he said after a minute of thought. "Assimilation and cooperation with that piece is impossible. I'd rather not destroy it before extracting as much information as I can. While it is undoubtedly deranged and dangerous, it still has decades worth of knowledge that would be a waste to simply purge."
I nodded, accepting that answer. Considering how much of a wealth of knowledge Tom was, I could only imagine the kind of things Voldemort knew how to do but couldn't due to his unstable soul and mindset. It'd be like burning a library down. A Dark library, but still a library.
Stewing it over Tom's words, I went back to working out my first crafted ritual. I reviewed my math, double-checking the results before I began to draw the translated runes into a rough draft of a ritual circle.
Time slipped by. I hadn't realized it had gotten so late until I felt Tom gently touch my shoulder. It was completely dark outside, and the candles had burned low. He had gotten up from his spot in the living room to peer over my shoulder. I was seated at the dining room table, all of my work spread out across the table. I leaned back, tilting my head up at Tom. His dark eyes assessed my work with plain interest. He asked, "Which ritual is this for?"
"The one to make magic," I said brightly.
His dark eyes narrowed. "You really think your theory is correct? You don't know it."
"Exactly."
"Pardon?"
"It's because it's undefined that I can use it," I said cheerfully. "Because that's its definition."
He stared at me.
"Magic is what cannot be known and cannot be defined," I explained. "It's the unknown variable and so that's the variable to use!"
He continued to stare at me.
"Well—okay you think the witch or wizard who invented Lumos knew anything about radiation?" I asked, to which Tom shook his head. "Of course not. But they were still able to invent Lumos because magic doesn't need to be defined—that is what makes it magic. It is undefinable."
"So your entire ritual," he said slowly, "is based on what cannot be defined and yet you expect it to produce a tangible and predictable result?"
"Yes."
"I cannot, in good conscience, let you do this," he said with a shake of his head. "It won't work."
"It will," I insisted. "Look I'll scale it back a bit—"
"It has to fit a foot by foot," he said sternly. "If it's that small then I should be able to reverse the worst of the damage."
"Okay," I agreed. My brow furrowed as I looked back down at the equations and translated runes. "Oof. This is going to be tricky to scale down."
"You shouldn't be trying it in the first place," he said reproachfully. "Especially for your first ritual. I thought you'd want your first ritual to be for your werewolf army."
"I'm working on that too," I said with a smile, brightening up. "But this just really caught my attention, you know? I wanna follow it through for tonight."
At my excited tone and bright eyes, Tom softened. "I understand. Promise you won't try this without me."
"I promise," I said, setting my quill down and holding up a pinky. "Pinky promise."
Bemused, Tom hooked his own pinky through mine. "Very well."
"Thanks for being such an enabler."
"It's only because I'm fond of you," he said as he poked my forehead.
I placed a hand over my cheek, faking a blush. "Oh my! Gosh, if I didn't know any better I'd say you had a crush on me."
"We're dating."
"You li-ike me. How embarrassing."
"You're an idiot."
I grinned. "An idiot who loves you."
His lips twitched as he fought back his smile. His good mood won out, though, and he smiled. "Yes."
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
AURORS KILLED ON DUTY AT MINISTRY!
I read over the paper the following morning, surprised by it. Several Aurors had been killed while guarding a department in the Ministry—department not specified—and it would appear all of them had succumbed to a vicious mauling. There was one survivor who did not live long enough to explain what happened, as whatever had attacked them poisoned them as well.
It was obviously Nagini.
Bones had stationed more Aurors at the Department of Mystery per my instance, and it had definitely got them killed.
That's a shame, I thought, continuing to read the paper. I ignored the hubbub of my babeh snakes. Theodore said something that pissed Daphne off so he was banished to the Gryffindor table with Draco (because Draco was a loyal friend who joined him in exile). Then Pansy said something that caused Blaise to give a loud shriek and he stormed off with Millie at his heels.
At least Bones has confirmation that someone is actively trying to break into the Department of Mystery, I thought as I flipped through the paper. Pity she had to sacrifice a few of her pawns for it.
If Voldemort was clever he'd stop all of his attempts to sneak in and instead try to plant seeds of chaos in the Ministry. He would refocus his efforts on undermining the election in the late spring and put forward people that would benefit him. He'd stop trying to chase after a prophecy.
Tom was clever, but Voldemort was insane.
I couldn't predict whether he'd behave intelligently, or inanely.
The high-pitched squeal of Tracey's laughter broke through my thoughts just long enough for me to glance up. She had laughed so hard pumpkin juice dribbled out of her nose and she was frantically trying to wipe it up but kept laughing. Her state induced loud giggles from Pansy and Daphne, both of whom were laughing so hard they were leaning on each other for support. Vincent muttered something quietly under his breath which set the girls off again, only that time they fell out of their seats from their uncontrollable laughter.
Cute.
Back to my brooding though.
Keep chasing the prophecy or work on the Ministry?
Reading further into the paper, Bones gave a clear statement that they'd be beefing up security at the Ministry. Those who worked for the Ministry would require being tested for the Imperius Curse upon entry. All visitors had to schedule ahead for an appointment, and only a set amount of visitors would be allowed in each day until they could be certain no one at the Ministry was in immediate danger.
I wonder how they test for that? And how do they keep the tester from being Imperius'd?
Thankfully I had some answers further into the article.
The tester, I read, would be kept anonymous and changed out after a random number of days. They would wear a mask and voice-changer. They would cast Renervate on each person coming in.
Renervate was a spell used to wake people up from a state of unconsciousness. If someone was already awake and in control, it would do nothing to them. If they were Imperius'd it would free them. Which was excellent to know!
The article implies only one person will be doing this job, but Bones is smart. She'll probably have a lot of people swapped in and out throughout the day to keep people guessing on the identity. Maybe even use polyjuice.
Considering she had already lost several of her Aurors, I'd bet a pretty sickle the woman was not going to mess around.
With Fudge and his supporters sufficiently cowed, Bones had free rein over her department. The other politicians were too preoccupied with their upcoming election.
I flipped through the Daily Prophet to see if there would be any more information on the election.
The Wizengamot election was not a purely democratic process. Only empty seats would be up for election—and they were voted in by remaining seats. The only seat subject to public votes would be the Minister of Magic. Everyone else inherited their seats and would keep their seats unless forced into retiring them. If a family went two generations without producing an heir the seat would be declared empty and up for re-election.
It was exceedingly rare to pressure even one seat out of office in one generation.
Yet I managed to force out several.
I had to give myself a mental pat on the back for that.
Satisfied with what I had read in the paper, I folded it up and took a sip from my morning tea.
Huh, I thought. Tastes a little—
There was a tingling sensation at the top of my head and I reflexively reached for my bag (always carried around bezoars). I was about to pull out my emergency bezoar when I noticed the twins looking over at me with sparkling eyes.
Ah.
So instead of trying to cure whatever concoction they slipped into my morning tea, I proudly rode it out. Within a minute I felt that my ears had moved up to the top of my head, and something sprouted from my tailbone. Once I felt certain the transformation was complete, I stood up to examine myself.
They turned me into a lion, I thought, laughing.
Except laughter did not come out, instead something inhuman rumbled from the back of my throat. Any time I tried to speak, I could only mew, grumble, or chuff instead.
Fred and George were on opposite sides of me within seconds, both slinging an arm over my shoulder.
"Look at that, Queen of Snakes now a Kitty Queen," teased Fred.
I mewed, feeling my lioness tail wave behind me.
"Except I think something's missing," observed George.
"Ah! I see what you mean."
They waved their wand and the green in my uniform transformed to red.
"Oh no you don't," said Daphne, standing up from her seat with her wand raised.
I waved my clawed hands at her, smiling in amusement. I tried to speak, but of course only meows could be heard.
"She's our snake, you fix her this instant," warned Pansy.
"We did fix her!" protested Fred.
"Improved her."
"Perfected her, even."
I swatted at them both.
"Hey now! We won the no retaliation," said George.
I meowed, nodding. Then I tapped at my wrist.
"How long?" asked Fred.
I nodded again.
"Long enough to last the train ride down and for Padfoot to see," George said with a big grin.
I purred, clapping my hands in delight. I then offered the two of them a congratulatory bow on a prank well done, which they returned graciously.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
After breakfast, it was time to head home for winter break. I hugged my babeh snakes goodbye then rode the train out of Hogwarts with Harry and Ron (Hermione wanted to spend some time with Theodore, and Neville wanted to be with Luna). I did receive some odd looks from the other students at my lioness transformation, but I embraced it with a feral grin and tail whip.
Harry had remarkably chirped up since our... somber conversation. I wasn't sure if he came to his own conclusion, or simply decided to let it go, but I was happy to see his complexion had improved. It was nice to have a seat to myself and listen to Ron and Harry playfully banter with one another on the way home. Iris decided to fly back with Hedwig so I didn't have my usual cuddle buddy but that was fine.
I still had my model Horntail and my purring book of monsters. Plenty of cuddle options.
When we got back we were escorted by Tonks, Remus, and Sirius. Sirius gave a little squeal upon seeing my transformation, his eyes lighting up with pure delight. He immediately went to high-five the twins. For the rest of the day Sirius had a beaming smile, even after the potion wore off after dinner.
The Weasley family was still staying at Grimmauld's, so we were welcomed home with Molly's hugs (she glared at the twins upon seeing me) and Arthur's cheerful greetings (who laughed when I winked). Everyone was in such high spirits the whole flat was filled with warm laughter and energetic stories about what happened at Hogwarts.
No one talked about Umbridge, or how the new professor would be starting once we got back from our break.
I crashed shortly after dinner, wanting to enjoy what sleep I could get.
Everybody spent the following morning putting up Christmas decorations. It was all in good cheer, the twins and Sirius singing various carols terribly off-key. Not that anyone minded. Sometimes George or Fred would purposely mispronounce a word in the song that would cause Sirius to completely substitute the next word with something asinine like ginger to binger and snow to dandruff.
Molly was elated to be in a bustling house and decorating. The two of us had teamed up to cover the second and third floors. She was a lovely lady, happily chatting with me the entire time. I was so used to being the one who had to babble to fill the conversation that it was such a pleasant surprise to be the listener instead. She loved talking about her children and I loved listening to everything she said about them.
She raised her wand, conjuring holly around the windows. There was a sudden chiming from the grandfather clock downstairs. "Oh my. Sounds like I need to get started on dinner."
"Can—I mean may I help?" I asked.
"Oh you don't need—"
"I'd like to," I said earnestly. "I haven't had a chance to use the kitchen here and I'd like to familiarize myself. Plus it's not often I get to cook—Kreacher is rather particular about that and I try not to get him worked up."
Molly relaxed. "All right. I could use a hand with so many mouths to feed."
"Thanks! And, er, could you show me some kitchen charms?" I asked, feeling my cheeks warm up.
"Kitchen charms?"
"Like cleaning the dishes and stuff?" I asked quietly.
I wouldn't have Kreacher and Sil forever, after all. Kreacher due to old age, and Sil would be given freedom as soon as I ensured she'd survive the process and put in enough protection laws for her. I wasn't sure it'd be best for any of the House Elves' mental health to remain in jobs that pertained to their current lifestyle, so it would be best to anticipate not having any kind of house help.
Plus I really wanted to know. Love of magic and all that.
Molly's eyes were warm drops of butterscotch. "I don't see why not. Sirius hasn't shown you?"
"Not really."
"Well that's no good! Come along, dearie—"
I did a little squeal at Molly Weasley calling me dearie. She gave me a funny look and I sheepishly smiled back.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Hermione Granger joined our family for the holiday break. She showed up around lunch the following day and was offered a room with Ginny. Not sure what spurred her to choose to spend the holiday with us instead of skiing with her family, but Harry and Ron were pretty happy for it. The three friends spent most of their day in Harry's room while I continued to help Molly decorate the house for Christmas then cook.
It was nice to be in the kitchen. I hadn't been able to cook in years.
Kreacher wasn't terribly happy about it, but he relented when I asked him to run some errands for me instead.
The next day in the very, very early morning hours, Hermione came into our bedroom with piles of textbooks.
Harry had crawled into my bed the previous night so I awoke to find my brother using me as a body pillow, and having textbooks dropped onto my legs.
"Swa?" I mumbled, blearily looking up at the bushy-haired girl. "Fwa?"
"Mnf?" Harry tiredly lifted his head off my chest, looked up at Hermione, then decided he wanted to sleep some more and plopped back down. "Nof."
"Don't you nof me," warned Hermione. "You promised you'd study with me over break."
"Nofffffffffff," Harry tiredly protested.
"I'lllllllllll studywith youbabygurl," I slurred, shoving Harry off me and rubbing my eyes. Harry groaned in protest and I kicked him out of bed. He hit the floor with a thump, another groan, and went still.
"Blan?" I heard him call out.
I shoved the blanket off the bed and atop Harry on the floor. He cocooned himself within seconds then went right back to sleep. Hermione watched this exchanged with a look of tired acceptance. I stretched my arms above my head, popping my back. "Let'ssssss go study in library."
Hermione smiled brightly at that. "Thank you. I heard Ron and Neville complain about Harry's... morning attitude, but I didn't know it was that bad."
I leaned over the bed and poked my brother's cheek. He didn't respond.
Shrugging, I hopped out of bed and slung an arm around Hermione's waist. "He's a total cuddle bug though. Anytime you want an easy hug or cuddle buddy, a sleepy Harry is your best friend."
"Noted," she remarked. She brightened. "You're good at Potions, aren't you?"
"Best in the family," I said proudly. I paused. "That's alive."
"Would you mind looking over the next chapters with me? I want to be prepared."
"Sweetie, how about we just brew the potions here?" I asked her. "No better preparation than actually doing it."
Hermione blinked in surprise. "C-Can you do that?"
"Sure. I always have a brewing kit and extra sils," I said cheerfully. "Come be a mad scientist with me."
Hermione giggled at that. "I dunno about mad scientists... oh, why not?"
"Beautiful," I said, smiling at her.
It was a lovely day. Especially when Remus came over and helped us brew some N.E.W.T. potions before it was time to open presents.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
I kindly asked Kreacher to sneak James' recipe book from Sirius when available. It wasn't that I wanted to hide the fact I was using my father's recipe book, so much as I knew if I made it seem like I was doing anything special Sirius's natural mischievousness would kick in and he'd try to mess with it.
So early on December 31st, I asked Molly to help keep others out of the kitchen while I baked. I still had some people stop by, but I warned them off. The twins looked awfully tempted to try their luck, but thankfully Molly kept them in line.
Some people stopped by and asked what I was baking. I admitted to one thing—a few apple pies—to share with others, but I didn't let them see the second item I was baking.
Come evening I was done, and I presented the apple pies for anyone who wanted a slice.
The cake I had prepared alongside the pies was hidden away by Kreacher and kept preserved until I could sneak away.
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to sneak out until nearly midnight. I had hoped to do it once everyone was asleep, but Sirius got everyone in the house involved in a multi-deck game of Bullshit. I thought the game would be over within a couple of hours but I underestimated how competitive everyone was. Especially when Arthur brought out the alcohol and felt compelled to go shot for shot with Sirius. I feigned a headache to pretend to go to sleep early, then slipped away inside my vanishing trunk (which would be covered by an invisibility blanket by Kreacher when not in use).
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Tom was a night owl. It didn't surprise me to find the dark haired brunette still awake when I climbed out of the chest. He sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace on the floor, leaning back against the love seat. He was flipping through a notebook, his brow scrunched up in concentration. He didn't even notice my presence until I sat down next to him.
He looked up in surprise. "Oh. Hello."
"Happy birthday, love," I said with a smile, holding up a cake carrier.
Tom wordlessly accepted it, pulling the lid off it to reveal the warm scents of baked honey, cinnamon, and apple. I was quite proud of the cake, pleased with how it came out—at least in appearance—and tentatively hopeful Tom would enjoy it as well. I wanted to give him some kind of birthday cake, but I knew he wasn't a fan of sweets so picking one out was trickier than anticipated.
I finally settled on a bunt honey and cinnamon apple cake. It took all afternoon. I began by meticulously peeling and chopping the apples into bits then sifting and mixing the dry ingredients. Wet ingredients came next, then everything had to be combined.
Baking took close to an hour. I was too nervous of someone else accidentally (or mischievously) messing with it that I refused to leave the kitchen. I even baked apple pies to explain what I was baking so others wouldn't question whose birthday I was celebrating and why I needed so many apples.
"Happy birthday," I said softly.
Tom smiled briefly at that. "It smells lovely. May I have a slice now?"
"Go right ahead," I said, turning away to rummage through my messenger bag for his birthday present. I could hear the faint pops of magic as Sil teleported over a couple plates with a cutting knife and forks.
Tom Riddle was a tough opponent to shop for. He had access to a decent amount of my funds and was perfectly comfortable getting whatever wanted himself. On top of that he was picky about his purchases, always doing research ahead before finally deciding on something. He had a lot of little preferences that were hard to account for (an example would be that he had a texture issue, certain fabrics irritated him to touch and he would hate to wear them).
I finally pulled out his present, looking over to find that Tom had already eaten half a slice of cake. It made me giggle, "Tastes okay?"
"It's wonderful," he assured me. "A new favorite, I think."
"Aww. White lies are so sweet."
He chuckled. "It may not be a white lie."
"That'd be nice," I said, then held out his present with a shy smile.
"A candle?" he said with a raised eyebrow, carefully accepting it. He lifted it up to sniff. "Ah. It smells like—Hogwarts? The library at Hogwarts?"
"Yep," I said, my ears burning. "Um. Sorry, it was the only thing I could think of."
"No—it's—it's lovely," he said. "Thank you."
"If there's anything else you'd like, please let me know." I shifted closer to him. "I'll do my best to obtain it."
Tom shook his head. "I'm quite happy with what you've already given me, Rosie. All I could ask for now would be your company."
"You can have me all night. Everyone else is hammered and invested in a rather violent game of Bullshit back at home. They won't notice I'm gone until breakfast," I happily told him. "We can do whatever you want. Or if you're wanting some alone time I can head back home and join the chaos."
"I'll have you stay here," said Tom, taking another bite of his cake. He chewed it slowly, looking into the fire that crackled with warmth.
We sat in comfortable silence until Tom finished his piece of cake.
"Rosie?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Tell me again."
I glanced over at Tom. His dark gaze flickered up to meet my own.
"I love you, Tom."
He smiled.
Ding-dong.
The grandfather clock in the living room chimed at midnight. Tom reached forward, cupping the back of my neck to pull me close and gently kiss me.
"Happy New Year," he whispered.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Last day of winter break I spent a portion of it in the bathroom with Hermione.
"Thanks for keeping me company."
Hermione lowered the textbook. "Thanks for quizzing me."
"It was only a bribe so you'd keep me company."
Hermione smiled fleetingly. "So what's this for?"
"A treat for my babeh snakes," I said, bending over the sink and flipping my hair down. I dabbed some potion into my hands then began to run it through my hair.
"A treat?" Hermione's tone was dubious.
"Yeppers. And before you see the results, I want to assure you that it washes out with water so it's not permanent."
"What is—oh my God you're hair is turning white."
"White?" I squawked, looking quickly up to the mirror. "It's supposed to be silver! Shoot."
Thankfully it darkened in color as I continued to work it through my hair. After fifteen minutes my auburn curls had lightened to an ashy-silver.
"Huh," I said as I assessed the final results. "Wow. Daphne was right. I can so pull off silver."
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Bucket List Completed:
57. Share a New Year's kiss.
ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ
The bucket list has 70 lines.
Answer: What birthday cake would you want? :) If you don't celebrate your birthday, then favorite cake?
Question: The twins will provide you unconditional support for one big bang of a prank at Hogwarts - and assure you that you will not be taking the blame. What kind of prank do you pull?
Reviews are love!