Ivory's hand trembled.
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The quill shook as she gripped it nervously. Only the dim seaweed-green light and a lit candle illuminated the otherwise dark room. Both of her roommates were dead asleep, their calm and steady breaths the only thing keeping Ivory grounded from the anxiety she was experiencing.
Her mother terrified her.
That is why she was debating to continue writing the letter addressed to none other than Gizelle Lavigne, Ivory's mother. I have to do this, she reasoned to herself, for Tom. Pushing the memories of her childhood aside, she breathed in a deep breath and started writing.
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Dearest mother,
I seek your aid in a matter that concerns your line of work. I want to find more information regarding the Riddle lineage. I will be expecting a response from you in the nearest possible time, whether you will help or not.
I do not ask for much, that is why I hope for your succour.
Solus Magnus inter omnes,
Ivory.
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After writing her name, she folded the paper and tucked it inside the standard purple-coloured envelope of their family, sealing it with gold wax. Grabbing it along with her wand, she exited the room and headed outside the dungeons where she could call out her owl.
Ivory was dismayed when she didn't encounter Tom on her way out but she shook it off, ignoring the gnawing feelings towards him. Instead, she hurried towards the nearest window and called out to her owl with a distinctive whistle. A Eurasian eagle owl with visibly darker colours arrived from her call. Its massive wings flapped, stirring up the settled snow as it perched upon the windowsill. Golden yellow eyes stared at her as the owl waited for an order.
"Take it to Mother," Ivory commanded, giving the owl her letter. With that, the bird took the letter by the beak and flew once again, heading towards its given destination.
A sigh left her lips as she stared out the window, the barren Forbidden Forest in sight. Ivory hasn't fed for weeks now. The deer and rabbits were hiding away from the cold, conserving their energy as they waited for winter to pass by. This wasn't a problem for her back at Beuxbatons as she always had a fresh stock of deer's blood in her flask, supplied weekly by the local butcher.
Ivory wondered when she was going to pass out again.
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A ringing in her ears woke her up.
This time, she hadn't woke up to a start, unlike the last couple of times she slept. This time, she awoke to Walburga's horrid singing. A groan escaped her lips as she curled into her silk duvet, trying to mute out Walburga's horrid high-pitched voice. But it went in vain as the trilling girl went over to her side of the bed.
"Casse toi," Ivory grumbled from under the covers. The singing stopped and instead got replaced by laughter, followed by the pulling of her blanket.
"Spare me with your French, Eszter. It's time for you to get up." Walburga grunted, trying to pull the duvet off of the curled-up blonde.
"Jamais." Ivory huffed as the duvet was pulled off from her, finally revealing her figure.
"You better hurry up or else Maeve will be forced to come and get you. And you know how she gets."
"We're going to Hogsmeade today, aren't we?" Ivory asked as she headed for her wardrobe, picking out a green turtleneck and a black pleated skirt.
"Correct. We'll head straight there after lunch," Walburga replied, grabbing her scarf and bonnet as she headed for the exit. "I'll leave you to dress. We'll be waiting in the common room."
Ivory didn't bother replying as Walburga walked out of the exit immediately after talking. She put on her black stockings and the clothes she picked out, along with her black knee-high socks and oxford shoes. Grabbing her white coat and matching beret, she exited the room, slipping her wand under the slips of her sock.
There were several Slytherins in the common room, all dressed in warm clothing. It looked to her that they weren't going out for that day, which meant that not a lot of students were going out at all. They were most probably enjoying the warm indoors instead of the cold outdoors.
Maeve spotted her and called out. "Ivory! Finally, we've been waiting for ages." Playfulness was clear in her tone as the blonde walked towards them.
There was only Matthew and Cyrus present from the knights, and as she was about to ask, Cyrus cut her off. "The others are already getting lunch. We better go now before Alexis hogs all the bacon."
Agreeing, they all started for the Great Hall.
As she suspected, the Great Hall was evidently packed more than the last Hogsmeade trip. Bustling with laughing students, conversing with themselves as her group passed by. Ivory's ears rung from the drumming palpitations of hearts beating against closed rib cages.
This environment wasn't good for her.
"Are you okay?" Matthew's voice pulled her out of her trance.
Clearing her throat, Ivory answered with sarcasm lacing her words, "Yes. Just taking in the joyous atmosphere."
"Oh lighten up ma moitié, you'll be experiencing Hogsmeade for the first time later today. It's going to be a magical moment."
Matthew laughed at his pun, ignoring the daggers sent by Ivory's narrowed eyes. They sat around the middle of the Slytherin table, with Alexis, Abraxas, and Tom already seated. Feeling faint, Ivory sat towards the nearest seat which was in the middle between Tom and Abraxas. Her vision blurred and hazed over. Am I going to faint again?
"Lavigne."
Her senses cleared as Tom whispered beside her. Ivory looked up to the right to find a questioning look on his face.
"Riddle," she spoke back in a hushed tone through gritted teeth.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, eyes back to the open book in his hands.
"Nothing. Merely symptoms," she answered, grabbing a goblet of coffee.
"When have you last eaten?" Tom whispered discreetly.
"The first week of November."
"Bloody hell Lavigne, that long?"
Ivory looked at Tom to find him giving her a scolding expression. She only rolled her eyes in response. "Pass the cherries, will you Malfoy?"
Abraxas handed her the bowlful of cherries wordlessly, his cold gaze meeting hers for a second.
Ivory muttered a thank you and proceeded to eat her cherries, sipping her coffee occasionally. Do I transfigure the coffee or not? she debated. Better not, not now with this many eyes looming over. Closing her eyes, she only focused her attention on Tom's scent. An attempt to calm her symptoms and force her urges down.
The grimace on her face didn't go unnoticed by Tom.
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