"Hey! Can we sit here?"
To say Alexa was confused was an understatement. She was feeling like a fool. A clueless fool. Looking up from the star chart in front of her, she adjusted her round glassed specs.
"You are talking to me?" She asked unsurely. Her finger pointed at herself.
Of course, she was unsure. It was not every day, that a Hufflepuff princess Olivia Lockheart wanted to talk to Hufflepuff nobody Alexa Winters. And so her reaction was not out of the world.
Apparently, the golden-haired girl was aware of their scenario as well. Her cheeks tinged with colour. Her pale blue eyes preferred looking through her long eye-lashes at her dorm-mate in embarrassment.
Trust Alexa for making any situation awkward with her curiosity. But could you blame her? The girl almost thought the lady Lockheart didn't know that she did actually share a room with someone. Yet she cursed herself, as she heard Logan, who was sitting beside her, choking on whatever he was stuffing his mouth with. Trying to mend the situation as easily as she could, she gave them (yes them, because Olivia was flocking with her own cete) an uneasy smile. She scooted closer to the McLaggen boy to create some space on the wooden bench; and muttered, "yeah sure."
With an equally unsure smile, the intruder took a seat beside her dorm-mate as her comrades took their spots around the Hufflepuff table in the Great hall of the castle.
Alexa turned to Logan, who shrugged his shoulder and went on his conversation with Varus Zabini. Alexa narrowed her eyes, as she saw him glancing in her direction through the corner of his eyes. She was sure that even if the badger boy was nodding his head dutifully to his companion, his attention was stuck on the situation the badger girl was in, that is, with her unwanted and unexpected company. How convenient! Alexa thought to herself sarcastically.
Her attention was grabbed by Olivia again. "Hey, Alexa! How are you today?"
Dull brown eyes widened. She knew her name. Composing herself a little, Alexa replied, "I-um I am good. How are you?"
"Same." Olivia smiled. This time it was less forced and more relaxed. As if coming out of her daze, the girl added, "Oh yes! Let me do the introductions. Meet my friend Penelope Johnsson."
She pointed at the girl on her other side. Alexa saw it was a tall girl with dark skin. Her even darker curls were neatly pinned at the back of her head. Her yellow robes lacked any wrinkles. And so did her perfectly made-up face. There was no flaw in the perfection of the girl. She looked like one of them who paid close attention to how they looked in public. A perfectly poised posture was something Alexa wanted for herself. Alexa gave a smile which was reciprocated with a simple nod.
"This is Yoshi Yamada." Alexa turned to see a fair teenage girl with East Asian features. Her small eyes and sharp features made her beautiful in her own way. Her rosy lips contrasted nicely against her pale complexion. Her lean physique indicated that she was athletic. She waved back at Alexa enthusiastically.
"And that's Avanti Rathi." Alexa turned her head again to look at the dark-haired girl of Indian origin. Unlike Yoshi, her coffee brown eyes were big. The golden nose piercing was shining brightly against her dusky skin tone. Her midnight black bangs were reaching her waist. In contrast to other girls, Avanti gave Alexa an equally (or maybe even more) uneasy smile. At that moment the hybrid girl knew that they had something in common. It was making an awkward situation even more awkward.
"Now that we all know each other, will you tell us how did you find yourself with a boy like Tom Riddle?" Penelope asked. Her previous posture got eclipsed by her sudden excitement. Now she looked like a girl who gossiped.
Alexa looked at the group bewildered.
~
Across the castle, a sixteen-year-old boy was strolling through the stone corridor. His head was bent low to read the words from the book he held. His mind was completely oblivious to the black lake on his right side.
Herpo the foul was the first wizard in ancient Greece to bred a basilisk successfully. Tom Riddle read the text carefully. Herpo the foul was the name given to the wizard. What had he might have done to earn this "the foul"? His young mind wondered. It is believed that he was able to control his pet since he is a powerful parselmouth. Tom blinked. Parselmouth. Of course, every great wizard had the ability to talk to snakes. Another proof that he was destined to be great. Wait? He did a double-take. He is a powerful parselmouth. Wasn't he ancient? Shouldn't it be "was"? Why "is" was used? Was that a simple printing mistake? They were pretty common in muggle literature those days, but Tom never found even one in the magical world. Tom's chocolate eyes narrowed. Suspiciously. Herpo the foul. You need to be investigated. His mind noted.
*Thump*
His attention diverted in the direction of the sound. He saw that a girl, more correctly, his girl had just joined the scene. As usual, she had taken a spot on the bank of the lake. He had no idea why that opaque lake fascinated her. From her frowning face and pouting lips, he could see she was having a really bad time. Nevertheless, it had been quite long since he had got the pleasure of her company. Tom's eyes narrowed again, but this time mischievously. Annoying her when she was already annoyed was an opportunity that the boy didn't want to let go. Maybe Herpo the foul could wait after all. Before that, someone else needed his attention. Rather he needed their attention. With that thought, he pocketed his book. A smirk graced those sinfully attractive lips as he narrowed the distance between them.
#pottermoreFact: Herpo the foul, an actual character, was believed to have created the Horcrux. It is never mentioned how Tom found about them, but this is how I am going to interpret it.
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