t h e f i r s t
muggle born was found that night. It was for her, the only apology Tom could ever give.
Linda Smith was petrified.
She was lying next to her friend Barbra's bedside. Her mouth was open in an eternal scream. Her fingers clutched so firmly around the bedrail that the professors had to break each digit to remove her.
Tom sat back and watched with satisfaction when the professors gathered the students to announce the incident the next day before canceling classes. It wasn't the brightest move on the professors' part, as the news only sent the great hall into a panic. Tom had caused the chaos with his power over the Basilisk. He felt worthy of the uproar.
His eyes searched for Evelyn in the worried students, half expecting her to have skipped the summons altogether. Then, his eyes caught on her lilac ones. She was staring at him with that ever-present all-knowing look. His expression didn't change, she should know now that he was sorry for the day before. He was crueler than intended. He didn't know he would hurt himself in being so.
Her lips turned into a sneer as she turned and left the great hall, the clear dismissal of his apology clear. His triumphant grin turned into a scowl. How dare she not accept this obvious gift?
He turned from the door and stared at his empty plate in annoyance. She couldn't stay mad at him forever. She would come around, he was sure of it.
***
He had been wrong. Evelyn had not forgiven him, nor had she cared to acknowledge that he even existed for weeks. She rarely attended class and when she did, she would sit next to Avery, leaving Tom with Malfoy.
She talked to Avery freely and sometimes would turn to talk to Malfoy, but not Tom. She made it seem as if he was nonexistent. Tom had never known something could irritate him so greatly in his life.
This game of hers clearly became boring to her after Tom had threatened death on his followers if they participated. She stopped showing up to class altogether after that.
The professors didn't seem worried about her even after January passed. When he asked Professor Slughorn if something was wrong with her, he simply laughed. "Wouldn't you know more than me, boy? Or are there some relationship issues you need to talk through?"
It had taken Tom a week to pull himself together and ask about Evelyn because he didn't want it to seem like he cared about where she had gone. With that answer, he had to hide the scowl and the sudden heat that rose up his neck. He turned around and thought about how he would get away with killing a professor instead. It calmed him a bit.
The next time Tom saw Evelyn she was overly invested in a boy's mouth. Or he was of hers. She was pinned against a wall in some dark corridor. Her hands roamed half-heartedly over the boy's chest or shoulders. She didn't seem nearly as into it as the boy she was with.
The boy was rubbing his hands across her body as if she would disappear from below him. His mouth had moved from hers and was quickly moving across Evelyn's neck that she had fully exposed to him. Her head tilted to the side, her eyes staring far away.
Tom hadn't meant to stop and stare and he nearly hexed himself when Evelyn caught him. His eyes found hers and she threw him a grin before bringing the boy's mouth back to hers.
Tom never stopped again, even when he saw her with the same boy three times that week. The boy was found later that Sunday morning, sprawled on the floor next to a window. Evelyn never confronted Tom about it, a little bit to Tom's disappointment.
Tom had needed the boy (whom he had not cared to learn the name of) out of his way. He didn't need the boy whisking Evelyn away for Valentine's Day the following week. He had learned from Malfoy that the kid was going to make some grand gesture that Tom knew Evelyn would hate. Malfoy had agreed and had let it slip that the day was also Evelyn's birthday. He had remembered the fact from when Evelyn had received a birthday card in their first year. Tom had not even known Evelyn existed in their first year, so he was glad that Malfoy remembered everything.
Tom, without meaning to, had started missing Evelyn. Not because he missed her as a person, but because he had grown bored again of his followers' chatter. They never seemed to shut up or stop making a fool of themselves. Tom missed Evelyn's quick remarks and composed manner.
He had been working on a project for months in order to read Evelyn better. Her talent for hiding her emotions from Tom was becoming a clear distraction from him. There was a simple solution that he intended to give to her on her birthday.
***
Tom approached Evelyn as if approaching a deadly beast. He was aware of how little he knew of her ability to attack. She was sprawled on the velvet green sofa she favored in the back of the common room, her mannerism mirroring that of the black cat that was curled by her feet.
"Evelyn?" Tom asked in a tone just above a whisper. Both Evelyn and her cat flicked their eyes up to him in unison, the movement unsettling.
Evelyn returned her eyes to the book in her hand, but the cat watched him with her ears back. Tom didn't step further into the space. His eyes scanned the book title in Evelyn's hands, "How Best to Kill, Volume. II". Tom wondered if Evelyn was purposefully taunting him.
"Evelyn, I need to talk to you," Tom cleared his throat. She slowly lifted her eyes from her book again, not bothering to move anything else. She quirked one eyebrow up, the only sign Tom got to let him know it was okay to continue. "I heard it was your birthday. Dreadful having it on such a day as Valentine's Day."
Evelyn rolled her eyes and looked back at her book, "Quite."
Tom didn't move; he was determined to get her to talk to him again. He had been too worried about her lately, thinking that he may have made her too upset to ever talk to him again or that she simply had deemed him unworthy of her. He was disgusted by his feelings and needed them to stop. If she simply said that she forgave him for his outburst, his mind would go back to normal.
"Is that all?" Evelyn sighed, probably realizing that Tom wasn't going to leave.
"Well, yes... no. I actually have a gift for you," Tom said against his better judgment.
This got Evelyn's attention enough that she placed her book on her lap. "How thoughtful," she cooed, but it sounded more like she was mocking him.
Tom opened his palm anyway toward her and laid delicately against his pale skin was a ring. An opal that was so pure it looked as if it had plucked the moon from the sky and hid it within. It was framed by an array of golden swirls. Tom had fashioned the ring in hopes of distracting Evelyn with its beauty.
She didn't reach for it as her smile turned teasingly toward him. "Tom, aren't we a little young to be getting married?" she purred.
Tom leaned down and snatched her hands from her lap in one smooth motion.
"I'm not proposing to you, idiotic dame." He slid the ring onto her right hand but didn't let go. His thumb ran over her palm and then over the smoothness of the top of her hand.
"I-'' Tom stuttered but seemed to be at a loss of words. What had he been thinking, coming over here with a ring and an apology? He was acting so utterly stupid. He didn't need this annoying girl back in his life. He needed to focus. He needed to stop staring at her hand and he needed to leave. He was going to regret doing this.
Evelyn's fingers curled around his hand and gently squeezed.
"I'm waiting?" Evelyn spoke gently. Tom dropped her hand as if it had burned him, his mind going blank once more.
"I'm here to apologize," Tom spit out the words quickly.
A small, victorious smile came across Evelyn's lips, "Oh!" She sat back against the couch and crossed her legs. "Then please proceed Tom!"
Tom couldn't help but look away for a second. Evelyn's stare always affected him too much. He never could think straight with all of her attention fixed on him. He tried to form some kind of intelligent way to express his feelings without condemning himself.
"I was harsh for what I said a couple of weeks ago," Tom decided.
Evelyn didn't argue.
"I would like to continue our lessons," Tom continued.
Evelyn's smile dropped. "I don't wish to continue our lessons."
Tom took a step forward. "Well, I do and I'm here to offer something in return."
Evelyn smirked, sitting back. "There is nothing that I need, Tom."
He sat down beside her, their bodies too far apart to be friends, but too close to be strangers. Tom's knees tilted slightly towards hers.
"Oh, but there is. You need someone to not snoop around in your business, someone who will help you gain the advantage that you wish to have," Tom shifted closer and dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I've been thinking about your offer as being your pawn, and although I'm not in love with the idea, I've decided you are worth it."
Tom watched the way Evelyn's lips quirked slightly up as if fighting a smile. "Oh Tom, you really do know how to work a lady, but I have to say maybe. I'll let you know what my decision is."
With that Evelyn got up from the couch, her little black cat, Morgana, walking over Tom's legs to follow her master. Tom hated how she had somehow hooked him onto a leash with all of the other boys who trotted after her.
He had somehow become her pawn long before he had offered it. Probably before she had even played him against the headmaster. Now she was making him wait, vulnerable, in the middle of the board until she decided she needed him or not.
Tom, however, had one advantage over her now. He sat back on the couch and smiled down at the ring that he had begun to wear. It swirled grey and then a hint of orange swam in its depths. Tom hoped Evelyn savored her satisfaction before he made his winning move.
***
Tom's inflated ego was promptly popped by Evelyn's lack of communication for the entire rest of the month. He regretted his confidence. He regretted giving her that stupid ring. It was pathetic of him to let her know that her absence in his life bothered him.
The ring's purpose, however, had been too necessary. It was designed to send signals to his own ring, which would swirl in colors correlating to Evelyn's every emotion. It had been difficult magic, but it would be worth it. It had to be or Tom would turn out to be a simpering fool and he could not have that. He was a leader. A ruler. He could not allow unchecked feelings to get in his way. There had to be some kind of justification.
Tom had not considered that the ring would only be worth the effort if Evelyn decided to wear the thing. He had felt insanely idiotic for the first day, but she had worn it every day since he had given it to her, so he considered it a blessing.
Evelyn's emotions were oddly always the same neutral grey. She wasn't ever happy and she wasn't sad either. She was just content. It was as if she knew how to control her emotions even though she didn't know anyone was monitoring them.
Tom only found the ring helpful, the more he wore it when Evelyn got angry. It wasn't normal anger. It would come in the dead of night or early morning. It was fierce and would flash bright red, making Tom have to hide his ring, so as to not wake his roommates. It didn't happen all the time either, and usually, when it did, he wouldn't see her that day. Tom didn't try to understand these fits of anger and he didn't want to ask about them either, but he was curious. It was a problem for another time.
The more time that passed after her birthday, Tom realized he didn't have time to worry about it because the OWLS were coming up. He knew if he didn't get the best score possible, he would drop below Evelyn.
Even when she didn't come to class most days, Tom had learned that she was his ultimate competition. He knew that she would walk straight into the OWL exam, probably without even studying, and receive straight O's. Of course, that was if she showed up to them at all. Tom thought maybe there was a bit of luck that she wouldn't be allowed to take them because of her consistent absence. If it wasn't for the rings, Tom would have thought she was nothing more than a ghost that had briefly haunted him.
***
It was late one night at the end of May when Tom was returning from his prefect duties. A noise from down the hall caught his attention. An excited feeling crept into his chest at the prospect of getting to take points from a student out of bed.
When he rounded the corner he saw an unmistakable swish of blonde hair entering into an abandoned classroom. Without question, Tom knew exactly who the student was and didn't want to lose a chance to talk to her.
Tom took a step forward to follow her when a hand wrapped around his shoulder. It took everything in Tom not to murder the old man behind him.
"Come with me Tom, I have much to discuss with you," Dumbledore said with little room for debate. Tom gave Dumbledore a polite smile before following after him, hiding the fact that he wanted to hex him for interrupting his chance to speak to Evelyn.
Dumbledore led Tom to his office before taking a seat behind his desk. Tom looked around the room. It was disgustingly crowded and disorganized. There were too many trinkets covering the desks and too many noises bouncing around the room. Tom hid his sneer before seating himself across from Dumbledore.
"I'm sorry, Professor, is there something I can help you with?"
Dumbledore rested back in his chair before plopping a lemon drop into his mouth. He flipped it inside his mouth with a smack that made Tom internally cringe.
"Would you like a lemon drop, Tom?"
Tom found it hard to hide his impatience as he spat, "No thank you, professor."
Dumbledore smiled before placing the lid back on the candy jar.
"Very well, I'll get right to why I called you here so you can get on to bed," Dumbledore calmly replied. The old man fumbled with his hands before leaning forward and placing them on the desk. His half-moon spectacles slid down his nose. "I've brought you here so that we could discuss, Evelyn Maeve."
Tom crossed his legs so that Dumbledore wouldn't catch the odd shiver that went up his body at the sound of her name.
"I'm not sure why– we haven't been talking much since January."
Dumbledore nodded his head before leaning back and pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Well yes, Tom, I have noticed that, but I've also noticed how your eyes seem to search her out in my classroom or in the hallways. Not that it's my business, but were you two dating and things went bad or are you just enthralled by her power?"
Tom folded his hands in his lap, squeezing them together until they were bone white. He knew exactly what Evelyn would have said if Dumbledore had asked her that question. She would give him a nasty little sneer and tell him that he was correct, it wasn't any of his business and to stop watching her.
She would have added something foul into it and walked out. If it was any other teacher, Tom knew she would have turned it into a tease, but Tom knew Evelyn hated Dumbledore.
Instead of doing what Evelyn would have done, Tom simply nodded his head slowly, "I have never had a romantic relationship with Evelyn and I don't plan to. I simply find her presence exciting and I miss our friendship."
Tom knew Dumbledore was highly aware that Tom did not have "friends" and Tom was also very aware that Dumbledore thought Tom was not the perfect student and person he claimed to be. Tom himself was aware that he didn't ever even want a friendship with Evelyn, but to say so would only raise more suspicions.
Dumbledore though only smiled and grabbed another lemon drop from the candy jar. "I would be careful, Tom Riddle, that girl is dangerous. Evil doesn't just revolve around her, it lives in her. She's too broken to ever not play you for the fool."
Tom couldn't hide his shock from his face. Dumbledore speaking badly about a student was unheard of and completely against his character. He wouldn't have ever warned anyone about danger or evil and yet he was speaking to a boy he didn't like about a girl that seemed to be everyone else's doll.
"I'm sorry, Professor, but Evelyn is a very nice girl. I think you must be mistaken." Tom unclenched his hands from each other only to grab the side of the chair he was sitting in.
"Tom, I have known the Maeve family for many years. There is not a single witch or wizard alive that has as much power as Evelyn Maeve. Her family was cruel and it has been replicated in her. Do not make the mistake of underestimating her."
Tom tried to blink back his intrigue. "I'm sorry, professor, but I can't help myself. I haven't seen any of what you are talking about in Evelyn. Yes, she is a little careless with hearts, but I don't believe that makes her evil."
Dumbledore only sighed and waved his hand towards the door, "I am only trying to warn you, Mr. Riddle. Please do what you want with the knowledge."
With that, he dismissed Tom from his office and grabbed another lemon drop. As soon as Tom's back was to him, the sneer that overcame his features was murderous.
How dare Dumbledore try to warn him? How dare he not know he was capable of handling himself? Even if Evelyn was as powerful or as evil as he claimed, he could control anything. It was an effort not to slam the door behind him. Instead, he closed it politely.
"Hello, Mr. Riddle."
Tom actually startled at the purr directed towards him and the girl whose smile was sinister.
"Did I frighten you, Tom?" Evelyn's smirk was full of cunningness.
"No, not at all," Tom spoke as calmly as he could.
Her giggle gave away how much she didn't believe him. With a wicked sneer, she said, "Well you better watch out, Tom, because evil doesn't just revolve around me– it lives inside me."