----------------------> THE FIRST DAY BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER YULE BREAK never failed to be emotional as friends reunited with hugs and cheek kisses and eagerly shared whatever they had been up to. Artemis couldn't speak for the other houses, but the time after Yule break was always wonderful to a Ravenclaw due to a game they played inspired by the muggle game, Secret Santa.
Before the majority of the students had left for Yule break, all of them had to pick a name from a basket of chits of papers and on the day they returned from the winter holidays, they were supposed to gift a present to the person whose name they had drawn, keeping note to not mention to anyone else who they had chosen. The best part was, the only presents they were allowed to give were books that they thought the receiver would like.
Artemis had luckily selected Emily Vincent and remembering how she had trouble with history, bought her History For Dummies: Even The Most Simplest Of Minds Can Understand These Facts, something that while Emily had initially scowled at, had led to her eloping Artemis into a tight embrace after flipping through the pages and genuinely noticing how easy the book re-wrote the lessons to be. Reginald had drawn her name and recollecting how long he had had to wait for his turn in the career counselling session, happily gave her the book Careers For Conflicted Youths.
Roman had received a girl named Myrtle Warren and not knowing anything at all except that she was in the fourth year, selected the safe book of Everything To Know About O.W.Ls. In return, an upper-year gifted him a copy of the book, How To Create Strategic Quidditch Plays, a book that Roman had hugged the whole day and was about to sleep beside before Artemis pointed out that it might get crushed and folded under his weight if he were to roll on it.
Gen got a signed, first-edition copy of History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot which caused her to nearly faint upon unwrapping it by a second-year boy who Artemis suspected had a crush on her. Meanwhile, Gen gave the person whose name she had picked, a first-year named Poppy Pomfrey, a book about simple healing charms, having noticed how the girl -much like Roman- tended to trip over air sometimes.
The Ravenclaws spent their first day back eagerly reading the books that they had received and also exchanging, lending and borrowing each other's gifts that looked interesting.
Unfortunately, no matter how much they wished, they couldn't read it the whole night especially considering they had classes the very next day so with a heavy heart, just before the clock struck twelve, all the Ravenclaws were fast asleep in their respective beds.
The morning, however, saw them all back in their routines as they had never gone home in the first place with Roman trying a futile attempt at solving the crossword of his newspaper before wordlessly handing it to Artemis for her to complete. The only notable difference between before the holidays and after was the fact that Reginald and Gen had grown quite close and were sharing secret giggles and acting all lovey-dovey at breakfast, prompting Artemis to make a face at them.
"Do you mind? I'm eating here. I'd rather not barf it all up."
"Yes, we do mind." Gen sighed dreamily as she looked into Reginald's eyes before they both leaned in for a kiss, causing Roman to make overly dramatic motions of puking and leaving Artemis shell-shocked as the memory of the kiss she shared with Tom Riddle flew through her mind.
"Come on, Missy, let's leave these two love birds here," Roman nudged her, effectively snapping her from her internal thoughts. "We have potions to go to."
"Um, yes. Let's go." Artemis said, standing up. "Gen, we're leaving without you, okay?"
For a second, Artemis assumed that Gen hadn't heard her but then she saw her friend wave a hand at her, not pausing for even a second from where she and Reginald continued to kiss.
"...Okay then. I'll take that as a 'yes'," Artemis said, before she and Roman shared an eye roll, proceeding to head to their potion's class.
------> 0o0 <------
Professor Slughorn was already waiting patiently and humming a tune to himself when Artemis and Roman entered the classroom. Professor Slughorn greeted them, asking Roman questions about the upcoming Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match and Artemis about her new paintings and what she felt about her potion's partner, to the latter question she replied with a small smile, refusing to comment and satisfy her Professor's curiosity.
Professor Slughorn excused himself after that, moving to speak to the other students as well in an effort to make his very obvious favouritism not too blatant.
Artemis, meanwhile, took her usual seat at the front of the class with Tom Riddle.
"Hello," she greeted him. "How were your holidays?"
"Wonderful and peaceful. What about you?"
"Lovely and loud, thank you for asking," she paused. "Did you get my gift?"
Tom's lips pressed into a thin line. "Yes," he answered shortly.
"Good," Artemis nodded before snidely adding, "I hope you make use of the how-to answer riddles guide because, you know, for a person whose name is literally Tom Riddle you-"
"-I'm not exactly perfect at answering riddles," Tom finished for her with a roll of his eyes. "I'm aware. You always bring that up."
Artemis fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "Do I?"
"Yes," he said in a tone that signified the end of a discussion, which made Artemis scowl as she bit back a rather rude remark that she wanted to direct at him but also offhandedly wondered if he was acting this way because of the kiss they shared.
She shrugged those thoughts away like a cloak.
No.
Tom Riddle was simply an arsehole from the very beginning and nothing she did would be able to change that. He was behaving like he always did but was it silly of her that she initially expected them to act differently around each other? Well, she supposed if he was acting indifferent to the kiss and conducting himself like it never occurred, then she should follow his example.
"When are we going to begin the deal?" Tom asked her.
"Today is fine. Meet me in front of the Ravenclaw tower before dinner," Artemis told him before looking ahead coolly with a bored expression painted on her pretty features as Professor Slughorn began the class, introducing the potion they were to create that day: the Draught of the Living Dead.
The Draught of the Living Dead was a complicated potion to brew especially considering even one error could ruin it completely.
Professor Slughorn announced that this was going to be individual assignments and this potion was actually not for O.W.Ls but their N.E.W.Ts. With this potion, he wanted to test the best brewer in the class -here he looked pointedly between Artemis and Tom, both of whose eyes contained a competitive glint- and he was also going to reward the student who had brewed the best with-
"-The Felix Felicis!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed, slowing all of them the tiny beaker in his hand filled with a liquid of molten golden colour. "Good for twelve hours of pure luck, I'd say!" he declared with a jovial laugh before launching into an explanation of the history behind the invention of the potion and narrating the two perfect days he had had because of it.
The prize only served to make everybody in the room more determined to win as they eagerly waited for Professor Slughorn to tell them to begin. No sooner had Professor Slughorn said the command than did all the fifth year Ravenclaw and Slytherin students start making the Draught of the Living Dead potion, flipping open their copy of Advanced Potion Making to the correct page.
------> 0o0 <------
"Add the infusion of wormwood," Artemis muttered to herself as she did exactly that and from the corner of her eyes, she could see Tom doing the same.
"Quick reminder that you all have a little under forty minutes left," Professor Slughorn called out to the class. "I know it is more complex than anything you have attempted before, and I do not expect a perfect potion from anybody. Just the best attempt," he told them, but it did not bring down the competitive glint that glowed brightly in the prefects' eyes.
"I don't even know why you are bothering to do this potion Artemis," Tom said to her in a low tone as he carefully added the powdered root of asphodel into his potion. "After all, I'm going to win."
Artemis snorted, as she stirred her potion twice in the clockwise direction. "Riddle, that statement that just left your mouth is so bold that I am honestly questioning how you became a Slytherin instead of a Gryffindor," she said snidely prompting Tom to scoff.
"It's not bold if it's true."
"And it's not true if it's a delusion." Artemis countered. "I'm going to win, just you wait and watch."
"The only thing I'll watch is the way your face will get all red with embarrassment when I win." Tom retorted, gently adding the sloth brain.
"Funny," Artemis said, mirroring his movement. "I was about to say the same to you."
Tom snorted. "Good luck, you'll need it."
"Actually, at the end of this, I'll have all the luck I'll need," Artemis grinned wickedly. "Now if you'll-"
Tom never did get to find out what Artemis was about to say because Walburga's potion exploded at that moment, sending splatters to the nearby occupants, just narrowly missing Tom but splashing on Artemis, who instantly let out a cry of pain. Instincts took over him and Tom scooted closer to his partner, trying to see what happened and comfort her.
Professor Slughorn came near them quickly. "Oh, my- Are you all alright? Miss Black, what did you add?"
"I- I mixed up the order I had to add the ingredients," Walburga admitted, causing Professor Slughorn's face to go pale.
"Oh no, Miss Black. This isn't a potion that you can just mess up. Did any of the liquid get on anybody? It's fine if it's on the skin but did it fall in any openings?" Professor Slughorn questioned, letting out a relieved breath as the students shook their heads.
Walburga had been trying to stare at Tom Riddle, thus leading her to mess up her potion and causing it to explode, but thankfully shielding her face. Similarly, Gen too had had her face turned away from her partner's potion in favour of mouthing compliments to her boyfriend and those who sat behind Walburga, fortunately, had their eyes downcast, causing the potion to only splatter on their hair.
"Professor!" Tom called out frantically, making Horace Slughorn turn to where the Slytherin prefect was half-hugging Artemis Potter with concern visible on his face as the girl clutched at her eyes.
Professor Slughorn rushed to her side, eyes widening. "The potion went into your eyes, didn't it Miss Potter? Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing immediately." he gently prompted her to stand up before looking at her worried partner. "Tom, keep an eye out on the class while you work. I'll be back in a few minutes," he ordered, helping Artemis to walk as she still gripped her left eye in pain.
"Is she going to be alright, Professor?" Roman asked with concernment.
"Yes, professor, Artemis is going to be alright, isn't she?" Gen questioned with eyes full of worry.
"She'll be fine, Mister Rhys, Miss Rhodes. Continue working on the potion." Professor Slughorn said as they rounded a corner, whispers breaking out from the students as soon as he did.
For the next dreadful ten minutes Tom had ever had the displeasure of experiencing, he worked on making his potion flawless while pointedly ignoring all the pitying remarks and wails of worry that surrounded him and swallowing the anxiousness and concern he felt for Artemis Potter which became temporarily muted when Professor Slughorn entered the classroom.
"How is Artemis, Professor?" Tom questioned instantly, surprising not only himself but also Gen and Roman since he was the first to ask.
Professor Slughorn smiled at that. "She's completely alright, Tom, no need for you or anyone else to worry. In fact, she's already been dismissed from the hospital wing but she, unfortunately, won't be joining us for the rest of the class since I've asked her to rest for some time," he explained before announcing to the class. "Now, I hope your potion is going along splendidly! If it isn't, try and fix it. You have twenty minutes to go."
At the end of the class, Tom was the only one to get his potion to near perfection -especially since Artemis was missing from the class- earning him a beam from Professor Slughorn as he handed Tom the victory price in front of the class, all of whom shot him varying degrees of jealous looks.
"Congratulations, Tom, my boy." Professor Slughorn smiled proudly as he patted the back of one of his favourite students as Tom looked intently at the vial of potion in his hand before pocketing the potion carefully in the safety of his robes. "You now hold twelve hours of pure luck in your hand. I implore you to use it wisely."
------> 0o0 <------
The next day, Tom Riddle found himself standing before the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Thankfully, however, he was spared the embarrassment of having to answer one of those impossibly difficult riddles when the door swung open in front of him, revealing the lovely countenance of Artemis Potter, fully recovered from the previous day's mishap and grinning at him.
"How is your eye?" He asked immediately upon spotting her.
"Amazing, now that I can see you," Artemis winked with her left eye as if to indicate that she was perfectly alright. "Anyway, hello, Riddle-Who-Cannot-Answer-A-Riddle," she greeted, smiling like an angel. "Excited to have your portrait painted?"
"No."
"Understandable. Are you ready to have your portrait painted, then?"
A sigh escaped Tom's mouth. "Do I have a choice?"
"Nope," Artemis grinned, popping the word as she pulled him inside the Common Room. "Come on and let's get started, my muse."