Now and Then [Tom Riddle]

Chapter 2

Anastasia hadn't been surprised when she was sorted into Slytherin her first year. She liked it in fact. It gave her a sense of belonging. Once you're in Slytherin you have a family, that was what the head of house her first year had told her. The rest of the school isolated them, but that was only because they feared them. Anastasia's father had been a criminal who died in Azkaban, but within the walls of the Slytherin dorms she wasn't looked at as a freak. There were Slytherins she didn't like course, but she would tolerate them because that house was all she had. The only Slytherin students she hated were those who tried to pretend they weren't in the house at all. Francis Bellows was in her year and had started out as her close friend, until Francis was inducted into a group filled with Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Francis started ignoring her more and more and even began sitting with them at the Quidditch games. She seemed embarrassed to be Slytherin and tried to hide the parts of herself that made her one. Anastasia despised it. Anastasia had been a solitary student most of her time there. She focussed on work in the classes she enjoyed and thought useful, and gave little care for social activities. The only time she mingled was at Slytherin parties. That had been where Tom Riddle first noticed her.

It was a year earlier, in their fifth year, and Slytherin had beaten Ravenclaw in Quidditch, so as per usual threw a rather dramatic party in the common room. Anastasia hadn't even realised there was a match that day, so came back late from the library, books in hand, to find booming music and drunk students dancing. She decided she needed a drink, so poured herself some fire whiskey and took herself to her usual viewing spot. She leant her back against the wall next to the fireplace and began scanning her eyes over all the students. She liked knowing who was fighting with who, who was sleeping with who and so on. She knew everyone's names and played out situations in her head for amusement. As she scanned she came across a pair of eyes staring back at her. He heart jumped for a moment as the boy stood up from leaning against the opposite wall and began walking over to her. She knew who he was not just because of her amazing memory but because everyone knew who he was. She quickly averted her eyes in hopes he would stop approaching her. She looked over to her left to see Clara Deloran aggressively making out with Lawrence Rosier right next to her. She pulled a face and turned to her right only to see Tom Riddle suddenly standing there, leaning his back against the wall right next to her. She stared at him for a moment, analysing his chiseled jawline. She had never been that close to him before. She turned back and stared out in front of her again.

"I don't think I've ever noticed you before." Tom said plainly. Anastasia almost missed his words under the music.

"I'm not surprised. I've been perfecting invisibility for years." She stated back to him.

She had heard about his mind games with girls before, but Anastasia was someone who was genuinely happy just getting through Hogwarts as unnoticed and as qualified as possible. Tom looked over to her. Her long brown hair was tied tightly in a high ponytail that drifted past her shoulders to her waist and her cheeks glowed in the lights.

"I thought young ladies were supposed to yearn for a man's attention?"

Anastasia snapped her head to look at him. She burst out laughing at his statement before realising he was looking down at her with furrowed brows. She stopped laughing, but couldn't quite break her smile. Of course that was something the infamous Tom Riddle would believe.

"Not all "ladies" are the same Mr Riddle. I'm surprised a man of your intelligence is yet to figure that out." She wanted to turn back to watching the party but found it increasingly hard to break away from his glare. He looked to be analysing her face, but she wasn't sure if maybe he was just deep in thought. After a moment he relieved a sigh.

"The subject of women is of little interest to me, and I rarely waste my time on unproductive thoughts." Tom turned his eyes back in front of him and stared out at the students. Anastasia noticed a slight grimace on his face and he watched a drunken girl trip over a stool.

"It depends what thoughts you deem to be productive." Anastasia snarled. The boy was irritating her. She didn't like being spoken down to, especially by a fellow Slytherin.

"Meaning?" Tom turned back towards her, she felt her stomach leap slightly at the fact she had grabbed his attention again.

"Meaning if you are only thinking of women in a sexual and derogatory manner then yes you are correct that is a waste of your incredibly precious time, but if you are analysing women for the reason of understanding half of the wizarding population then I believe that is time well spent." She watched him consider her words. "Furthermore, you would have to be a fool not to consider the female academic prowess of the Hogwarts student body and conclude that women are often more gifted within academia than men and that it is our biology not our minds that cut a woman's professional life short." Anastasia inhaled a much needed breath, unsure why she had got so riled up in the first place. She was normally very good at keeping quiet and ignoring the idiocies around her.

She looked up to see Tom's face was now even closer to hers. He stared solely where her words had exited, making her lips tingle. She felt her cheeks grow pink and quickly returned her face forward, breaking off his line of sight. They stood side by side sipping their drinks in silence for some time. Anastasia was unsure what to do, and thought about simply leaving and going to bed.

"I look forward to more discussions with you in the future." His voice was clear and monotone. With those words he lifted his back off against the wall and walked away without looking at her again.