Of Monsters and Men- Tom Riddle x OC

17

Pulling her hair once more in front of her face, Animo seriously contemplated skipping class. However, it would only do more harm as Headmaster Dippet had scolded her severely for her attack on Rabier, who, in his words, "was checking in on a fellow student."

As a result, Animo had a month's worth of detentions in the Forbidden Forest, which she was secretly looking forward to. It was one of the few places that she had been allowed to go in the future. After all, the only creatures that could have recognized her were the centaurs and Albus had assured her that they already seemed to know everything anyways.

Tightening her tie with a last pull, Animo pulled on a pair of black slacks she had stolen from the school's wardrobe room. Women were certainly never seen in pants during this time, but if she was going to get through this day, Animo didn't constantly want to have to worry about her skirt riding up. Just another thing to fuel the rumor mill.

She took the spiraling stairs from her dormitory two at a time, the light from the Black Lake a dull green with the changing of seasons. November had begun sharply, with a fresh layer of snow on the ground already and Animo was thankful for the extra warmth the slacks provided.

The common room was largely empty, dirtied with wrappers and random accessories from the ball the night before. Avril sent a grateful look to the house-elf in the corner, who snapped her fingers and made the large punch stain on one of the emerald cushions disappear.

"Squeaky is most happy about your efforts!" The house-elf noticed Animo's glance with a toothy grin, her brown eyes light and arm. "Mister Lestrange is a foul boy."

For the first time that morning, a slight smile upturned Animo's lip. "Thank you. I'm afraid the rest of my house despises me now," she gestured to the empty common room. Fifty points was certainly no easy loss to bear and the Slytherins had prided themselves on winning the House Cup six years in a row. The fact that Tom had been present all those years only confirmed Animo's suspicions that the professors awarded him unfairly.

"Oh, they're always in an uproar over one thing or another." Squeaky shuddered, a dismayed shine to her gaze as she began to gather a few clumps of parchment with a wave of her hand. "Mistresses Black accused me of stealing their favourite lipstick once." The house-elf shook her head, her long ears folding in confusion. "I says, whatever would I do with a lipstick?" she motioned to her thin mouth and Animo bit back a laugh.

"They're a horrid pair."

Squeaky nodded solemnly. "And their mother is much worse. Tricks all her elves into believing she values them you see. They thinks it's an honour to have their head placed on the wall when they die."

A deep grimace spread across Animo's face at the image. "That's awful."

There was a slight pause before Squeaky looked back up in alarm, tearing her gaze away from the emerald clock on the mantle. "You're late for class, miss!"

"Oh, it's alright," Animo bid the elf a farewell as Squeaky insisted that she pay a visit to the others in the kitchen.

Feeling significantly uplifted, Animo darted through the empty corridors towards the Ancient Runes classroom. The professor was an elderly Egyptian man that Animo swore had been around since the time of the pyramids and he rarely noticed when students arrived late. In fact, majority of the class appeared at least ten minutes after the start of period. Outside of Tom, of course.

Pushing open the door, Animo cursed under her breath as the hinges squeaked, drawing attention to her entrance. Ducking her head, she made her way to her typical seat at the back of the room.

"Did you hear—"

"Threw him against the wall—"

"Wandless magic."