"He has no idea what he's doing. It's quite adorable If I'm being honest," Alexandra babbles, taking a puff of her cigarette. The topic of choice, Ulysses, is quite uninteresting. But it gives me the opportunity to let my mind dwell on Riddle.
It has been a week since we had the conversation on the courtyard, yet my mind was still not over it.
What did he know about reversing curses, or even making them disappear?
"...He's so tall, which he doesn't realise..."
Was he some sort of wizard master? He is quite an intelligent young man, knowing every answer to the hard questions the Professors would throw at him. Plus, his wand skills were impressive.
Alexandra had once said they were advanced, even in their first year. I'm sure Riddle is a Muggle name, which makes it all the more surprising...
"Ooh, it was dreadful," she continues, with a morbid sort of lasciviousness in her tone.
But how did he know? I hadn't told anybody, not even Alexandra. Did he go snooping through documents? He was Head Boy, maybe he'd done research about me. I wonder where he started.
"...But It was a good kind of-"
"You think a seventh year would be a powerful enough to take away a genetic disorder?" I interrupt with this highly specific question.
"Very specific question," Alexandra also points out. "Which student? You?"
"No, it's Tom Riddle."
"Tom?" she asks, a slight shock in her voice. "Does he have a curse?"
"No, it's hypothetical."
"Hmm," She presses her lips together, "I don't know. He's probably one of our best, for a Half Blood... He could be, but why are you asking this?"
"I heard him boast about it to his friends," I lie.
"They're pricks, except for Uly of course. They're just speaking rubbish, trust me." Alexandra takes a drag, blowing it out. It forms a large cloud of smoke due to its combination with the cold air.
"You're probably right."
"I know," she says smugly.
That smug grin disappears as soon as she hears the grating voice of her sister. "Smoking isn't allowed on school grounds!"
Carolyn Soots is definitely a character. Brazen with her words, yet hypocritical when it is done to her. She's a beautiful girl though not as eye-catching as her sister. Surprisingly a Hufflepuff, however, she's the biggest bitch that exists.
Sometimes, I believe she's an older woman with the body of a teenager. She often takes the mantle of an older sister if she needs to.
"Who are you going to tell, Care? Head Boy? Now I'm scared," Alexandra says sarcastically.
"I'm a prefect," Carolyn reminds her.
"For Hufflepuff. Are you going to take points?" she mockingly asks. "Head Girl and I are friends, she'll give them back."
"You're a nuisance." Carolyn bawls her fists. "You put a disgrace to our family."
Alexandra rolls her eyes. "Are you done with pretending to be a saint?" she wonders. "You and I both know it's an act."
The younger Soots groans before storming off, swinging her arms like a toddler who didn't get what she wanted after throwing a tantrum.
"She's a filthy hypocrite," Alexandra grumbles, throwing the cigarette on the ground and letting the snow die it down. "Always pretending to be better than me. We should go. It's getting too cold and seeing her certainly didn't warm my heart."
I agree and we get back inside the warm castle.
Ignoring a glaring Carolyn as we walk the long hallway, we take the stairs down.
The Common Room is busy, not surprising for a winter day, where everyone would rather stay warm inside instead of freezing in the cold.
Tom Riddle is sitting with his group of minions, which includes Ulysses, Dorian Rosier, Hugh Mulciber and Royce Avery.
Abraxas Malfoy was also apart of their inner circle until he didn't associate with them during fifth year. This was, according to Alexandra, due to a heated argument he had with Riddle.
My friend gets to them first, or rather ignores the others and puts her arms around Ulysses, smiling while whispering something in his ear.
I can see Mulciber is staring at her, and he's not trying to hide it. Biting his lip while watching her hands roam his clothed chest. He was the closest she had to a boyfriend before Ulysses. But Hugh was possessive and jealous, which Alex didn't like.
She ended the relationship right after he raped her. Less than a month later, she and I caught him with Carolyn in the janitor's closet. But they stopped going out soon, as he began claiming that she was controlling and insufferable.
He's just a desperate idiot, in my opinion.
Once Ulysses leaves with her, I approach the group. "Can we talk, Riddle?"
A small smirk forms. "You made the right choice," Riddle tells me, not even knowing whether I agreed to his terms or not.
"How would you know?" I ask, genuinely wondering.
"A small feeling the moment you walked in with Soots," he replies.
That feeling must be stronger than he leads on.
He orders the others to go to the library and they obey, Hugh Mulciber gives me a sultry look before leaving the Common Room.
Ew, I think. He's nothing but a dog.
"Let's go to my room," Tom says, "they won't fuss, most don't want to be on my bad side," he adds, in reference to the younger pupils who are watching us with their big eyes.
I follow him up stairs, passing the long green halls until we reach the end of the hallway. Tom opens the door to their dormitory.
Abraxas Malfoy is sitting in his bed with Roisin, all giggly and snogging. But his smile drops when he sees us.
"Sorry to interrupt but we need the room to ourselves," Tom says.
"We'll use a silencing spell to not bother you, Sir Riddle," Malfoy jests, mocking an elegant bow.
Roisin and I laugh but not everyone finds it funny.
"No, I want you to leave," Tom replies seriously.
"We share this room with four other people, you don't own it," Abraxas says, sounding aggravated.
Tom looks from left to right. "I don't see said four other people."
"Because you order them around like lapdogs."
"We used to be confidants, Abraxas."
"Yes, used to be," Malfoy agrees and takes his girlfriend's hand. "We're leaving so you'll have this place to yourself. Goodbye Francesca."
"Goodbye," Roisin whispers too.
I say goodbye back but my voice is blocked by Tom closing the door.
"Where were we? The curse, explain as much as you possibly can."
