Turned - Tom Riddle

Chapter Five

Elizabeth had always been a morning person. She never needed an alarm clock, for every day of her life, she had woken up at six o'clock, even on weekends. These conditions sounded insane to anybody else, but it was her life.

She woke up, smelling the familiar scent of pine, which Melissa had charmed their dormitory to smell like. Not pine specifically, but it was a charm that would appeal to whoever smelled it. Walburga would smell vanilla and roses, while Matilda smelled firewood. To Melissa, the dormitory smelled as if you walked into a rainforest, just after a rain storm.

Elizabeth pulled back the thin green curtains, stepping out of her bed and putting on her slippers. She walked over to their small lavatory and began to get ready for the day. While the other girls hadn't stirred, she was in her Hogwarts robes and heading up to breakfast. Back at Baxtart's, breakfast wasn't until eight o'clock, so Elizabeth would always wander the halls of the school until then.

Now, she found that many other students woke up as early as she did. The Great Hall, where breakfast was held, was spotted with students at each table. Elizabeth spotted Tom, but walked past him and sat at the other end of the table. Over on the other side of the hall, Joshua sat alone, reading a paper. Elizabeth sat down on the side by the wall so she could occasionally sneak a glance towards him.

Soon after sitting down, she realized she had nothing to do. The previous day, she was looking in depth at her time table, but now she stared blankly at her toast. She looked over at Joshua who had just set his newspaper down and now looked bored.

This is my chance, Elizabeth thought to herself. With that motivation, she stood up and walked over, standing on the other side of the table from him.

"Are you finished? With your paper?" she asked.

He smiled and Elizabeth felt her heart flutter, "Yes, here you go." He handed her the paper.

"Thank you," she almost turned away, but felt a sudden burst of determination. "Anything worth reading?" she asked him.

Joshua laughed, "I bet I could tell you more about what's happening than what is in that paper."

"Oh really?" Elizabeth countered.

"Of course, sit down," he offered. Elizabeth mentally did a happy dance, but coolly took a seat across from him.

"So, what has been happening?" she asked him, attempting to sound flirtatious.

He smiled, "Nothing at all."

"I thought you knew more than that paper?" Elizabeth teased.

"I don't, I just wanted some company," he grinned at her. "You're in Slytherin, right?"

"Yes," Elizabeth answered. "I just arrived here two days ago. I used to live in America."

"You've come a long way, I see." He stuck out his hand to shake hers, "I'm Joshua."

I know, of course you are, you handsome devil, she thought to herself, but simply replied, "I'm Elizabeth." She shook his hand. She thanked Merlin that she was such a friendly person and that she was so good at talking to others.

"If I'm not mistaken, I sit in front of you in Charms," he thought.

Elizabeth smiled, "I think you do."

They talked on, laughing at each other's funny stories while more students came and went.

"I forgot to ask, what school did you come from?" he asked her.

"You've probably never heard of it, but it was called Baxtart's School for the Independent Wizard and Witch."

"Was?" he asked.