Masquerade¹ → Tom Riddle ✓

chapter one

Becoming prefect was everything Evelyn Rivers had ever dreamt of. Although she expected the honour after being a model student since arriving at Hogwarts, when she was presented with her glistening badge, her heart still skipped a beat. Seeing the sun reflect off her metal pin made the world feel as though it had stopped. It wasn't the role than Evelyn was interested in, she didn't particularly want to boss others around or have powers over those younger than her, but simply having the title made her feel closer to her parents.

Considering the dangerous spells that her parents were often practising, the entire wizarding community had been shocked to see them pass in such a normal accident. After working as esteemed Aurors for over fifty years combined, they had accumulated a large influence over the community and when they suddenly stopped existing, everybody noticed. The Daily Prophet even included them as front-page news, a space reserved for the most important and shocking information around the nation. Although they died in a muggle accident, the Daily Prophet held them to such level of prestige that almost no other would be granted. Details of their greatest achievements were explored in great depth in the issue published immediately after their death, with hundreds of references from colleagues and friends published alongside. Even though Evelyn's wound from their death had finally begun to scab, it still felt fresh. It was though one of her limbs had been torn from her body and she would never stop feeling phantom pain.

Both of her parents had been prefects for their respective houses in their fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts and they had done Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw proud. Ever since Evelyn received her acceptance letter into Hogwarts, she had dreamed of becoming a prefect and doing her parents proud.

Arriving at Hogwarts always made Evelyn feel the same magical feeling like she was overflowing with love. The opening ceremony was one of the few magical moments that made Hogwarts feel like a home. Every new student piling into the Great Hall made Evelyn recall her first time seeing it, her first time truly believing in the magic of wizardry.

Once the final student had been declared a Hufflepuff, cheers erupted from the respective table. After the final declaration, Evelyn knew it was almost time for the classic welcoming speech. Turning to her best friends, she found herself genuinely smiling, "How was your summer Lily?" She asked to the pale blonde sat beside her.

"Oh it was truly wonderful!" She smiled with a heart full of hope. "The weather was beautiful so we went down to Cornwall with my family. No magic, no wizardry and it was still the most magical moment. We ate, we swam and we laughed for hours on end. You'll both have to come down sometime soon!" She turned to face Sara who sat beside her, gazing off into the distance.

Although Evelyn adored hearing of her friends' enjoyment and happiness, she found it challenging to talk about her own summer. When her parents were still alive, they had gone travelling every summer, backpacking across remote areas of the globe in search of new magic to practice and explore. Ever since their death, summer hadn't been the same. Even though her grandparents tried to make summer more enjoyable for her, they age prevented them from the level of spontaneity and adventure she was usually used to for the sixth bliss weeks off school.

When on holiday, Evelyn's favourite place was the sea. The sweet smell of the sea rolling in with each wave was something she couldn't get enough of. As soon as her grandparents had heard of her parents' death, they had immediately offered to take Evelyn in, to care for her as their own child in their quaint cabin by the English coastline. Although Hogwarts was more of a home than the cabin ever could be, she couldn't fault her grandparents for lack of trying. Rows of rose bushes were planted alongside the walls of the cabin in memory of her parents, charmed to make them appear every colour of the rainbow. Every summer, Evelyn would dedicate her time to gardening, to making the garden at the cabin reflect the beauty and kindness of her family.

Both Lily and Sara knew not to ask Evelyn about her summer, although it seemed impolite to not ask, the consequences of asking were worse than those of not.

"Ready for Quidditch this year?" Lily asked turning her full focus to Evelyn as she spoke.

"Always. Quidditch is what keeps me sane at Hogwarts. I'm not sure how lucky I'll be this year though, with our OWLS coming up I'm not sure how much spare time I'll have." Evelyn's eyes lit up when she spoke about Quidditch, it was one of the things that despite it all had made her smile.

"We'll have to make time no matter what, even for just a quick non-competitive game,"

Sara suddenly locked onto the conversation, "Non-competitive, that's not something that will happen if you're playing Lily, you don't know the meaning of the phrase!"

Evelyn felt herself chuckle slightly, Lily was quite possibly the most competitive player she had ever seen on the pitch. It seemed to be her arena and the second she stepped in, she became a gladiator.

Too caught up in their conversations, Evelyn had missed the majority of the welcome speech, only turning her head to see Headmaster Dippet already waving his hands to summon the food. Evelyn barely had time to appreciate the spread in front of her before hands began grabbing at the plates of food. After the storm of hands calmed down, Evelyn helped herself to a slightly over-portioned meal of chicken, carrots, peas and potatoes, all coated in a thick layer of gravy. Tucking into her meal, Evelyn took the time to notice her surroundings and inspect the new set of students parked at the end of the Ravenclaw table. To her surprise, they all seemed different this year, larger and less afraid of what was to come. Magic didn't seem to faze them one bit.

Soon, the sound of students eating and chatting began to fade out as Headmaster Dippet rose from his seat. He strolled towards the podium, his dress robes dragging behind him, flowing across the front of the Great Hall. "Settle down students," He bellowed as he reached the podium placed in centre stage. "As you are likely all aware, new prefects have been selected for the next year. First years, they will be your mentors, your friends, your siblings. They will guide you on to the path to greatness, even if that means using the powers to deduct house points for reckless behaviours. If you are not aware of this year's prefects, I will now introduce them to you. From Hufflepuff, we have Marcus Cole and Eleanor Hill. From Gryffindor, Theodora James and Freddie Weasley. From Ravenclaw, Evelyn Rivers and Daniel Harvey. Finally from Slytherin, Tom Riddle and Eliana Parry." After each set of names, he pointed towards the respective house table, resulting in a scattered round of applause coming mainly from first and second years. "Please head to your common rooms and get an early night, magic awaits tomorrow!" He smiled, waving his wand and causing all the food that once was in front of them to disappear.

The serenity that once filled the Great Hall quickly faded away as students began rushing up from their seats and heading towards the entrance. A flurry of students manoeuvred their way out, speeding past Evelyn as though they were being chased. Once Evelyn had a clear view of the Ravenclaw first years, she placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled, the sound echoing across the hall, silencing all the students left inside.

"Alright!" She called, the sound of her voice silencing the last few students. "Daniel and I will take you to your common rooms where you will find lists of names for each dormitory. There is no swapping rooms or complaining, you have been placed where you have for a reason. If everyone understands, we'll get going now." She walked out of the hall alongside Daniel, students following behind her like baby birds, afraid to step in the wrong place. When they reached the staircase, Evelyn found herself smiling fondly. "Keep an eye on the stairs," She turned to face the students crowded around her, "They have a tendency to move."

After the initial awe of seeing the magic of Hogwarts, the first years picked up their pace, following so closely behind Evelyn that they almost collided once she ground to a half. "What comes down but never goes up?" Evelyn turned to face the eagle-shaped knocker that had just spoken.

"As you can see, when you arrive at the door the knocker will ask you a riddle. Fail to answer correctly and you will be denied entry, answer correctly and the door will open for you. Anyone know the answer?" She scanned the crowd of first years, hoping someone would be brave enough to volunteer.

Soon enough, she heard a quiet voice from the back of the gaggle of students, "Its rain," they whispered. Taking a step forwards, they spoke again, this time with more confidence, "The answer, it's rain."

On cue, the door swung open, revealing the Ravenclaw common room in all its glory.

"Welcome home."