Before He Was Voldemort (A Tom Riddle Fanfiction)

Chapter 16: You

December, 1943

Evidence that the Christmas season was upon Hogwarts was apparent even to the most oblivious set of eyes. Being the middle of December, it seemed everyone was eagerly counting down the remaining days until the twenty-fifth. This was especially true for Corinne; more than usual, she was looking forward to the most wonderful time of the year. Having spent her previous Christmases with her judgmental family- which was never a particularly jovial time- for once, this year would be different. After a remarkably lacking amount of persuasion to her parents via letter, they agreed to let her remain at Hogwarts for Christmas.

This did not strike Corinne as a surprise that her parents were so indifferent about their youngest child not coming home for Christmas, of all occasions. But the Carrow family was not ordinary when it came to festive customs. Gift exchanges, for as long as Corinne could remember, were usually limited where each member of the family received at least one present, which usually ended up being a considerable sum of money. Scarcely did anyone in the Carrow household go all out for the holidays. Corrine's parent's idea of raising their six children was to mold them into practical, successful citizens of the wizarding community, just like them.

Partaking in Christmas apparently didn't meet their standards of living.

As the black sheep of the family, of course Corinne felt the need to celebrate without her family's prejudice and haughty ways. Hogwarts was perfectly adequate to do so.

Just as she did on Halloween, she observed the Great Hall while piling her plate with breakfast foods. The hall looked absolutely magnificent. Swathes of holly, mistletoe, and vibrant red poinsettias adorned the stone walls. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn had set up a dozen Christmas trees around the room, each decorated with an array of colorful glass ornaments and lights, topped off with either a magically animated angel or twinkling star. A light dusting of snow fell from the enchanted ceiling, disappearing before it could hit the tables.

Inhaling, Corinne could smell various holiday-related aromas such as burning wood from the roaring fireplace, roasting chestnuts, the bark of the fir trees, wax from the candles floating above her, and most unmistakably of all, Tom Riddle's cologne as he suddenly sat down across the table from her, causing an uproar of jitters in the pit of her stomach.

"I must say," he said, leaning forward on the table on his elbows. "I was not expecting you to be here."

Corinne raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Well for one, you're sitting in my spot. This area of the Slytherin table has been reserved for me and my comrades since we were merely second years." Tom held up his hand before she could interrupt him. "And you and I both know where you run off to during any opportunity for human interaction like a dog with its tail in between its legs."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Corinne retaliated, offended.

"You're a coward," Tom said simply, a touch of amusement interlaced in his twisted words. "That is what I mean."

Corinne's cheeks ignited, partly from anger and partly from mortification. Where was this coming from? Although they hadn't met privately in almost a week, their last meeting in the Astronomy Tower still left her dazed. The way Tom had looked at her with such intensity remained embedded in her mind, as well as the way he briskly fled the room for some unknown reason. Was this a ramification from that incident?

"I'm a coward? Well, you're a-"

"Tom!" Professor Slughorn beamed, tottering over to where they sat. Lucky for Corinne; he stopped her mid-sentence before she could say something to Tom that she would surely regret.