Poison A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter Two - Answers

The Houlton Family was  an old pureblood wizarding family. Their members had always been  interested in studying and exploring the fields of magic beyond those  points that were taught at Hogwarts. Many of Cassiopeia's ancestors had  been deep into the Dark Arts. Cassiopeia was used to being surrounded by  people who were enthusiastic about the Dark Arts. However, she had  never felt the desire to delve into them; in fact, she was deeply afraid  of them. When Cassiopeia had been only seven years old, her mother had  died due to some dark experiment having gone wrong. Cassiopeia  remembered her mother to be not necessarily a caring mother but  definitely a capable witch. After her death Cassiopeia had missed her.  At first she hadn't known what had happened and nobody had told her. But  over the years she had realized that her mother had been killed because  of her fascination with the Dark Arts.

Cassiopeia was proud to  be in Ravenclaw. Luckily, her family had never held the opinion that a  pureblood had to be in Slytherin. Although both of her parents and her  brother had been in Slytherin, her father and brother had shared her joy  and excitement when she had been sorted into Ravenclaw. After all, both  her grandmothers had been in Ravenclaw and several of their ancestors  as well. To her father, it wasn't the house that mattered but the  academic results that his children achieved. Her brother had set the bar  high. He had been a top student and he had been Head Boy. Cassiopeia  was proud of Cepheus. But she also was determined to do her best not to  stand in his shadow.

Her father had always  encouraged them to read and study with enthusiasm. Houlton Manor housed a  large library with a vast range of ancient tomes, many of which were  without doubt not approved by the ministry. Being surrounded by all  those gorgeous books her whole life, Cassiopeia had loved reading and  studying since she was little. She could sit in her room with a book for  hours. She definitely preferred the presence of a book to that of other  people. Thus, it was no surprise to her that her fellow students had  soon lost interest in her and never asked her to join any of their  gatherings. Sometimes, she felt lonely and left out, but in her books  she always found consolation. All in all, Ravenclaw definitely suited  her most.

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The next time Riddle  came to the library, he stopped at the corner of the row he had planned  to enter. He saw Cassiopeia sitting on the window sill, reading a book.  He pondered using Legilimency once again, for a moment, before he  decided against it. Instead he said with an emotionless even voice, "Why  do you want to know?"

His voice broke the  silence and Cassiopeia gave a jerk. She turned and looked at him. Then  she smiled and said, "Hello to you, too."

Riddle didn't answer. He  walked closer to the window until he stood right next to her. For a  moment, they both stared out of the window.

Then Cassiopeia shrugged, "I was only curious. I've never seen anyone with so much hidden emotion, so much hatred."

Riddle continued to  watch the students outside on the grounds. He wondered if he should  answer. He had never paid much attention to her but it hadn't escaped  his notice that she was intelligent and almost as good a student as he  was. She was always friendly towards others but she never was the centre  of attention. She seemingly preferred being on her own. Somehow she was  different from the others. Her Occlumency skills had definitely  astonished him and left him wondering if she could be useful somewhere  along his way. He felt that responding to her question might be  dangerous but maybe helpful and he could be careful. He would see where  things would be going.

"I'm just not too social." Riddle's voice was casual.

"You don't say." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Riddle couldn't suppress a smirk.

Cassiopeia looked at him, "You don't want to tell me; I get it. It's okay, y'know."

Without having given  away anything Riddle felt that something had changed between them.  Somehow, it felt like they shared a secret now. He hadn't admitted  anything and still it felt like he had and that she knew it.

Cassiopeia turned her  gaze back to the book she had been reading before. Riddle eyed the book.  Then he said, "That book isn't worth the time reading."

Cassiopeia looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"The theory on non-verbal enchantment through affection is definitely wrong," Riddle continued.

"I don't think so. Have  you ever thought about the effects that involving a feeling can have on  the magic flow?" Cassiopeia answered.

Riddle pondered that for a moment. Then he shook his head and sat down. "I think you get the theory totally wrong there."

Soon, they were deep  into academic discussions. They only came to an end when the librarian  came to tell them that the library was about to close.

Cassiopeia gathered her  things, got up and left for the dorm. Riddle watched her leave before he  packed his things and returned to the dungeons. He thought about the  events of the evening. Cassiopeia had reacted differently from  Dumbledore. Riddle had the impression that in a way Cassiopeia didn't  actually care whether his personality was dark. She seemed genuinely  interested without questioning his motives. Just as he had thought  Cassiopeia really was different from the others. Somehow, he had won her  over without even needing to charm her. He had won her over with his  true self. Thinking about it, that was definitely strange but somehow it  felt right.

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The months went by and Riddle and Cassiopeia grew used to sharing the  table near the restricted section of the library. Mostly, they wouldn't  talk much; they would just acknowledge each other's presence and  continue their studying. But the silence that graced their table was  never heavy or depressing. It was what they both wanted, what they both  preferred. From time to time they would discuss homework or other  academic topics they had been reading about. After all, they both shared  a deep longing for knowledge.

It hadn't failed to escape Cassiopeia's notice that during his visits  to the library Riddle repeatedly sneaked books out of the restricted  section and she couldn't deny she saw him fall for the Dark Arts more  and more. She saw this gleam in his eyes when he was reading those  books. It reminded her of the way her mother had been. Cassiopeia wasn't  sure how she felt about that. She wasn't strictly opposed to the Dark  Arts but she didn't share the fascination that Riddle seemed to  experience either. Somewhere deep inside she was afraid that someday  Riddle might get lost on his path of the Dark Arts like so many wizards  before. But she clung to the hope that he was stronger than those and  would conquer the challenge. Whenever she would see him open one of the  books she knew he had charmed to look innocent she would watch him with  calm eyes until he would meet her gaze with his dark eyes and dare her  to say anything. However, she never did.

Riddle knew Cassiopeia wasn't fooled by the charms he put on the Dark  Arts' books. He saw it in her eyes when she watched him warily as he  was reading the disguised books. But she never commented on it. She just  returned to reading her own books.

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Author's note:

Thank you for reading!!!