Change → Tom Riddle

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can i just let you guys know how incredible you are? it has barely been 24 hours yet we already have 25 views on the last chapter! that was a really long blown chapter for me, but i wanted to say thank you all for your continued dedication and support.
i also want to say i've entered Change into the Wattys 2018!
this is really big for because i have never ever done something like this before, and i have no idea on how the whole thing works. however, i just thought it would be worth a try and i know that even if i don't get an award, i still have people reading this story, that i am writing, and that means the world to me! i think i say this all the time, but i love you guys! onto to the story now x

For a while, nothing else really happened between Olivia and Tom. He wasn't particularly ignoring her, but he wasn't trying to get her attention either. At first, Olivia suspected it was to do with their exams, as the NEWT mock season was coming up. However, she found his behaviour suspicious when she saw him in the common room one night with a glinting object. And, when he noticed Olivia come in, he chucked the object behind him.

Definitely suspicious. 

"What did you just throw behind you?" Olivia asked him. 
"Nothing you're interested in," Tom replied smoothly. 
"Then why did you throw it behind you?" she inquired, looking at him intently. 
"It does not matter to you," Tom answered her again. 
"So you do not mind if I have a look, then?" 
"There is no need for you to do so." Olivia frowned but left him alone. 

Still suspicious. 

However, Olivia had better things to do than worry about Tom, and so she left him alone. That was, until a few weeks later, when they were both approached by Dumbledore again. This time, it was a Saturday, and Olivia was writing a letter to her parents whilst Tom was in his room doing... something.  It was probably suspicious. 
"Miss Ramirez! Hello! Where is Mr Riddle?" Professor Dumbledore greeted Olivia, who was slightly shocked to see him. 
"Erm, in his room." 
"Rightyo." He dashed up the stairs, leaving Olivia a little bit struck by his suddenness. Olivia folded up her letter and waited patiently for Tom and Dumbledore to come down the stairs. Thankfully, Tom did not need much coaxing and they were down fast. 

"Now, you both must be wondering why you are here," Dumbledore started.
"You need us to do something," Tom suggested.
"Brilliant, Mr Riddle. This object, in fact, might be of more interest to you- it used to belong to Slytherin himself." Next to her, Olivia could practically feel Tom perk up.
"The locket?"
"A ring," Dumbledore corrected. "It has been passed down the line to the last known living relative. However, this relative has been sent to Azkaban and it is in the school's best interests to obtain it."
"But there must be more relatives, surely?" Olivia asked.
"We have not looked into it yet, but we will hold it for safe keeping." Olivia frowned.
"But then surely the Ministry-,"
"The Ministry does not know about the ring. And it does happen to belong to the founders, so it belongs to Hogwarts." Olivia didn't want to argue with the professor, so she left it.
"When do we start, Professor? And where?" Tom asked. Dumbledore explained more details to them before releasing them to get ready- the pair set off the next day.
"It may take you the entire holiday, so if you would like to visit your family on Christmas Day I will allow it," Dumbledore added. Once the professor left, Tom turned to Olivia.
"Why did you ask those questions?" Olivia frowned once again but explained her concerns to Tom.
"It feels like we're stealing. It's the same with the locket- except there are living relatives of Hufflepuff. No me gusta," she added, and Tom, who's Spanish, was nearly on par with the native-born, nodded.
"I'll look into it. Maybe it's nothing."
"But what need does the school have for these objects? None of them have any additional powers, and even if they did, it'd be wrong to use them."
"You're saying you don't trust Dumbledore."
"I have my reasons," Olivia snapped. "But there is not really anyone else at this school who can deal with any of my... mermaid stuff."
"A couple of months and you'll be free," Tom pointed out. He leaned back into the sofa. "Any idea what you're going to do after Hogwarts?" Olivia nodded.
"I hope to join the Department of Magical Creatures. If not, then I'd like to teach it here."
"No offence, but it is a rather useless subject," Tom muttered.
"Is it? If you can successfully connect with magical creatures, then you're likely to be safe. If anyone were to offend my kind, I'd blast them. It's unfair." Tom held up his hands.
"My bad."
"And, Dios no quiera, if there were to be a war, they could make the difference between winning and losing," she added.
"It was wrong of me to say that," Tom apologised. "We should go to bed."

Olivia pushed the door opened to reveal a ballroom. A party was in full swing, with people mingling and dancing, music keeping their conversations secret. A person appeared next to her, and Tom grabbed her arm, smiling down at her.
"My dear, finally," he greeted. "I was worried you'd forgotten."
"Forgotten what?" Olivia asked, confused by his behaviour and his words.
"The ball, my dear. To celebrate us winning."
"Winning what?"
"The war, silly," he reminded her, smiling. "Don't you remember?" Tom looked forwards and carried on. "I promised you the world, and I gave you it. Sit by my side and we'll rule it all. My queen does deserve the best, after all." Tom looked back at Olivia. "Are you alright, my darling?"

Olivia was in the cave. On the sand, Gabriella and Eve were lying there, wet. Olivia could sense their pain, but she'd been immobilised, and the feeling of not being able to do anything hurt her.
"Why are you doing this?" Olivia asked Tom, who had been the one to do all of this.
"To make you pure again. To make you human." Human. The noun rung repeatedly in Olivia's mind. "To make you natural."
"Mermaids are natural. They have human genetics," she countered. Tom snarled a reply.
"They're anything but. I'm saving you, Olivia, you and your friends. You would be shunned if everyone found out. You should be thanking me." With that, and a flick of his wand, Olivia was thrown into the water, the moon shining down onto her and the water. Olivia felt the change overcome her, reversing her.

Olivia awoke with a gasp, and she accidentally rolled herself off the bed, taking her blankets with her. She barely prevented a head injury by pulling herself into a sitting position; it didn't matter, she felt numb anyway. Both dreams, especially the second one, had felt so real to her, she felt like checking to see if she still had her tail. But after a moment's thought, she calmly stood up, and began to make her way to the Divination professor's office.

Meredith Kissida was the current Hogwarts Divination professor. Olivia had never really minded the professor nor the subject, but when the time came to pick NEWT subjects, Olivia had dropped it. However, Olivia did not feel like going to Dumbledore on the subject of her dreams, and Professor Westway was the first teacher at Hogwarts that learnt of the 'mermaid' problem. 

It did not take Olivia long to get to the Professor's office, and when Oliva tapped on the trapdoor, it seemed Kissida was awake too. 
"Miss Ramirez! Or Señor Ramirez, if you would prefer?" Olivia smiled warmly at the professor. "So, what warrants a late night visit to me?" Olivia explained the situation, including all the dreams she had. Kissida was silent for a little bit; then she spoke again. 
"It could be you are predicting the future, dear; some sort of timeline. Or these really perhaps are just dreams. There's no way of knowing," Kissida added, predicting Olivia's question. "We just have to wait and see.