From the Devil's side

Chapter Seven- Stupid Superstitions

"Really? I can't wait to see that Lazarus, enlighten us all on how you plan to execute such an elaborate scheme," I smirked, twirling my wand around my finger as we sat in are the usual deserted classroom up on the fifth floor. A complete waste of my time once again... 
"Don't encourage him Riddle," Wiglaf groaned.
"You two just wait and see! Once I have completed my training, I will be the one who will seek out and bring down Grindlewald!" Lazarus contradicted passionately. I laughed unable to contain it at the sheer stupidity. This boy was nothing short of delusional, I hardly believed he could be a true Heir. Hufflepuff would turn in her grave. 
"For now Lazarus can we please focus on the smaller matters?" Wiglaf sighed. Wiglaf always so serious, so righteous I resisted rolling my eyes. So trivial in the grand scheme of things.
"Yes lets. Build you up a bit Laz," I smirked, still tittering on the edge of hopeless hysteria. 
"Oh shut it," Lazarus retorted sulkily. I caught Grisha's eye as she smirked at me, I winked at her returning her smirk noticing a slight tinge appear on her cheeks. 
"It may have come to your attention that Grindlewald is attempting to smuggle spies into and recruit here in Britain and with Dumbledore here, after all those rumours of him being his only match, he is going to be increasingly likely to want allies here at Hogwarts," Wiglaf pontificated confidently. I took a deep breath as I tried to remain impassive, the last thing Grindlewald will do is try to recruit a bunch a teenagers to try to take down Dumbledore and as for him being his only match Dumbledore was certainly not taking it upon himself to try to stop him. A cowardly Gryffindor? Who would have thought. 
"Am I boring you Riddle?" Wiglaf asked, clearly picking up on Tom's less than interested body language as he sat slumped in a chair, one arm and one leg resting casually over one the arms of the chair.
"Not at all Wiglaf, I am merely waiting for how you intend to act," I mocked him, finding amusement in the little game I was playing. 
"I suppose we are just looking out for any suspicious behaviour," Grisha interjected clearly trying to disperse the tension and ruin my fun, I smirked. 
"Well if they are careless enough to visibly act suspiciously then they are not really that dangerous," I chuckled.
Grisha's face hardened as she locked her deep blue eyes upon mine.
"Well you never know who is watching you," She hummed under her breath. I straightened up returning her gaze intently, what was she suggesting to. I plucked at the corners of her mind but she realised what I was attempting to do and pulled her gaze away from me. I snarled under my breath. What had she seen? I would have to play her carefully from here on out. It would be an  inconvenience and a waste if an Heir had to be disposed of so soon before they had even served their purpose. 

The first few weeks of March had been mostly taken up by homework and extracurricular research. Since Slughorn had retrieved me a pass for the restricted section of the library most of my time had been spent there, so much interesting and useful knowledge hidden away. 
It was now mid March and the temperature was beginning to rise. I much prefered the cold, whether that was due more to my immunity from years spent in the orphanage I was unsure. One Saturday morning as I was making my way back towards the restricted section I spotted her sat in her usual seat beside the window gazing out of it absentmindedly. I frowned, I had been trying for the past three weeks to grasp an opportunity to enter her mind, to discover what it was that she had seen... but she had been keeping herself guarded barely keeping eye contact with me for a few seconds at a time. 
I smirked as I sneaked up on her leaning low over her ear I whispered her name gently causing her to shiver violently and spin around to face me.
"Tom! For Merlin's sake are you trying to shock me to death?" she hissed under her breath so that Mrs Lynch the librarian could not hear. I smirked taking the seat in front of her I watched her for a moment before glancing down at what it was she was working on. 
"It's not that I don't enjoy your company Tom but the staring is becoming a little strange," She tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at me. I sneered gesturing to the parchment before her that had many of her crossings out and mistakes all over it. 
"I told you not to waste your time on that outlandish subject,".
"Yes you did," she hissed regretfully,
"As did Wiglaf," I added, picking up one of the useless books of fiction, screwing my nose up at it I  flicked absently through the thick aged pages. Cinderella held my truth than this. 
"Are you going to help or are you just going to sit there and gloat that you were once again correct," she grumbled, crossing out yet another sentence.
"Gloat," I replied simply, allowing a grin to tug at the corners of my mouth.
"Great," she muttered, screwing up her eyes at the parchment before her. She looked like a child who hadn't gotten her own way.
"Tasseography?" I commented as I transfigured one of the scrunched pieces of paper into a small china cup and saucer and pulled it towards myself. Such a pathetic practice, why anyone ever connected tea with telling the future was just as baffling to me as why anyone would want to get married and have children.
"Hmmm," she groaned, lost in her thoughts.
I waved my hand over the cup instantly filling it with hot steaming hot tea, before tapping my finger on the side of the cup causing the liquid to vanish and leave nothing behind but leaves stewing at the bottom of the china. I then slid it gently back across the table towards her. 

"Well, read my future McLaggen," I smirked; She looked at briefly before sighing and pulling her textbook and the cup closer towards her. I waited patiently enjoying watching her struggle to make something of nothing out of tea. She squinted her eyes before letting out a little gasp... I frowned at her. What did she think she saw? She quickly flicked her gaze back to the textbook. I watched her eyes as they scanned down the various images and their meanings. She stopped three quarters of the way down the page pressing her finger along the text as she mumbled to herself something I could not discern. She then looked back at the cup. I was beginning to grow both curious and impatient. 
 "Well?" I prompted. She looked up at me with a worried look on her face, I smirked. What ridiculous premonitions did the tea leaves show? 
"You're keeping me in suspense McLaggen; tell me will I find myself beating Wiglaf at wizard chess tomorrow evening? Or perhaps Lestrange will spill his poorly brewed hiccupping solution all over me again," 
She laughed nervously, her face clearly betraying her true concern. What on earth does she see?
"What is it McLaggen? You're looking like a true fortune teller over there, congratulations on your theatrics." I mocked.
She did not answer but continued to stare at me like an open mouthed dead fish. 
"Oh for Merlin's sake McLaggen," I snatched the cup out of her hand losing my patients. I stared down into it. An animal of some kind? A wolf?
"What do you see?" she asked quietly. Silence spread between us as I ignored her question and reached for her textbook pulling it towards me. I looked down the list of drawings.
"I see a dog," she whispered from across the table. I again ignored her as I stared down into the cup. I also saw a dog... but this was ridiculous. I looked back at the textbook... death... surely that just meant death around you? It didn't say that it had to be death of the person whose fortune it was...
"Death," she continued simply, as she stared at me questioningly. I placed the cup down upon the table slowly.
"The grim," I said calmly. She nodded in response.
"What do you suppose..." she began but I quickly cut her short.
"As I said before McLaggen divination is a fraudulent art." I hissed as I looked down at the cup with contempt. Just stupid superstitions.