Metanoia~ Tom Riddle

Chapter 13

Entering the potions classroom was like talking a step forwards in time. It looked almost the same as when Snape was its teacher. The familiarity of it brought a small smile to Veruca's face. She wasn't surprised to see Slughorn wasn't at his desk, he had been known to be a bit late to his classes. She sat towards the back of the classroom, knowing she was already going to gain more attention than she wanted.

She had just brought out her book, when the door opened. She expected it was Slughorn, so she kept her head down, in hopes of evading him. When she heard someone sit at the desk beside her, she glanced over. She hadn't expected it to be Tom. Feeling her eyes on him, he looked over at her.

"You seem surprised, Fouix." He stated. Veruca cleared her throat, "You just don't seem the type to sit with someone you hardly know." Tom nodded, "I'm not." Veruca nodded but didn't say anything. Other students began to file in, most glanced at the duo strangely. Jealous girls glared at Veruca and boys sent her curious glances, most of them didn't even know her name.

It was a few minutes after everyone was settled, that Professor Slughorn entered the classroom. "Good morning, children! I hear..." he paused to situate himself on his desk, "-that we have a new student. Ms.," he paused again to shuffle through some papers. "Ms. Fouix?" Veruca nodded and raised her hand to catch his attention.

His smile widened as he saw her, Veruca figured she was just fresh meat in his eyes. Dumbledore had informed her of Horace's tendency to 'collect' certain students and that one of those certain students happened to be Tom Riddle. Veruca would have to flaunt her potions skills to catch Horace's attention, which would then catch Tom's attention, which would heighten his interest in her. It seemed simple on paper, but Veruca was positive it would not pan out like that.

"Ms. Fouix, it's lovely to have you here." He grinned, then went to his desk. Veruca examined the way Slughorn shifted in his fluffy seat. He cleared his throat several times, shuffled through bits of parchment, and glanced at the clock before finally speaking, "This week, we have some interesting potions. We'll study a new potion each day and on Friday there'll be a quiz. Now, each of these potions, when mixed, drank, or handled improperly, can be deadly."

He paused, as if to let his warning sink in. Veruca had to admit, had she not known the potions he was talking about, she wouldn't have taken him very seriously. "Today, we'll take it slow, with the Draught of Living Death. The person sitting to your left will be your partner, work quick and efficient." Words then appeared on the chalk board behind Slughorn, directing the students.

Veruca turned to see Tom was already watching her. There was a silent stare down before Tom smirked, "I'll go fetch the ingredients." He stood and left to the supply cupboard, Veruca's head suddenly hurt and she realized that Tom had just tried, very hard, to use legilimens on her. She sighed, he was definitely persistent, and it was definitely not going to end here, but at least she had his attention.

She went about heating up the cauldron, adding the potion base and turning to the correct page. Tom came back a moment later carrying all the necessary ingredients;

Powdered Root of Asphodel

Infusion of Wormwood

Valerian Sprigs

Sloth Brain

Juice of a Sopophorous Bean

Wormwood

~

"I'll start chopping the Sopophorous Beans." Tom said. He reached for a blade but Veruca stopped him, gripping his wrist in a firm yet soft hold, "No, don't chop them," when he glared at her hand she pulled away, "-sorry, just," Tom cut her off. "If we aren't supposed to chop them, then why is that what the directions tell us?" Veruca shook her head at the book and snapped it shut. "Trust me." She took the knife from him and used the blade to crush a few of the beans.

"Crushing them produces more juice, the juice is one of the more important ingredients here. It brings the balance. Add and extra dose of Powdered Asphodel, and one less Valerian Sprig-," Tom cut her off yet again, "Why should I trust you with my grade?" he asked. "Why would I wreck my own?" Veruca countered, before continuing to add the Sopophorous juice to a small beaker.

Tom hesitated, then apparently he decided to trust her because he did as she said. They worked quickly, and efficiently and before long, they had a perfect potion. Slughorn shouted for clean up, and then he went around to test everyone's end result. Very few pairs even had an Acceptable. When Slughorn stepped up to their table, and tested the product of their work, he smiled at Veruca who glanced at Tom and then her potion. 

"It's perfect! I've never seen a student provide such a Draught. I guess, with Tom here, you had excellent guidance, Ms. Foiux." Veruca opened her mouth but Tom interrupted her, "Actually, professor, it was me who had excellent guidance. Veruca has exceptional knowledge in advanced potion making." She turned to him, she wasn't surprised, but she definitely hadn't expected him to oppose Slughorn for her, for the credit he had mistakenly given Tom.

"Well, if that is true, congratulations, Ms. Fouix!" Veruca nodded, and the professor walked away, shouting a quick 'class dismissed'. "Why did you do that?" Veruca asked Tom without looking at him. she could feel his eyes on her, "I don't know what rumors you've heard so far, but even though I am many things... I am not a liar." Veruca chuckled, she knew that to do the things he had, you either had to lie or be exceptional at evading both the lie and the truth.

"You don't believe me?" Tom asked, his voice was cold. Veruca turned to him and grabbed her bag, she met his eyes and stared hard at him, "No."

With that, she exited the classroom.