Call of the Void // t.r (ON HOLD)

Chapter 12

"Ask the clouds to remember."

The hallways were loud and busy as students of all ages pushed passed each other in order to get to their last class of the day.

Eleanor had Potions and she couldn't wait to see what they were learning about. She knew she would already know the potion but that didn't mean it would be any less interesting.

Frances and Abby walked beside her. They followed her into the Potions class but stopped when Abby started speaking.

"Can you two sit together again?" She asked. "I promised Lee-Anne I would sit with her again."

"Of course, Abby," Eleanor smiled, she didn't have the heart to be upset with Abby, besides, her and Frances got a long well.

Frances groaned and chucked her bag onto the floor next to her chair before taking a seat.

"Am I that bad?" Eleanor asks, sitting next to her.

Frances waved her hand in the air, "No, it's not you. It's Weaver. She's a stuck-up Ravenclaw who would prefer I didn't exist." She huffed and sat up straighter in her chair.

Eleanor nodded but her mind was elsewhere. Lee-Anne Weaver. She looked at Lee-Anne and noticed the uncanny resemblance in her features. Features she had seen so often in the past 10 years that she could never forget them.

Louise Weaver is Lee-Anne Weaver's mother and she killed her. She killed someone's mother.

"You okay, Princess?" Frances asked, giving Eleanor a funny look.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache," she waved her off.

Eleanor took a deep breath and focused on taking notes but she couldn't stop her mind from drifting off to Lee-Anne. Who remembered her own mother and father? According to what she's found they'd been dead for years. No one was there to remember them, to miss them.

Except for her. They didn't get a proper funeral with all their family. The only living member was her.

No, she told herself. Focus. She could not dwell on what had happened. Someone could notice her distraction and she could not have anyone find out what happened.

She picked up her quill and dipped it in her ink pot. With a delicate hand she brought it to the parchment and continued to write.

She preferred to write messy notes in class and rewrite them afterwards for better understanding. Her messy scrawl covered the page as she took notes, adding some of her own as well.

She still couldn't stop her gaze from drifting over to Lee-Anne every few minutes.

The class was over as soon as it began. Eleanor followed her friends out and the three them made their way to the courtyard.

After a few minutes, Catherine joined them. She suggested they do some homework, to which they agreed. Despite Frances agreeing, she still complained about it for the next hour.

Their homework session was interrupted by none other than Tom Riddle.

"Miss King," He began, "Professor Slughorn wishes to see us in his office." He sounded bored, and Eleanor assumed it was because he didn't like relaying messages to other students.

She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of why Slughorn would want to see them. She couldn't be in trouble. She hasn't done anything. Tom Riddle didn't seem like he would be in trouble, and even if he did do something, he didn't seem like the type to get caught.

He waited for her to pack up her things before she got up. She expected him to complain about how long she was taking but he didn't.

He held out an arm and took her bag, carrying it for her. Appearances, she guessed. Why else would he be so polite?

Once they were inside, she asked, "Why does Slughorn want to see us?"

"Presumably to invite us to Slugclub," he answered, keeping his gaze in front of them.

She recognised the name. She nodded to herself but didn't bother asking for confirmation about what it was.

"What school did you go to before transferring here?" He asked.

Eleanor was shocked by the question. She didn't think he cared about any of that. He probably didn't, she reminded her herself. He seemed the type of person to know everything about everyone, and it shouldn't surprise her was was trying to figure her out with subtle questions. "I was homeschooled," she said, keeping it simple.

"Why change during your last year then?" He made it seem like casual small talk. He wanted, no, needed to know more about who she was. She could be very useful to his plans.

"Felt like it," she shrugged. She was lying, he could tell. Why, though, he had no idea. He could only guess that it was either personal or that something happened that she didn't want anyone else to know. He would find out soon enough.

"And your parents let you?" For a second, she stiffened. She kept her gaze away from his own. He smirked, he was getting somewhere.

"They agreed, thought it best I spend my last year around people my age so I would be ready when it came to going down a career path." The lie slipped from her mouth with ease. She knew he would not believe all of it with her little slip up but she had to lie. A part of her felt bad about lying, Merlin she couldn't even remember the last time she was completely honest with someone. She had to lie though, it was the only way.

A part of her told her it wasn't the only way, that she didn't have to lie. She ignored that part.

That part of her, that Eleanor, was naive and young and craving her father's warm hugs or her mother's hot cocoa. That Eleanor was weak and she couldn't afford to slip up.

Tom hummed in acknowledgment and the two walked to Professor Slughorn's office in silence.

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Bit short but oh well. It's sort of a filler but yeahhh.

Hope you enjoyed! Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

– walkingmasterpiece xx