Masquerade¹ → Tom Riddle [Rewritten] ✓

CHAPTER SEVEN

By mid-November, a thin layer of snow coated the cobbled pathway that led to the Quidditch field. Students began to lose their initial excitement of being back at school and the dropping temperatures meant that Quidditch practise had been exceptionally challenging.

Hogwarts had only been in session for a month and yet somehow Slytherin was already powering ahead with house points, setting them up for a clear win at the end of the school year. Slytherins weren't necessarily the best students, however, the teachers adored them or were too scared to ever remove house points from them; either way, no other house stood a chance against them.

Despite her OWLS being in May, the upcoming mock assessments had Evelyn revising every free hour of the day. Between revision and Quidditch, she barely had any time to herself and had already begun to feel worn out. Due to all the stress of revision and her extracurriculars, Evelyn had forgotten to reply to Professor Slughorns peculiar invitation to join him and other students for dinner.

After her final lesson of the day, Evelyn headed to the Owlery, careful not to slip on the icy paths on the castle grounds. She pulled out a piece of plain parchment, leaning it against the wall and beginning to write.

Dear Professor Slughorn,

Apologies for the delayed response, I have been rather busy with Quidditch practise and revision for my upcoming OWL exams. However, I am owling to you to let you know that I will be able to attend the first Slug Club meeting. As I have a prior commitment to Quidditch practice, I may appear a few minutes late to the meeting.

Thank you for the opportunity,

Evelyn M. Rivers
Ravenclaw Prefect.

Evelyn sealed the envelope with a cobalt blue wax seal and handed it to the closest owl to her. Despite Professor Slughorn being inside the castle, she felt it more professional to reply via a letter. Plus, Evelyn simply adored spending time in the Owlery, the atmosphere brought her calm amongst the most chaotic of days. After her parents had died, she found herself going to the Owlery far more often, she had no more letters to post but being around the animals made her feel safe. Nobody could hurt her when she was here.

Despite the frosty chill in the air, the upcoming Quidditch game against Hufflepuff was still continuing as planned. Only once Evelyn stood in the wings of the pitch did she feel as though the game was truly happening, despite the team's many practice matches, it hadn't felt real until she mounted her broom and prepared to push off.

Aiden stood at the front of the team, "right!" His voice echoed against the wooden walls of the wings. "We have to win this one! We cannot, and I mean cannot lose against Hufflepuff. Anybody that doesn't play their best will answer to me, and especially if we don't win, I will break you."

He took a look at the team before him who seemed unfazed by his words. "This is an easy win, play like it!"

Without another word, they flew out onto the pitch in formation and did the traditional loop before taking to their positions. As soon as Evelyn was in position, butterflies danced around inside of her, twisting and turning in unsettling movements.

When Madame Oakley flew onto the pitch, Evelyn knew the game was about to begin. "Right, now! I want a clean and safe game- no pushing, hitting, spitting or intentionally wounding the opposition. And with that- let's begin!" She threw the Quaffle up into the air and quickly darted out of the way as the two central Chasers darted forwards towards it- Jolie successfully swooping down and picking it up.

Jolie flew forwards, signalling for Evelyn to move to the right before launching the Quaffle across the pitch to her. Once Evelyn had the Quaffle, her nerves vanished almost instantly, she weaved between the one Hufflepuff Chaser left defending the goalposts and threw the Quaffle into the central goal.

"Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

When the game reset, Evelyn was faster getting the Quaffle, securing it in her arms before the other team even got close. She passed it over to Aiden who dropped it to Jolie who then carried it all the way to the goal.

Despite Hufflepuff putting in a good effort, their Keeper was unable to save a single one of their goals. Evelyn lined up for another shot but just as she launched the Quaffle she heard the announcement "Eloise had caught the golden snitch! Ravenclaw win the game!"

After the game, the Ravenclaw common room was a mess. Students lingered on every surface, drinking stolen butterbeer in celebration of their victory. Despite most students having no interest in the sport, they were interested in the after-party and the stolen alcohol that came with it. Music blasted across the room, muting the sounds of celebratory cheers coming from the Quidditch team. After staying what Evelyn seemed a socially acceptable amount of time, she quickly made her escape out of the common room and towards the library.

"Where are you off to?" She heard Jolie call from behind her.

Evelyn froze like a deer caught in the headlights. "Jolie, you scared me! I'm just heading to the library, far too loud in there for me." She pointed to the common room where she could still hear the music blasting.

"I understand, it's quite overwhelming for me in there too. Playing today though, it gave me such a thrill." Jolie beamed with confidence, she hadn't played the best but she had certainly improved vastly since the tryouts.

"It's like that, worse when you lose but it still makes you feel all warm inside." Evelyn fondly recalled her first-ever match on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, she may have lost horribly but the feeling she got afterward was worth it. "You played really well today, anyone would think you'd been playing for years not months."

Her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink at the compliment, his hands finding their way to his face in an attempt to cover it. "Thank you, I can't wait for the next match." With that, she swung open the common room door and headed back inside into the chaos.

By the time the clock struck nine, the library almost empty. Taking up her usual seat, she lit the lanterns beside her and began to work. Her eyes flicked between textbooks and notebooks for what felt like hours until she had written so much her hand ached. When she stopped, the library was already dark, the lanterns failing to illuminate the room sufficiently for Evelyn to see where she was going. With a quick wave of her wand, the tip of it illuminated, sending out light into the library. She packed her books away briskly and made her way out of the library.

"Good evening Evelyn," Her heart jumped out of her chest for the second time tonight as she spun around to see Tom Riddle stood behind her. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing..."

"Well I was simply studying," he gestured to the collection of textbooks in his arms.

"I thought you didn't need to study, what with you being the smartest student in our year," she threw his words back at him.

His lips curled upwards, "Evelyn, how kind of you to compliment me in such way, I know as a Ravenclaw it must be difficult to admit to the fact you are less academically able than me."

Evelyn growled. "That isn't what I meant and you know it!"

"You ought to be getting back to your common room, it's not safe to be out alone this late at night."

"Hogwarts, not safe?" It was a preposterous suggestion, Evelyn had never felt safer than when she was on the grounds of Hogwarts. "You must be joking Tom. Hogwarts is the safest place in the north."

"I'm sure it is, but that doesn't mean bad things couldn't happen. Be safe Evelyn." He clutched a book to his chest, turning and walking away.