From Her Reflection {tom riddle}

part iv - slug club

the rest of the day flew by quickly, even though tom was in many of my classes. many of our teachers had paired us up as seat partners, which I did not particularly enjoy. 

he was, however, mute most of the time and didn't bother me, which I am content about. 

as I was making my way to the Slytherin common room at the end of the day, I ran into Professor Slughorn and dropped my belongings onto the marble floor. 

"ah, my new star student! how convenient that we ran into each other since I was just looking for you." he adjusted his tie a bit while I crouched to the ground to recollect my books. "i must say your potion today was magnificent- something I've never seen a student do before."

"thank you," I said sheepishly as I stood back up. 

"I see great potential in you, which is why I want you to join me at my weekly slug club meetings." 

"slug club?"

"yes! it's a very exclusive club of mine that only accepts-" he hesitated and looked me up and down before continuing, "-a certain type of student. our first meeting will be held tonight at 8 pm, where dinner will be served in my office. please dress accordingly." he finished as he turned his heels and made his way back down the corridor. I smiled smugly; it was only my first day and i had already been invited to an exclusive dinner meeting. brilliant. 

--

as nightfall came I put aside my homework and began to sit up from my seat at the library. my three dormmates had agreed to help me catch up on all my assignments, but I had neglected to tell them about my dinner meeting. 

"where are you going?" Maggie, the redhead, asked me. 

"Slughorn invited me to join his club tonight for dinner," I said. "I think we're supposed to dress formally so I should start to get ready." the three girls looked at each other in shock. 

"you were invited to the slug club?" Eliza, the brunette, exclaimed. "not that I'd ever question your ability or skills, but that club is exclusive to boys only." I raised my eyebrow at her comment.

"Maybe she's just so intelligent Slughorn had to put his misogynist beliefs aside." Marie, the afro haired girl, said to Eliza. "besides, he probably wants to diversify his trophy collection," she then turned to face me, "which you should take no offense to, y/n. it is a very honorable club indeed."

I was unsure about how to react so I smiled and thanked them for their words and made my way to the common room. it still puzzled me why Slughorn would do such a thing- if what the girls said was true and I was the first girl to attend the slug club, I wonder why me of all people. yes, I was brilliant but surely not enough to get in on my first day. perhaps it was my name, Gryffindor. I rolled my eyes- yes, that was certainly it. 

--

at 8:10, I stood outside the office door. though I was already late, I couldn't bring myself to enter right away. my heart was beating quickly since I wasn't quite sure what to expect at this meeting or what awaited me on the other side of the door. 

I wore a black silk drape dress that reached my ankles and a pearl choker, both of which were once my mother's. my hair was let down and I pushed a strand behind my ear before taking one last final breath and opening the door.

the girls were right- inside there was not a single female except myself. all eyes suddenly made their way towards me, and I could feel them creeping down my body. 

"miss. Gryffindor! we thought you would not be showing up today." Slughorn said we but by the looks of the people who were crowded around the dinner table, it seems as if they were never informed about my arrival.