my riddle to solve (tom riddle)

twenty-six

TW// drug use (two characters smoke marijuana)

"I hate fancy dresses," Sage grumbled as I continued to weave her hair together. She was sitting at her vanity as I stood behind her, finishing up the French braids. Sage's dress had been made out of a dark green fabric; including puffy sleeves and lots of bows.

"It's only for a few hours. You know how these things go. You and Aspen, along with all the younger kids, will get to leave well before midnight," I assured her.

"They better have cake," she sighed as she tried once again to flatten down the skirts of her dress. I smiled softly at her through the mirror.

"Abraxas also has quite the sweet tooth, he'd never allow his parents to host anything that didn't include desert. Do you want sparkly pins, or the regular ones?"

"Sparkly," she decided. Her hair was very straight, and incredibly difficult to keep in place sometimes. The pins I was using on her had been enchanted, for use on fine or untamable hair.

Sage's room was quite messy, and she liked it that way. I know that she purposely laid out clothing all over the floor, so that none of the house-elves would dare to enter. I also knew that she kept her stash of Zonko's products under her bed, which was probably a bit dangerous.

"Have you picked out the earrings that you want to wear?" I had brought my jewelry box, and was letting Sage have her pick of the lot.

"I like these ones," she declared as she held up a pair that consisted of three pearls woven together in a cluster. I took them out of her hand and attached them to her tiny earlobes.

"Good choice, Sage. Stand up and give me a little twirl." She hopped out of her chair and spun around a few times, then pretended to faint from dizziness. I laughed and extended my arm to pull her up.

"I think you're missing something. It's not quite complete." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small pouch.

While I was out shopping with Raymond on my birthday, we had found this lovely necklace that we thought would be perfect for her. I handed it to her and her eyes widened in excitement.

"Go ahead, open it," I instructed. She quickly untied it and dumped the contents out into her hand. She held up the chain, examining it.

"Is this for me?" She was beaming from ear to ear, delighted with her present.

"Yes. I was going to wait until Christmas, but I think you should wear it tonight. Do you want me to help you put it on?" She nodded and thrusted it into my hand. I quickly strung it around her neck and secured it with the clasp. She took the little owl charm in her hand and smiled.

"I love it, Ophelia! Thank you so much!" she pulled me in for a hug, one so tight that my breath got caught in my chest.

"You are very welcome. Make sure to let Raymond know how much you love it; he helped me pick it out." I was most definitely the type of person who preferred giving gifts to receiving them. I put a lot of thought into presents, and I had never once given someone anything that hadn't made them smile.

Nearly an hour later, I heard my mother's voice call us downstairs. I came down the stairs wearing an emerald green gown. The top half was made of a lacy bustier, the skirts flowed outwards in a soft tulle. Even though it was winter, I had gone with short gloves, ones that were a silky onyx color.

The dressmaker had been a middle-aged witch with greying hair and nimble fingers. My mother fussed over me the entire session as Raymond sat off to the side sniggering. Lucky for me, we did not have enough time to start on a second dress, which meant no engagement party would be taking place in the next week.