Dusk Till Dawn {tom riddle}

part two: dukes and company

"It is with deep sorrow that the Royal Wizarding Communications announces the death of His Majesty Otto Cassian Peverell the Third, the current monarch of all English Wizarding residents."

A wave of grief suddenly rushed over the students of Hogwarts, and some felt compelled enough as to let out a loud gasp and cry. Hermione sharply nudged your side and nodded her head towards Lavender Brown who was dabbing a tissue to the corner of her eyes as she sniffled loudly.

"What a load of rubbish," You mumbled, the hangover from last night still lingering. "These people have never even met the guy."

Dumbledore went on, trying his best to speak over the students' mournful cries.

"As His Majesty did not leave behind any children or direct heirs to the throne, the Ministry of Magic and the Royal Wizarding Communications have thus commenced a search for the next successor of the Crown. Distant relatives of the king have been asked to come here, Hogwarts, to take place in our very Tri-Wizard Tournament!" The man threw his hands into the air, his voice bouncing off the walls of the Great Hall. Any semblance of grief quickly withered away as students began to cheer while others chattered excitedly.

You groaned loudly and rubbed your temples with the tips of your fingers. Could you lot be any louder? It's too early for this.

Truth was, you didn't care for royalty at all. They didn't really do much but sit on a throne and act pretty, and with the Ministry in charge of all the law-making, you really saw no point in making a big fuss about the next monarch.

Instead, your mind was fixated on last night's copy of the Hogwarts Daily; it seemed that you were making frequent appearances in the gossip column. Yesterday, the title read: "Y/n Black snogs the third Ravenclaw this week as she runs through them faster than any book ever has!"

"I hope whoever wrote this chokes." You told Hermione last night, exasperatedly throwing the paper to the ground.

"You have to admit they're pretty clever with their titles," Ginny grinned as she took another bite into her granola bar. "Besides, at least they don't know you and him fucked-"

"Ginny!" Your cheeks flushed bright pink from embarrassment.

"I doubt half of the first years reading this even know what fucking is," Hermione added on just she stole a bite from Ginny's snack.

You stared bitterly at the students around you, surveying each one before moving on to the next. Whoever this writer was, they were sitting amongst the crowd, probably pretending to be shocked like all the other students like the imposter they were.

Your focus was suddenly drawn back to the headmaster when he cleared his throat loudly and called for everyone's undivided attention. Dumbledore lowered his gaze at the crowd, and for a brief moment, you could have sworn he was looking directly at you.

"A word of caution, students. These are not your regular members of society. These are members of royalty who must be treated with the utmost respect and cordiality while they make Hogwarts their home for the next several months. If any of the faculty is to hear of a student stepping out of line, they will be punished accordingly."

"What a load of arse lickers!" Ron rolled his eyes and tossed aside the textbook he was reading. The sixth-year Gryffindors had gathered around the fireplace in the common room to discuss the morning's announcement, and to Y/n's surprise, most people didn't seem to buy into the headmaster's bullshit.

"Thank you, Ron! God, I just wish the Ministry pulled their heads out of their asses so they can see that the real world can still function without a King." You leaned back on the couch and sighed. "We have hundreds of dislocated wizards across the country and this is what they spend their time and money on?"