O R P H I C. [Tom. R × Reader]

18. Hidden.

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We made it to my dorm and I began to walk over to the bed at the opposite end from us. The room looked untouched, which was a pleasant surprise.

But once we made it to my bed I spotted a folded piece of paper that was sealed with a wax stamp which keeped it closed.

I picked it up, pealing off the clump of fancy red wax, it had the hogwarts crest engraved into it, so that explains that it's not from outside of school.

I ripped it open

Dear Miss S/n.
I am aware that you have been staying with Tom Riddle, as you don't have much of a choice. So because of that you haven't had the chance to stay in your own dorm room.

At the moment, your current dorm room is only inhabited by you, as you were sorted into Gryffindor mid-year, and the other dorm rooms were evenly filled so you were placed in a new one.

I don't think living in an empty room that is supposed to be full all the time would be very pleasant, so we've sorted you a new, much more fitting room.

This room is located at the top of the dorm stairway, the very last door at the highest point of the spiral staircase. Yes, it is an attic room, and it's quite plain and boring at the moment. But this only means that you can decorate it how you want. We've already provided a bed. The rest is up to you.

Your door has it's own password. For no decent reason, but I found the idea quite satisfying. The password is the word 'Ukiyo' (You-key-oh). It is a Japanese word! But I find the meaning inspiring.

The word translates to 'Pictures of the floating world' and means to live in the moment, detached from the bothers of life. I'm actually quite fond of it.

Anyway, this room will be your home until you leave hogwarts, so I suggest you make the best of it and enjoy it as much as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Everyone's favourite Headmaster.

I scoff at Professor Dippet's delusional behavior.

"Lucky you" mutters Tom, he must of read over my shoulder. He pulls me away from the bed and out the door onto the spiral staircase and starts heading up.

"This is going to get annoying. Stupid stairs" I mumbled. Tom merely chuckled lowly at my complaint.

"Ukiyo" he mutters and the heavy wooden door clicks at the doornob before being twisted and opened by Tom.

It opens to a tiny room. We step inside and I realize that it's only a small foyer, for shoes and coats and such. I step turn to my right where an archway is located.

I let go of Tom, stepping through the archway and into a much larger room. It's pretty much empty. The roof is slanted, and it holds a large window, which seems to be open.

The floor is carpet, surprisingly, meaning that it will be a lot warmer in the winter. A small fireplace sits in one of the walls, to the right of the entrance, a chair sitting in front of the small ash-filled hole in the wall.

At the end of the room sat a large bed with white sheets and blankets, looking quite soft and comfortable. Above the simple bed sat a window with a wide sill, a cushion sat on it, making a window seat with the view of the whole hogwarts gardens, the Black Lake, and the Forbidden Forest out in the distance.

"Wow.." Tom sighed. I looked back at him, and took his hand again.

"This is cool" I grinned. Tom walked over to an empty recessed bookshelf. He ran his fingers over the dusty shelving before a beam of wood separated the shelves into two, he pushed it slightly, to which it sort of... mechanically bent.

"Oh- I... I'm sorry I didn't mean to" He turned to me with an overwrought expression.

"Wait." I watched the bookshelf as the whole thing slowly sunk back into the wall, then started to gradually move to the side.

It opened to a whole 'nother room. The ceiling was low and flat, the walls to the left and right were only empty shelves, and at the end of the room, against a plain wall sat a desk with a lamp and embedded ink wells. Beside the desk sat a comfy looking sofa seat.

"You know where I'll be spending most of my time" Tom left my side to sit down at the desk, opening the drawers, seeing if there was anything in there.

"Spare parchment pages, and a notebook... oh, this quill looks fancy" he pulled out a feather quill and twirled in his fingers before putting it back and opening the second drawer.

"String? Wax with an unused wax melter... bottles of ink. And a key??" He pulled out a small key.

"What's it for?" He wondered.

"Maybe the bottom drawer" I pointed to the third, and last drawer. He used the key to unlock it as I noticed the burning in my wrist returning again, though I try to ignore it.

Tom pulls the drawer open to find...

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