the end, again - tom riddle

chapter two

Edited: 2/10/22

September 2nd, 1951.

Today was the day. Today Mara Vaux would get up at a reasonable time and do something with her life.

Had hell already broken loose?

Mara got up and muttered 'Tempus' to reveal it was 8 on the dot. She groaned as she hauled herself out of bed. It took her all of 15 minutes to get ready, a record if there ever was one. She was wearing standard robes with a black skirt and a silk emerald green blouse under. She paired that with a plain pair of black heels, and a silver necklace with a snake charm on it. She didn't have any glamors on to hide her tattoos, and her piercings all had some type of ring in to prevent closing. She was slightly surprised when Dippet had given her permission to leave them be while at Hogwarts, but he said something about her comfort and Mara wasn't inclined to argue. Lastly, her hair was left alone, straight and cut to just at her shoulders.

With that, she was ready to go drink three cups of coffee and teach little brats for a day. But as she was opening her door, a knock sounded, and when she opened the door a man was standing in front of her.

He was tall, not overly tall but he had maybe two or three inches on her making his height what she assumed was a good six feet. He had dark ebony eyes, with perfectly managed curls a few shades darker. The man had sharp cheekbones that made his jawline appear sharper and a slightly pointy nose. And he was beautiful, not a word she used to describe many people, but it seemed appropriate to use for him. It had taken only until a second after recognizing his beauty, to recognize the feeling he gave off.

It was a dark feeling, similar to how Mara knew she had given off during the war. When she had lived and breathed dark magic and had to shove purifying potions down her throat before she could return home. It made her feel slightly off-balance.

She shouldn't have let Luna teach her so much about magical energies. She blamed Blaise for encouraging his girlfriend.

Remembering herself, Mara asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Ah, yes. Are you Mara Vaux? Professor Vaux?" he asked and at her nod he stuck his hand out. "Tom Riddle, the potions professor."

So this was Professor Riddle.

The name struck a chord in the back of her head. She was sure she knew the surname Riddle from somewhere, she just couldn't remember. It would just have to come to her later.

"It's nice to meet you, Professor Riddle." Mara said politely. "I heard about you at dinner last night, some of the other professors were a bit down that you weren't there."

"Ah, yes. I apologize for that. I had some business to finish up and it delayed me further than I expected." he said apologetically. "Would you allow me to walk you to breakfast? We don't have new professors often, and I missed the chance to properly chat with you last night." He asked, but his arm was already out, waiting for her to accept.

Mara accepted, cautiously. Something was off about him and she couldn't figure out what it was. Her old defenses were immediately raised, and suddenly her interaction with him was being very closely analyzed by her brain.

"I'd offer you a tour of the castle, but I've heard you stayed here over the summer so you must know it quite well. Maybe you could tell me about your summer sometime soon. Perhaps when you have a free period?"

Mara smiled, a pretty little thing that she hadn't used while speaking to someone in any capacity that wasn't flirtatious in a very long time. "That sounds delightful, Professor Riddle."