ineffable ~ a tom riddle story

𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓷𝓮

Frustrated and already late, somehow? 

'I swear I set my alarm for eight how is it already 9:30?'  she muttered, stumbling out of bed and rushing to the bathroom. Today was the day, the first day of her sixth year at Hogwarts. The year she would finally beat him. 

See she and Tom had never actually spoken nor had they had any classes together except potions in their third year in which they spent the entire year one-upping each other, a dark time Cordelia would admit rushing to hand her essay in before Tom and falling over was not her proudest moment. 

Despite this, there was always an unspoken competition between the two with neither one ever coming out on top for long. But that would change this year. She would make certain of it.

Cordelia looked in the mirror parting her sleek shiny raven hair down the middle, as usual.  Placing it back with a claw clip, she began her morning ritual. Brush. Wash. Serum. Makeup. Many things were inconsistent with Cordelia, her organization skills were chaotic at best and her sleep schedule was worse still. But this remained the same every morning, it was therapeutic for her. Routine was therapeutic for her.

Applying what must be the tenth layer of mascara to her deep blue eyes she finally dressed and grabbing her bags looked at the clock.

'10:10. shit'

'It is honestly a skill how you're always late Cordelia'  Her father chuckled, she rolled her eyes in response and grabbed the remaining pieces of her belongings scattered around the living room. 

'This is quite stressful if you haven't noticed. I had a plan'  she remarked.

'For someone so smart how can you have such awful time management'  her dad teased.

Despite her often the estranged relationship with her mother, her dad was always there for her. They were like two peas in a pod for most of her life and he was her biggest supporter; always listening and giving advice no matter what the situation.

'Why don't I quickly pop into my brain and grab an answer then I'll get back to you, now cmon you know I can't miss the train...again'

'alright alright but don't leave without saying goodbye. I'll be in the car.'

He shut the door and Cordelia just stood there for a second, shifting her feet before finally building the courage to go say goodbye. 

Saying goodbye to her mother was always the worst part of leaving for Hogwarts, she never failed to remind her of all the reasons she wasn't good enough. The reasons she wasn't her.

Cordelia slinked upstairs to her mother's studio and peeped her head in, unsure whether or not to continue.

'Is that you dear?'

'yes mum'

'are you off now?'  Her mother asked greeting her with a sad smile.

'uh yes, mum'  Cordelia responded a little delayed, her mother's display of achievements mostly for her seeing abilities including a medal for her role in the ongoing war.

'alright pet have fun, sixth year is a big year I remember it all too well, ah the memories, Professor Slughorn keeping well?'

'he's alright I suppose he quite likes me...says it's a shame I didn't inherit your gifts quite frequently though'

'yes...well don't concern yourself with that just make the head girl next year!' 

'I'll try mum, I've got to go now I love you bye'

'bye dear remember we won't be here for Christmas, there's the intervention for seers across the country and it would be rude not to attend

'of course, don't worry about me I'll be fine'

'alright love you have a nice time

She quickly scampered downstairs and out the door. 

30 minutes later she had arrived at King's Cross Station, just in time to make the 11 o clock train. 

'yes of course dad don't worry about me bye!' she waved frantically at her dad as her train sped off, the male figure getting smaller and smaller as she finally stopped waving.

'Alright Cordelia no big deal just go find someplace to sit' She thought to herself as she walked slowly down the isle. Cordelia didn't really have any close friends. The ravenclaw was quite well-liked and there was nothing really stopping her but always putting her studies first to the point nothing else mattered wasn't exactly great for her social life. And her luck with dormmates wasn't great but she hoped this year would be different. 

Her feet slowed involuntarily almost coming to a halt as she met his eyes so dark they reminded her of coal. He smirked before continuing his conversation with one of his minions and anger rose inside her. She had no idea why but every time she saw him she could feel her anger rising to the surface.

His charming façade fooled everyone, everyone but her. She was so done with his devilish grins, his sickly sweet voice (so obviously dripping with sarcasm but no one else seemed to notice this) and of course, his ability to match her in almost every subject.

She quickly came back to reality and scooted into a nearby empty compartment and waited to see the familiar castle in the distance. home.  

TOMS POV

His eyes met hers. The light above her flickered in her eyes allowing him to notice the electric specks of white in her eyes. 'unusual' he thought.

He had no feeling of emotion towards Cordelia, he was quite amused by how hard she tried to best him, there was rumours floating about that she was as clever or even more so than him, but he knew this to all be fiction. No one at Hogwarts matched Tom's intelligence and he knew this for certain.

Still, he acknowledged she was quite smart, having been in her class in third year she had received full marks year round as did he, and sure they both received the privilege of prefect and the same academic awards but she was no match for him and this year would prove that.

He shot a slight smirk in her direction to annoy her. How easy it was to annoy her yet he had no idea why.

'Tom are you listening' Avery quietly asked. 

'hm? yes, of course'  he said, and cocked his head in Avery's direction. Tom glanced over to the window once again just in time to see a mop of raven hair swish and continue walking.