The Dark Dyad (Tom Riddle & ofc)

Chapter 2: The Unfriendly Rendezvous

The bright rays of the sun didn't touch Irene's face, but the emerald played with the glare in the dungeon room, making her awake. She slowly opened her eyes and listened carefully: everyone was still asleep. She quietly climbed off the bed, with her dress folded in half hanging on the footboard, and put it on, trying not to make any noise. Carefully levitating her shoes from under the bed into the hands, she tiptoed toward the exit.

It was another fifteen minutes before all the students got up, and the common room, where Irene cleaned herself up, was empty. She wasn't much of a fan of household spells, but there was no point in detracting from their usefulness in order to save time, so she never shunned them. She put the new shoes on and flopped down on the couch, resting her feet on the armrest. The long black hair spread across the surface of the couch.

"Well, what do we got?" With a slight gesture of a forefinger, the fireplace flared to life, brightly illuminating the entire living room. Irene took out a leather pouch, and the galleons jingled as they banged against each other, going one by one back into the little purse. "Well, the textbooks will be second-hand, but I can buy a nice robe. A winter robe... I'll buy one later, before it gets too cold," the verdict wasn't very loud, but it was out loud nonetheless.

Irene's body immediately felt hot, and every inch of her skin began to burn. She inhaled deeply, hoarsely. It felt exactly the same as yesterday in the Great Hall.

"What on earth is going on?" she thought, and clawed her pale fingers into a thick, curly hair.

She sat down, leaning forward, eyes fixed on the fire blazing in the fireplace. No, it wasn't hot enough to make her sick. She lifted the hem of her dress slowly, showing her stomach, and looked at the wound: There was fresh blood. The cut hadn't healed at all during the night.

"Holy hell!"

Deciding not to waste any more time, Irene let the dress hem down and got up from the couch, putting the pouch back in the pocket. Yesterday the headmaster had given permission to apparate into the Diagon Alley, where she could find not only various stores and stalls, but also the much-needed apothecary. To hell with the bad manners! The pain was so unpleasant that to endure it, postponing the moment of Apparition to the exit out of the gate, was impossible. After a loud clap, the Slytherin common room was empty, disturbed only by the quiet crackling of the fireplace.

Katherine Grace made a commotion at 8:30 sharp, when everyone was getting ready for breakfast. The new student was nowhere to be found. After questioning absolutely everyone in the common room and the girls' room, she made an announcement at the common table.

"Irene Düster is missing! I've been looking all over for her, she's nowhere to be found! Has anyone seen the new girl?" Katherine cast an anxious glance at her fellow students.

"After pointing her finger here and sitting here," Lestrange nodded at the empty seat, "I'm not surprised she's missing."

"What are you talking about!" Grace gave a disapproving look.

"Cheeky girl," Avery sniggered as he sipped strong coffee, "acting like everyone should obey her. 'Don't make me ask twice!'" the young men laughed at the last phrase.

"Enough," Catherine said sternly. "You'd have to be an idiot not to see that she's not that simple."

"Katherine, sit down," said someone in a quiet voice behind her. "I'm sure everything's all right."

"Good morning, Tom," Katherine nodded respectfully, and the young men sitting next to her did the same. "As prefects, we have a certain responsibility, and no one here wants any trouble... Considering the circumstances of last year..."