Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

5: Secrets of the darkest arts.

Shiv grinned widely whilst opening a big parcel the next morning. Her father must have received her letter late last night. She hadn't expected it to arrive so soon, but it was most likely that one of the house elves was ordered to do it right away.

There was a small note attached to the box:

Our Siobhan,
Christmas will be celebrated at our estate this year. We expect you to be there. Your brothers will be home as well.
If you want to invite someone, feel free. Please don't bring the mudblood.
Love,
Dorian & Sera Selwyn.

Shiv crumbled up the piece of paper and stuffed it in her robes. She didn't want Flo to see it.

She focused her attention back on the box in front of her. Flo was watching curiously from the other side of Ravenclaw table.
Siobhan cut open the top of the box with her butter knife and started taking out about a dozen books.

'The sacred 28: a full guide'
'Secrets of Britain's oldest wizarding families'
'Migration of wizards through the ages'
'Potions that will help you discover the truth'

Shiv listed all the books she took out.
'What's this?' Flo held up a small dark blue book, 'Secrets of the darkest arts?' She looked a little appalled.

Siobhan remembered adding the line where she said her father could add anything she might find interesting.
She wasn't afraid of the dark arts. In her opinion it was just information that was out there. Powerful magic was created by both the light, and dark side. It was stupid to ignore half of the knowledge you could get, just because it could be used for bad purposes.

'If I wanted to go on a murderous rampage, I wouldn't need this Flo.' She grabbed the book back.
'Besides, I've read all the other ones. He wouldn't let me read this for a long time..' Shiv turned the book over in her hands.

Flo raised her hands defensively. 'I just don't get why you want to know all of it if you're not planning on using any of it. It's a waste of your time and talent, Siobhan.'

Shiv dropped the subject and stirred around in her cereal. The happiness she had felt from receiving the package was slowly fading. In less than an hour she had her first potions lesson with the sixth years.
She stayed up til two that night to reach page 208 in advanced potion making. But she wasn't satisfied enough, so she stayed up a little longer and read two chapters ahead.

She was tired and the now known prospect of celebrating Christmas in a house full of important yet awful people didn't brighten her mood.

-

Siobhan walked into the potion classroom once more, but this time unaccompanied by Florance. She was the first one there.
Feeling a bit awkward, she took place in the back of the classroom. Normally, she would sit in the front, but she hoped she could go mostly unnoticed these first few lessons.

She took out her book and played with her quill nervously.
Students started dripping in. It was a small class. Only about 10 people took place in the large room.

Professor Slughorn was about to start the lesson when the door opened once more.
Tom Marvolo Riddle walked in. He raised his hand in an apologetic way at the professor. Looking quickly around the room, he joined Siobhan on the last row of seats. He left one free chair between them.

Shiv felt her nerves getting worse. He seemed to be having that effect on her. Yet she couldn't find the exact reason for that feeling. She supposed she saw him as the biggest threat, her mission as always wanting to be the best. It was almost pitiful when she started thinking about how much it controlled her life.