Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

16: Those days between Christmas and New years.

Siobhan was playing wizards chess with Altair. She was winning, and enjoyed every moment of it. From the moment she had first formed a sentence, she had strived to beat her brothers in everything. It often led to competitive arguments and fights. Although Altair was more of the quiet type. He was an unspeakable, and he absolutely loved his work. He bathed in the secrecy and the feeling of belonging to an exclusive group. He was making notes in a notebook already filled with scribbles in the time it took Shiv to make a move on the board.

She made her last move and looked up with a proud grin. 'There you go.' She leaned back in satisfaction. Altair gave her a small smile, but continued writing. His dark curls fell in front of his face, just like their mother, he wore glasses.
Shiv bit on the inside of her cheek. She wanted to talk to her brother, but she was afraid he couldn't tell her everything she wanted to know.

'How does Tom Riddle pay for all of this?' She finally asked bluntly.

Altair finally raised his head and took off his glasses. He sighed, 'Riddle isn't purchasing anything, not with money, at least. You weren't there when he and dad talked, but he is very.. persuasive. He has dad and Malfoy pouring thousands of galleons in his so-called revolution. I'm just not sure about any of it.'

She frowned at him. 'Not sure about what?'

'It's all happening very quickly. Riddle has them in a corner, believing it's now or never. He isn't exactly wrong. His words have been going around for a while now, and more than a little of my colleagues are agreeing with his opinions.' Altair was mumbling, obviously unsure about how much he could tell her.

'Well, that does sound like Riddle,' she spoke, nodding her head a little. It seemed so crazy to her that this important person her family was rallying behind was just a student one year above her.
That made her think about last night. For the first time in a while, she had actually felt at ease. She had laughed more than she had done in ages, hearing all their perfectly accurate impressions of the people attending that evening.

She had teased Anthony a little with his interest in Florance, knowing he was so ashamed of something she didn't even think twice about. It was difficult at some points to hear their xenophobic and elitist remarks. However, the group of nepo-children had a certain mean honesty in their conversations that Shiv liked. She didn't have to watch her mouth with them.

'So, Riddle wants to become, what? The next Minister of Magic?' Siobhan questioned, looking at her chipped nailpolish.

'I think you will be of far more use to figuring out the answer to that question than I am, Shiv. The interest he took in you and the bracelet last night alarmed me. I don't like that you will be working with him at school.' Altair looked up at her briefly, concern was showing in his gray eyes.

Shiv felt a little uncomfortable, she didnt know exactly what he meant. She looked around the room to avoid his gaze.

'And it's bad enough that Cillian is getting involved. I swear, that idiot is just waiting for someone to unleash him.' Altair was sounding more and more exhausted, he had always taken his role as eldest son very seriously.
She wanted the conversation to move away from their shit show of a family.

'Does Riddle know he has remaining family members?' She asked Altair out of nowhere.

Her brother raised an eyebrow. 'No, and neither did I. Where did you get that information?'

Shiv felt a little proud, although it was probably just a coincidence. She explained to her brother about the book and her interaction with Tom at Slughorns Christmas party. She left out the point where he had choked her.

'Dad does have the latest and more accurate editions of most books. Hogwarts only updates its mandatory books regularly. But I suppose Mr Malfoy would have given Tom a book if he asked for it..' Altair thought out loud.

'But dad is obsessive about the 28. Is there a chance the book is more of a collectors item?' She wondered. 'I did ask for specific information about the 28.' Altair nodded and put his glasses back on with a tired sigh. He got to his feet and collected his books.
'Shiv, please just keep your head down, and stick it all out. Two more years of these people, and then you're out. An important job somewhere in America or France.'

She watched him leave. His words rang in her head for a while. She knew he was right, it had been her plan since she was 8. And she had to keep on track. Her grades and reputation were the most important thing to uphold for a ticket out of here. She wondered how yesterday played into all of this and if these were the right connections to make.

She picked up Juno, who had been sleeping in her lap, and carried her upstairs. She stopped in front of her parents' bedroom and knocked softly. Her mother's voice called her inside.
Sera Selwyn was sitting behind her dressing table, painting her nails black with a focused expression. Her mother was a gorgeous woman, but her ability to radiate it had been beaten out of her long ago.

Shiv sat on the big bed and placed Juno on her chest. The cat purred softly next to her ear.
'Can you fix my tooth?' She mumbled, pushing away the shame she felt for having to ask something like this.

Her mom turned around to face her and gave a small nod. Without speaking, she took out her wand and walked over to her daughter. Shiv opened her mouth and tilted her head back. After a small wand movement and a whispered spell, Shiv felt a sharp shooting pain in her jaw, and then, completely fine again. Her tongue touched her new tooth as she closed her mouth again. 'Thank you.' The words were barely audible.

-

The chaos of Christmas wined down and the remaining days of winter break stretched out slowly.
Today was the last day of the year, and it would end in a huge celebration at Malfoy Manor. It was almost something to look forward to, for literally anything that got her out of the house right now was welcome.

Shiv stared at the high ceiling of her bathroom. It was connected to her bedroom and just as big as her shared dorm at Hogwarts. She rested her head on the side of the sunken in bathtub and closed her eyes. She felt strangely isolated these last few days. She was wrapped up in a tight circle of pureblood slytherins, and she was starting to feel comfortable around some of them. She felt guilty for that.

She debated straightening her hair for the night, but decided against. She liked distracting herself by thinking about more manageable things like her hair and dress. Her mother had laid out another dress and jewelry for her to wear. She had already made a few adjustments to the long black dress, giving it a low open back to add a little more personality.

Siobhan let herself sink all the way into the water. It was nice and quiet now. She wanted to present her true self tonight. On Christmas, her father humiliated her. In a room full of classmates and men older than her, he had forced her to become weak and compliant. He had sold a precious piece of her jewelry and made her spit out a fucking tooth in the same two minutes.
Tonight, she wanted to make clear that she wasn't just a puppet. She was capable, good looking and had a smart mouth.

She rose back up and gasped for air. She pushed back her wet curls and looked at the ceiling once more. She was feeling a bit manic, a bit restless. She had a feeling something big was going to happen tonight, something she would cause with an outburst of reckless behavior.
She pushed that thought away and tried to focus all her energy on looking as good as possible tonight. If she knew she just got that right before leaving, she could focus all her attention on her actions. Maybe it was a desperate stretch for control, who knows.

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Another couple of big ones coming up!

Love,