The Fearsome Name of Riddle

Out Of Turn

Shining mist swirled inside the crystal ball that sat in the table between Victoria and Tom. The divination class was relatively calm. The more boring the class, the less Victoria had to pay attention. She let her gaze wander out the window, watching a flying lesson as they zipped around on their brooms. Flying had always been something that had brought Victoria comfort. The peace and freedom that came with being in the air made her feel alive, a feeling she had been missing the past few weeks.

A hand on the hers turned her attention back to the class. Tom nodded towards their teacher, Professor Mable Moon, who was getting closer to their table as she made her way around the room. 

"You answer her," Victoria spoke quietly, an annoyed frown on her brow as she turned back to the window. 

"Not feeling competitive today?" Tom asked her, a slight raise of one eyebrow as he watched her. 

"No." 

Tom took a breath to calm any anger from her dismissive and demanding tone. Her grief wouldn't excuse her for much longer, very rarely had Victoria ever spoken to him like that before. He shuffled in his seat as the divination Professor approached their table at the back of the room. 

"And you two, hiding in the corner, how are we doing?" Professor Moon asked, a sweet smile on her face as her dark curly hair floated down onto the table. 

"Very well Professor Moon, thank you," Tom smiled charmingly, sitting up properly as he half shielded Victoria with his shoulder, "an insightful lesson truly." 

"Brilliant to hear, Mr Riddle," Professor Moon smiled back at him, a gentle hand on her chest to show that she appreciated his words, "and Miss Malfoy? Have you seen anything interesting?" 

Victoria turned her head towards their teacher. A smile was rare from her then. Tom was waiting for quidditch to start to see if that would help. 

"Not really." 

"Why don't we have a look together?" Professor Moon suggested, kneeling down next to the table as Victoria stayed lounging in her seat, "now, what can we see? A woman perhaps, she looks like you, yourself perhaps? A little older?" 

Victoria glanced over at the crystal, her eyelids heavy as she stared into it. Divination was usually individual, but she found that her magic leaked into her surroundings since her mother's death.

"Thinking of your future-" 

"That's my mother," Victoria snapped, cutting off Professor Moon, "not me."

"I see," Moon frowned, pausing as she watched Victoria look back out the window, "I'm sensing a lot of worry, is your mother unhappy? Unwell perhaps?" 

"I don't come here to learn how to see the past," Victoria snapped, her head turning sharply and her words coming out too quickly for Tom to catch, "so if you're not going to look into the future, I should be looking at changing classes." 

“Her mother died over the summer,” Tom cut in, sitting forward to try and ease the growing tension. There was no need to make a scene. 

"I see. That is awful, you have my condolences, Miss Malfoy. But, I cannot know everything," Moon said with a stir softness, "it's a little disappointing that you're not being more forthcoming, it's not like you." 

"Disappointing?" Victoria sat forward as Tom drew breath to try and interject but there was no stopping her, "as if I'd care what a mudblood like you would think about me. This class is a box to tick so let me sit in the corner and I'll worry about my own marks." 

"Victoria," Professor Moon's face stiffened, the softness of her voice gone, "grief can make us unfathomably angry, it is up to ourselves not to share that anger with others. I'll be seeing you for detention and I don't expect to hear that kind of language from you again. I don't want to have to write to your father."