𝑆𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔， 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 || 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑋 𝑂𝑐

nineteen.

Seated on their beds were Vivian, Abigayle, Geraldine, Irene, and Mildred. They were discussing their evenings. Irene was spending time out in the courtyard with a group of Slytherin girls, Geraldine had done the same, but alongside different girls, and Mildred had rendezvoused with Edwin Diggory in the castle corridors. In recent weeks, the couple had become increasingly closer.

"I had never seen it coming. I have never found Mark attractive. Never! Never in my life. He's ginger! I just can't believe this. I refuse to." Abigayle proceeded to deny her feelings for Mark. It was a lot harder now that she had kissed him. And she was a blushing mess. "You've never bet the fancying Mark allegations in your life, Mckinnon, don't think that you can start it now, especially after kissing him." Mildred folded her arms and laid back on her bed. She had been waiting for this moment for years. Ever since they first became dormmates.

"Was it enjoyable?" Vivian spoke up. She had been quiet due to astonishment. She knew it was bound to happen eventually, but even then, she never expected to hear it come out of Abigayle's mouth. "Well..." The girl erupted into laughter. "It wasn't the worst thing in the world, I suppose." She miserably failed to fight the smirk off of her face. "See! You do like him!" Mildred threw a pillow at the girl, which Abigayle had caught. "Enough! Can we talk about something else. Anything else. Vivian, what were you up to?" She rolled her eyes, desperate to change the subject.

"Vivian was off sulking like usual, no?" Irene asked. It wasn't wrong of her to assume that, as every year when the girls asked Vivian what she had done, she never had an answer. She was going to agree with Irene, but Mildred spoke up. "I actually saw Vivian and Riddle walking into the common room together. An odd pair, I suppose, but my eyes never deceive me." Mildred pushed her hair behind her ears, tossing a pillow into the air and catching it. "Riddle?" Abigayle asked with a confused expression on her face.

"Yes. You told him where to find me, did you not?" Abigayle had completely forgotten how much she despised Tom. "Oh, yes, I did. I must have forgotten. What did you both do?" The girl shook her head, trying to throw off the fact she had forgotten. "We only spoke. Nothing too interesting." A small smile crept onto Vivian's lips as she recalled her evening. It was better than any other bonfire night she had spent in the astronomy tower. Tom's presence somehow made it much more extraordinary than it had ever been. "I can't believe we three are dating people!" Mildred beamed. This immediately took Vivian back. By no means was she dating Tom.

"No! No! Tom and I are far from dating. I can promise you that." The girl denied. Abigayle nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, same with Mark and I. Not dating."

"Enough of this. I'm tired. Light's out was fifteen minutes ago." Said Irene. She disliked it when the girls spoke about Riddle. Her friend, Walburga Black, had taken a liking to him in third year. They would never be able to be together, though, because her mother and father had already said she would be wed to Orion Black. Yes, her cousin. Vivian, Mildred, Abigayle, and Geraldine all exchanged looks before turning out their lights and heading to sleep.

—꧁꧂—

"Aren't you coming back to the dorm?" Questioned Geraldine. The girls had just been on a walk. "Oh, no, I've got to attend the Slugclub." Vivian pursed her lips. Although she didn't like most of the individuals in the Slugclub, she was glad to see Minerva and Tom. "Slugclub? What is that?" The ginger-haired girl posed another question. Not many people had heard of the Slugclub just yet. "I'm not sure. A group of students gather in Slughorn's office, and we have food and conversation." Vivian was second guessing herself. She didn't know what the Slugclub was really about. "Well, have fun then." Geraldine took her leave.

Vivian sighed before opening the door. Looking in the room, she saw that almost everyone was there except two people. Minerva McGonagall and Stephen McLaggen. She took her seat across from Tom, gazing around the room to see if the pair were anywhere else. "Where is Minerva?" Vivian spoke up. She couldn't care less where McLaggen was. "Gryffindor won the quidditch match today, so they're off celebrating." Abraxas Malfoy spoke up. This was probably the first time Abraxas had ever spoken to Vivian. "I see." The group began to chat about how their lives were going all while eating food. This lasted around forty minutes before Tom mentioned Professor Merrythought.