𝘋𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘋𝘚 𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘋/𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 (English version)

chapter 4

The following morning, Sarah was woken up by Hermione, who yelled at her to get up. Still groggy, she took a quick shower, put on her uniform, and followed Hermione and Ginny to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"You'll soon get your schedule. We'll have some of the same classes," Hermione said, taking some eggs and looking at her happily.

Professor McGonagall walked over to Sarah, holding a piece of paper in her hands. After smiling at Hermione and Ginny, she addressed the new student. "Miss Settimini, this is your schedule. You will have the opportunity to take some elective courses, even though you haven't attended the previous two years. These courses are available from the third year, so you will be on par with your classmates. Miss Granger will be your tutor along with Mr. Riddle for some subjects. I'm sure with their help, you'll catch up in no time." She handed Sarah the paper and went to the professor's table.

Hermione huffed, "Riddle, of course, they'd ask him for help too."
Sarah looked at Hermione curiously. "Who is he?"
But her question was cut off by a hand resting on her shoulder. Draco Malfoy was looking at her with a small smile on his face.
"Tom wanted you to know that the lessons will be every day at 5 in the library. He's not here now but will surely come to see you later..." and, looking at Hermione, he said, "It's certainly been lucky for you, Tom is the best around, isn't he, Granger?"
Hermione didn't respond, continuing to eat while pretending not to hear Draco, who continued, "If you need help, you can ask me or my friends. I'm sure you'll make the right choice," and with that, he went back to his table, muttering with a group of other students.
Sarah looked at Hermione, noticing her annoyance, and decided to let her simmer down. Ron and Harry arrived a bit later, still too sleepy to form a coherent sentence.

After breakfast, they moved to their first class of the day: Potions. Sarah had listened to Ron's rant about the professors and had noted his dislike for Snape, who did not seem to be the best in his opinion, especially towards Gryffindors.
The classroom was dark, with large cauldrons covered in dust. After taking their seats, Professor Snape began to speak in a voice as slow as it was menacing. "For the preparation of the Wiggenweld potion, I will pair you up."
After listing several names, he said, "Riddle and... Settimini."
Sarah sighed; she would finally meet her second tutor. A tall boy with neatly styled black hair and a small curl falling onto his forehead walked over to her. He took a seat next to her without giving her a glance and began preparing for the potion. The girl looked at him, annoyed, but decided not to be too blunt right away. In silence, she listened and did what the professor instructed.
For her first time, Sarah did quite well, and Tom knew it. He was surprised but did not show it. Snape approached them, observing the potion, and raised an eyebrow... too perfect.
"I assume Mr. Riddle played a central role in creating this potion... 10 points to both Houses," he said, annoyed, and turned away to his desk, allowing everyone to leave the class.

10 points.

Sarah looked at Tom, who was now packing his bag. "Well, that wasn't bad for a first try, was it?" She smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Sarah, and you're Tom, right? I've heard you'll be my tutor."

The boy shifted his gaze to her, looking at her with disdain. Sarah withdrew her hand as if burned by those eyes scrutinizing her with suspicion. She mentally cursed herself and packed her bag without saying another word, eager to leave. Without saying anything, she turned and walked quickly towards the classroom door, where her Gryffindor friends were waiting.

"Well, for a first try, you did great with Riddle. He's usually quite insufferable," Ron said, still watching Tom as he continued to prepare his things.
"I guess he's not a big friend of yours," Sarah said with an ironic smile, clearly seeing the answer on their faces.
They started walking when Harry spoke up, "Tom should be avoided, always. He's not like us, Sarah. He... he has something so difficult to read that it's almost frightening at times. And not just him, his whole Slytherin gang-avoid them, always."
For a 13-year-old, Tom seemed the epitome of evil from their description: brooding, serious, mysterious, roaming around at late hours in the darkest parts of the castle, interested in things too delicate and dark for someone his age.
Sarah decided to heed their advice; she just wanted to find her place in this new world, and an additional problem was not what she needed.

The Divination class was more of a rest period for the students, or at least it was for the first 20 minutes. Sarah looked at the cup in front of her with little interest, incredibly sleepy. Why had she chosen this subject?
"I think this will be the first and last time you see me here," Sarah muttered to her new friends. Hermione nodded vigorously, as bored as Sarah.
Professor Sibyll Trelawney was a woman of average height with a distracted air, as if she was constantly talking to people not present in the room. She seemed to float on her toes from one table to another, reciting formulas and giving advice on reading the cups. She stopped in front of Sarah and Ron, who were paired up for this lesson.

"Come on, dear, read the cup."
Ron did as instructed, picking it up and glancing at the book to consult it. "I... I see a kind of crooked cross, which means troubles and suffering," he said, flipping through the pages, trying to sound convincing. Hermione was laughing silently; it was all so absurd.
"And this might be the sun, meaning happiness. So... you'll suffer but then you'll be happy, you'll see," he smiled awkwardly, not even convinced by his prediction.
Sarah looked at the boy, laughing, and then at the professor, who was now holding the cup. She widened her eyes and screamed as she threw it into the air. She tried to catch her breath as if she had just read one of the worst predictions ever.

"M-my dear... you have... THE GRIM."
The class murmured, seeking answers; the Grim, shaped like a dog, was a harbinger of death, one of the darkest omens. Sarah looked at Hermione in fear, but saw her looking at Harry's cup, slightly taken aback.

"Harry has the same thing."