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(🥀)═══ CHAPTER THIRTEEN ❝ how the turn tables ❞
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Over the following couple of days, a pair of eyes started following Mazikeen. It was subtle at first, a glance here, a fleeting look there, but soon it became unmistakable.
Tom Riddle was watching her.
He watched her in classes, in the hallways, and even during meals in the Great Hall.
However, to his increasing frustration, she seemed entirely oblivious to his scrutiny. She never looked his way, never acknowledged his presence. It was as if he didn't exist.
Mazikeen ignore him her best, focusing on her studies and her friends. She buried herself in her assignments, finding solace in the familiar rhythm of her work. But every now and then, she'd catch sight of Tom out of the corner of her eye, his expression inscrutable, his attention unwavering.
One afternoon, as she was studying in the library, she felt that familiar prickling sensation on the back of her neck.
She glanced up and saw Tom sitting a few tables away, pretending to read a thick tome on Dark Arts.
Mazikeen forced herself to return to her notes, determined not to let him rattle her.
Despite her best efforts, Tom's scrutiny was starting to get under her skin. She could sense his curiosity, his determination to figure her out. It was as if her achievements had disrupted the careful order of his world, and he was now intent on understanding the anomaly she represented.
During classes, Professors continued to praise her work, as they always did, only this time she could feel Tom's gaze burning into her back every time she received a compliment.
During one of Slughorn's lessons, as she successfully brewed a particularly complex potion, she dared to glance his way. His eyes met hers, and for a moment, there was a spark of something—resentment, perhaps, or maybe a grudging respect.
Outside of class, Mazikeen found herself constantly aware of Tom's presence. He was always nearby, never approaching, but always watching. She started to wonder what his endgame was, what he hoped to achieve by observing her so closely.
Thursday morning, Mazikeen found herself in Transfiguration class with Professor Dumbledore.
The room was abuzz with anticipation as Dumbledore announced they would be attempting Vanishing Spells, a notoriously difficult piece of magic. He demonstrated the spell with a flourish, making a small bird disappear in a puff of smoke.
