FIVE DAYS BEFORE
The murmurs of cauldrons bubbling in the dimly lit classroom were filled, drowning out the drowsy sound of rain gently pelting against the stained glass windows of Hogwarts. It was a gloomy day, one that made the brunette girl just want to curl up into bed and sleep in peace, away from a specific Riddle, and the impending reality of homework and studying. The strange contents emit soft plumes of smoke that were wounding toward the enchanted ceiling in the classroom with a professor everyone feared. Professor Snape.
The dungeon-like Potions classroom was always dark and cold, but today, it felt especially stifling to Fee. Her green eyes stared blankly at her parchment, doodling absentmindedly as Professor Snape's monotone voice droned on and on about the intricacies of some obscure potion ingredient.
Fee was perched lazily in her seat, along with the majority of others who were seated as well, especially a specific blonde male, Draco Malfoy, who was practically drooling from falling asleep in class. Her eyes glanced around, her green eyes scanning the room, trying to find something– anything– more interesting than Snape's lecture.
Seated beside her was her best friend, Lola Riddle. She looked as put together as always, her lips often curled into a confident slight smirk. Her hair slightly untamed from the late night activities the girls were up to, and today was rather a lazy day, even for Lola. Fee knew better than to distract the Riddle girl during lectures, knowing her title as the Top Academic Slytherin was fairly earned.
On Fee's other side sat Mattheo Riddle, Lola's older brother. His dark hair was tousled, and his piercing eyes that always seemed to see straight through people reminded the brunette girl of Tom Riddle. Right now, he lounged back in his seat, his legs slightly spreaded while his arms crossed over his chest, keeping his attention focused on Professor Snape with an stoic expression. Every so often, he'd nudge Fee with his foot, trying to catch her attention with a sly grin, without even glancing away from the professor.
Slight whispers from where Lola came perked Fee's attention slightly as she lazily glanced over to see Lola bickering with Theo underneath her breath, who sat directly next to Lola. He had a look of smug satisfaction on his face, amused at Lola's frustration with him, likely because Snape had given him a rare compliment for correctly identifying a rare ingredient before Lola had time to.
"You really can't help yourself, can you?" Lola hissed under her breath, her voice barely audible over Snape's lecture.
Theo smirked, slightly shifting in his seat as he leaned back against it, not even bothering to glance her way. "It's not my fault I'm better at this than you, Riddle." He whispered back, his voice dripping with condescension.
Fee bit back a laugh, shaking her head as she and Mattheo exchanged a knowing glance, who rolled his eyes at the two. They had seen this play out a hundred times. Lola and Theo were always trying to one-up each other, their rivalry fueling every interaction. But Fee had seen the way Theo's eyes lingered on Lola's when he thought no one was looking. It was only a matter of time before they both realized what everyone else already knew.
Lola gripped her pen tightly, glaring daggers at Theo, before glancing back over at Professor Snape. "You're insufferable, Nott." She muttered, her tone cold.
"And you're predictable, Riddle," Theo shot back, barely lifting a finger in the air as the page in his textbook flipped as though the argument were beneath him.
Draco perked up from his head being rested against the table, leaning over Mattheo as he gave Lola and Theo a death glare, as if they had done terrible crimes together. "Shut up! I'm trying to get my beauty sleep."
