Motivation ⌁ Tom Riddle ✔

21

I stared at the crowd until they stared back, and I blinked, turning away. My arms ached terribly from holding themselves around Tom's neck. It was almost as if I had never even danced with him. He disappeared within the blink of an eye. It was almost as if I had let a girl in heels trod all over my arms. Almost as if I allowed myself to thirst and ignore my scorching throat.

Rubbing my arms, I moved on over to a table that had drinks spread out, and at the table was Stephen, Billy and Chris. I must've been standing there for a while; the music had switched again and couples were liplocking in the shadows.

Stephen was the first to spot me, and, after sipping from his drink, he pointed a long finger at me. "Ah- here comes the birthday girl!"

I smiled sheepishly and waved. Billy quickly poured me a goblet of ice-cold water, and, thanking him, I finished the drink almost instantly.

"Oh, it's the birthday girl!" came a mocking voice. Nora. A girl trailed behind her. "Whoop-dee-doo. You're another year older. Honestly, I do not even see why people celebrate their birthday. Is it not a sad thing that we're another year older?"

"Other people see their birthday differently; you'll never be that age again," I replied as calmly as I could. Part of me wanted to throw the ice cubes in my goblet at Nora's face.

Nora gave me an annoyed stare before pouring herself a drink and, somehow, seductively downing it. The boys around her - Billy, Stephen and Chris - all looked away with wide eyes and drank their own drinks.

"Well," Nora said in a fake chirpy voice, she forced a smile, tilted her head, and finished with, "Happy Birthday, then!"

And she skipped away with the silent girl trailing behind her.

"It's getting a little stuffy in here," I breathed, interrupting whatever Chris was about to say. "I need some air."

I waved my hand, fanning my face, and walked toward the great hall entrance, exiting through it. A few people were standing outside, talking in groups or flirting. I rounded a corner so that I was alone and leaned against the wall, wiping any sweat that was resting on my cheeks. I caught my breath for a moment, and was about to head back into the great hall when I heard a shattering noise and bickering behind a statue that was at the end of the corridor.

As per usual, curiosity got the better of me, and I slowly and quietly ventured down the corridor, and hid behind the gargoyle. I peeked my head around a little, making sure to keep my body hidden, and let my eye look through a gap in the gargoyle.

There was a short, chubby middle-aged man with dark brown hair that reached above his shoulders, and in front of him was a furious Tom Riddle. Couldn't I ever get away from him?

My eyes wandered a little, and I stared at a camera that was lying on the floor. Tom then took things further, grabbing the man by his coat threateningly, and warning him off, asking him things. The man shivered and cowered at the sight of him, and turned his head away.