Before He Was Voldemort (A Tom Riddle Fanfiction)

Chapter 4: Harassed By Hornby

September, 1943

"Hey, you. Get up!"

Corinne was rudely awoken by a pillow being thrown in her face. Sitting up with a start, she looked around the dormitory for the culprit, gasping in shock when she saw Olive Hornby standing across the room in only her underwear, picking out her school uniform from her dresser. Olive was the type of girl with no shame. Even though Corinne had been roommates with her since first year, and was used to seeing the rude girl walking around indecently, it still made her highly uncomfortable.

"Olive, what was that for?" Corinne asked, annoyed.

Olive shrugged, buttoning her blouse. "Just thought I'd be nice and wake you up. Breakfast is almost over."

Corinne's eyes widened with panic, and she immediately flung herself out of bed to get dressed. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

Putting on the rest of her uniform, adjusting her skirt by pulling it up to make it shorter, Olive smirked, grabbing her bag and heading towards the door. She replied over her shoulder, "It wasn't my problem."

So much for a helpful roommate, Corinne thought spitefully towards Olive Hornby. She swears the ill-mannered girl has become even more terrible as a person since Myrtle Warren's death back in June. Rumors say Olive, who tended to bully Myrtle quite often, was the first person to find the Ravenclaw girl lying dead on the floor in the girl's bathroom.

Corinne supposed an incident like that would turn anyone bitter.

Huffing out in frustration, she started pulling random bits of clothing out of her drawers until she found a white button-up blouse, jumper, wool skirt, and green tie for the day. She didn't bother to fix the jumper that she'd accidentally put on inside out.

As soon as Corinne got dressed and darted down the stairs into Slytherin common room, she stopped short. Olive Hornby and her troublesome group of friends, who were blocking Corinne's path, were crowded around something in Olive's hands. The girls glanced up at Corinne, and then erupted in a fit of obnoxious giggles. Corinne's confused expression only made them laugh more. What was so funny? Did she have something on her face?

And that's when she saw what was in Olive's hands.

"Hmm, according to this," Olive said rather loudly, holding up Corinne's diary. "It says she wants to be a reporter for the Daily Prophet. Ha! She thinks a nobody like herself will amount to something!"

Olive and her friends laughed, along with the people in the Slytherin common room who heard her, making Corinne's face burn bright red in humiliation. This probably made everyone laugh harder at her. Why was this happening? What did she ever do to Olive? Corinne always complained about being invisible, but right now, she wanted to be just that.

"Oh, listen to this!" Olive wheezed through laughter. To Corinne's horror, she began reciting directly from the diary, "'Dear diary: So as from now, I am Potions partners with Tom Riddle. Who would've thought?'" Olive cackled. "You heard it, everyone! The nobody fancies Riddle!"

"Oh, look at her, Olive!" Delores Umbridge, a 4th year Slytherin, squealed in delight with her abnormally high-pitched voice. "She's crying!" She looked to Olive excitedly for approval. Delores liked to follow Olive and her group around like an obsessive fanatic.

With tears brewing in her eyes, Corinne yanked her diary from Olive's hands, running out of the common room as fast as she could, trying to ignore the laughs echoing behind her. Choked sobs escaped her lips. Memories of her past years of Hogwarts when her siblings and their friends bullied came flooding back to her. Things were supposed to be different this year. With her siblings gone, the bullying was supposed to stop.