Poison A Tom Marvolo Riddle Fanfiction completed

Chapter Three - Insight

As time went by, Cassiopeia got to dive deeper and deeper into the mystery that was Tom Riddle. Paying close attention to Riddle and his gang of Slytherins, she repeatedly witnessed one or the other of his gang, normally the type of boys that tended to bully others, shying away from Riddle. A stern look that Riddle cast their way or a raised eyebrow would suffice and they would cower away from him. To those who paid enough attention the hierarchy was obvious.

One evening, Cassiopeia was on her way to the astronomy tower for Astronomy class late at night. She had decided to take a shortcut leading through a quite deserted corridor. She had just passed an empty classroom when she heard the door of the classroom open. She was able to hide in an alcove just in time to watch Riddle and Avery leave the classroom. Avery was in a bad state and left the scene hurriedly, limping slightly. Cassiopeia had a good view on Riddle's face and it was obvious that he was pleased. There was a small smile gracing his features and this time it seemed genuine. Riddle had clearly gotten what he had wanted. There was no denying that Riddle was responsible for the injuries Avery had suffered, but there was no pity on Riddle's features and no sign of remorse; just a gleam in his eyes that made Cassiopeia shiver slightly. Still, she couldn't help but think that despite no matter how wrong it was it still made him somehow even more unique.

When Avery had left, Riddle walked to Astronomy class. Momentarily he had the impression that he wasn't alone in the corridor but as he was already quite late for his class he didn't bother to investigate. He was pleased with himself. Avery had had to be taught a lesson. The idiot had been acting too carelessly, bullying Mudbloods, likely to draw a kind of attention that Riddle neither needed nor appreciated. He had told this bunch of good-for-nothings at least a thousand times that they needed to be discreet. And still they didn't get it. They had pure blood but unfortunately no brains. Riddle smirked. Now Avery would remember to be more careful. It had been a great opportunity to test the latest spells he had been reading about. By now, Riddle had taken his seat in class. He had just spread his Astronomy charts in front of him when the classroom door opened again. Riddle turned in his seat and saw Cassiopeia enter the room. He was just about to turn back when he caught her eye. It was only for a brief second that their gazes locked; then Cassiopeia slipped into her seat and took her charts out of her bag. Riddle's gaze lingered on her face for another moment and he had the impression that he had seen something in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Unfortunately, in this moment the professor chose to appear and class started. Riddle reluctantly turned back to his charts. He couldn't wait for the second half of the lesson when they would be going onto the platform to observe the sky and complete their charts.

When the professor finally signalled for them to obtain a telescope Riddle made sure he got the telescope next to Cassiopeia. The professor had told them they were to search for a stellar aberration. After a moment of peering through his telescope, Riddle whispered in Cassiopeia's direction, "Already seen anything important tonight?"

Cassiopeia stopped looking through her telescope and glanced at him. Then she smiled and whispered, "Maybe."

"Any constellation that might be worth reporting?" He looked at her intently.

Cassiopeia seemed to ponder the question. When she finally answered, she seemed to choose her words carefully. "Actually I saw a star that's usually hiding in some stellar cluster. The star shone so bright; it was exceptional." She paused.

Riddle instinctively knew she wasn't talking about the sky. His voice was barely audible when he continued, "What made it so exceptional?"

Cassiopeia looked at her telescope. "I think it generated an immense stellar wind, heavily affecting some nearby object. It was tremendous."

Instantly Riddle knew that she knew. She had somehow seen him and Avery. She knew he had cursed Avery. His fingers closed around his wand in his pocket and his mind was racing. However, when he heard what she whispered next he let go of his wand and slowly withdrew his hand from his pocket.