Pick Your Poison | Tom Riddle |

Chapter Five: An Old Flame

Curfew came around Thursday night which meant the only one's patrolling the second floor were Eleanor and Julius.

The day had passed quickly and Eleanor was eager for her trip to Hogsmeade this weekend to meet her sister who apparently had big news for her.

"First game in one week. We open up against the Slytherins, you know?" Julius reminded her as their patrolling was coming to an end.

"Of course. It'll be an exciting competition. I would give anything to knock Rosier off his broom if he tries getting the Snitch." Eleanor grinned. "I've missed it."

"Speaking of the Slytherins, what's gotten into you? I heard what happened with Adis. You better be careful. I heard Amelia and Rufus discussing it before you came to the Common Room."

Eleanor huffed, glancing at Julius and returning her gaze to the hall ahead of her while pursing her lips. If one more person had asked about what happened between her and Adis she was going to lose her head. She wondered if Marcella was the one responsible for all of this information coming back to her from others considering she's the only one she ever tells this stuff to.

"Of all people they should know how difficult my situation is. They knew how Evelyn and James had to back me up several times a week because of Adis and them!" she said accusingly.

If her business kept getting around then she will have a tarnished reputation among the teachers. With her grades soaring higher than ever, she was coming out of Tom's shadow for once. If they found out she was being troubled then it would be back in the corner for Eleanor.

"I know, I know." Julius said, trying to calm her.

But Eleanor was already calm. She didn't need to be spoken to like she was delicate.

When she glanced over at him again, she observed that his eyes were still focused and she sensed he was still thinking of something on his mind.

"What else is it?" she asked.

Had she not been a Legilimens, she wouldn't be able to sense he had a negative feeling lingering his thoughts.

"And the most famous Slytherin of all? Tom? I've heard a great deal about him and those friends of his. We had a Slug Club last week just to discuss the new school year and after we left, that kid Alan from Gryffindor told me he overheard Tom asking about some pretty dark stuff." Julius said.

This news didn't surprise her, though. It was Tom. But something was still unsettling about it all. Charming one day, cold the next. Sometimes his mood fluctuated just between classes. But dark magic? Was it something he was really capable of? She kept her thoughts open about it.

"Well it's nothing I'm concerned with because there's hardly a connection between us and it's nothing you should be concerned about either." Eleanor sharply replied.

Had he been jealous of something that wasn't even there? She wanted to laugh about it but instead, she thought about it longer than she should have.

"But if you hear anything more on this dark magic Alan was rambling about, I want to hear about it too."

"Right." Julius nodded slowly. If she didn't care for him, she'd take a peek and see what else he was thinking of that he didn't want to say. "I have a stop to make. Do you mind if I let you off here?" he asked as the hallway came to a turn while they were supposed to go straight.

"Not at all. Goodnight, Julius." Eleanor said.

Julius smiled briefly and she noticed a hint of sadness. "Goodnight."

Eleanor continued on walking straight like she had to. "Lumos." she whispered, now needing her own light because the moon just wasn't enough. Hogwarts, a big castle full of magic seemed like a shell at night when there was not a soul in sight.