For the Greater Good || Tom Riddle ||

Chapter Five: An Argument

"You seem distant lately," Jane quietly mused as she sat atop her canopy bed, braiding her long dark hair.

The night before, Camila and Ruth had somehow managed to sneak of the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory and spend the night with their Gryffindor friends—particularly Olive Hornby and her lot. The girls' other roommate, Loucille, liked to get an early start to breakfast and had already left the room to start her day. Now, Gwen and Jane stood alone in the dormitory getting ready for class.

Gwen looked up from tying her shoes.

It was a misty morning, the sky bright and dreary, the kind of day where it was impossible to gauge what time it was. Is it early? Is it noon? The sleepy quality that seemed to fall over the Scottish castle was like a spell of perpetual stupor.

"Do I?" Gwen asked with a feigned smile. She looked down and dusted a speck of dirt off of her wing tipped loafers, trying to play off the accusation casually.

"Yes," Jane huffed with wide eyes. "You have been."

Gwen pursed her lips and jumped off her bed as she grabbed her wand off of her nightstand. With a flick of her wrist, her comforter was free of wrinkles and her bed was made. She did her best to hide the weariness in her body, the tiredness she felt in her bones, but the truth of the matter was that she was drained—both physically and mentally.

The first training session of the Knights had proven to be exhausting. Keeping up a façade around the Slytherin Horde as well as Tom made her brain hurt, not to mention the physical effort she had to pour into serving as the boys' teacher, demonstrating militant magic and strategic spells one after another.

Jane's question had caught Gwen a bit off guard and she could sense the other girl's dismay. It was true, however, she had been distant. Ever since she had thrown herself into the mission of keeping the Deathly Hallows from Grindelwald and began to spend more time with Tom, Gwen hadn't had much time to hang out with Simon and Jane. She hadn't forgotten about them, but she had begun to make new priorities.

And it seemed that Jane had noticed.

Gwen smiled and slowly turned around to face her dark haired friend.

"We've had a lot of assignments lately that I've had to catch up on and it's taken a great deal of my time," she lied. "I'm sorry that you feel as though I've been pulling away. I don't mean it. Now, let's go down to breakfast," she insisted, trying to move on from the topic. "Simon's probably waiting."

"Gwen, I know that's all a ruse. You already know most of the material, you could do it in your sleep. Don't change the subject. You've been avoiding me and Simon. Is it because of the prefect thing?" she asked off-handedly with worry coating her voice. Her eyes were wide and sincere. "Because it doesn't matter to me, I meant what I said... If someone had to have my position, I'm glad it's you."

"It's not that at all," Gwen began. "I honestly have just been caught up with schoolwork. I've-"

"Is it because I'm a muggle-born, Gwen? Does that bother you?" Jane asked, her voice becoming more harsh, her dark eyes downcast. She fidgeted with her hands and refused to look up.

"No, Jane." Gwen shook her head vigorously. "I have just been really busy lately, that's all."

"Is it because I'm Jewish?"

"No!" Gwen answered immediately. "That's not it at all! Why would you ever say that?"

"Because Gwen, that seems to be the case everywhere. Norway's occupied by Germany, isn't it?"

Gwen looked at Jane in confusion. "And you think that has any effect on what I think of you?"

"It seems to have affected the others! Ever since this bloody war started, people have treated me differently... Like I carry some disease they could be infected with! As if the whole world's bred a lot of self-righteous, little Nazis!"