riddle ▷ Tom Riddle Era

E M O T I O N

November Thirtieth, 1943

Jaelyn was still ignoring her. Arabella huffed angrily and shouldered her bag, stuffing her wand in her pocket. "Jaelyn Marigold!"

Across the pavilion, Jaelyn stiffened and slowly looked over her shoulder to see an angry beast thundering towards her. She leaped up and said something to her friends then began walking to meet Arabella.

All Arabella saw was red. Jaelyn bit her lip nervously as the two girls came face-to-face in the middle of the courtyard. There was a silence. Then Arabella broke it. "What the hell, Jaelyn?"

There was a crowd gathering now. Students who were milling about or doing homework had heard the commotion and stood to watch.

"Hey," Jaelyn said simply, lost for words. She had been avoiding Arabella for about a week now and had put no thought into what she was going to say.

Arabella almost screamed. She threw her hands into the air madly. "Hey?" She growled. "Where in Merlin's beard have you been these past days? I've been trying to deal with what happened and thank Merlin, Edmund's been helping me but where the hell have you been? Huh? Frolicking with your new friends? Having fun ignoring me?"

Tears began pooling in Jaelyn's eyes and she put her fingers to her lips and tried to shush Arabella. "Please, shh, please."

"Oh I'm sorry, am I making a scene?" Arabella said, suddenly emotional. Now both girls were crying. Arabella was sure this was the best drama to happen to Hogwarts since Hufflepuff won the house cup for the first time in decades. "Whoops, my bad. I guess I just wanted to know why my supposedly best friend has been ignoring me for the past week. Never mind!" Arabella knew she was being petty, but she couldn't care less.

There was another potent silence where the two girls watched each other carefully, eagle-eyed. Everyone held their breath. No one moved a muscle. Too afraid that one wrong move, one wrong noise would set one of them off again. The tension that hung in the crisp November air was tangible, like a foul stench that wouldn't go away. Puffs of white floated through the air with each heavy breath taken.

"Merlin's beard, I'm so sorry," Jaelyn gasped at last.

And with those three words, the tension slid away like ice. Arabella's gaze softened and she stepped forward timidly. "Why?"

"It was all my fault," Jaelyn whispered.

"What?"

"My fault that Jake hit you. If I had just-"

"What?" Arabella exclaimed again, pushing Jaelyn's shoulders. "Are you kidding?"

Jaelyn nit her lip nervously and looked down. "Sorry."

Shaking her head, Arabella laughed. "Merlin you're so stupid." She pulled Jaelyn into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around Jaelyn's shoulders. "It was not your fault, don't you dare ponder on that thought for another minute."

The two girls shook with emotion. Arabella's heart surged with feeling, her eyes pooled with tears.

Groans of exasperation echoed around the hugging friends and they both opened their eyes to see the gathered students frowning and moving away, muttering about not seeing a fight. Arabella grinned and turned back to Jaelyn.

"Not today," Arabella said, referring to the fight that could have been.

Jaelyn shook her head. "Not ever."

A few hours later, Jaelyn and Arabella were sitting on the couch in the Slytherin common room, making various bits and peieces float around the room and fly into each other. Half-finished homework sat forgotten on the floor, the ink on the parchment a long-time dry as the two girls laughed and shrieked.

"I win!" Jaelyn said, as her copy of Quidditch Through the Ages battered Arabella's pillow until the pillow fell to the ground.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Arabella commanded quickly, pointing at a small painting by the doorway to the bedrooms.

There was a deep cry and Arabella realized with horror that someone had walked in the way of the spell. Tom Riddle floated aimlessly in the doorway, his robes falling below his head as gravity pulled them downwards.

Jaelyn's eyes widened and she began to shake with laughter.

Cursing, Arabella flicked her wand again and Tom crashed to the ground.

"Shut up," Arabella hissed, jabbing Jaeyn's side, but Jaelyn continued shaking. She hid her head behind her hands.

Arabella glared at her friend before leaping up and rushing to the heap of emerald on the floor. Tom groaned and grasped his head as he pushed himself into a sitting position on the cold floor. His green eyes flickered up to glare at Arabella.

"At least help me up," he said and grabbed her hands with his own. Arabella's fingers curled around Tom's hand and she pulled him up.

"I am so sorry," she gushed, red seeping down her neck from her cheeks. Nervously, Arabella bit her lip and Tom frowned.

"No harm done," Tom said, pulling his hands away. Her hands were warm, he noticed and almost regretted letting go. "Just don't go floating me again, please."

Arabella shook her head furiously. "I won't," she said firmly. "Don't worry."

Tom managed a small smile and patted her shoulder awkwardly. He collected the parchment that had fallen from his pockets and left the common room. When Arabella turned back to Jaelyn, her blonde friend was frozen, her mouth had fallen open.

"What in Merlin's name was that?" Jaelyn managed when Arabella clicked in front of her face. "He smiled?"

Arabella laughed and shrugged, but turned and glanced at the common room door. He truly had changed his attitude towards her, but she wasn't prepared to change for him. Not in the way he wanted. "We should finish our homework," Arabella said as she faced Jaelyn. SHe motioned to all the unfinished work. "You don't need any more detentions."

Jaelyn frowned suspiciously but didn't question the change in subject. "Okay," she said, prolonging the end of the world.

"What?"

"You'll tell me eventually."

"There's nothing to tell!"

Jaelyn cocked her head. "Sure there is."

But she dropped the subject and picked up a quill. "Come on then."