Not Broken, Not Yet | Tom Riddle

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

He stood surrounded by his cronies. The Slytherins. I remembered a few of them from The Leaky Cauldron, namely Lestrange, the tall dark haired boy and slimy Avery whose very face was meant to be hated. For a moment our eyes met, then just like that, Riddle looked away, disinterested suddenly. A wave of hot embarrassment flushed through me, but I kept gazing at the Slytherins.

Riddle was surrounded by the boys from the pub. There was Avery, Lestrange, Nott and Rosier, as well as two others. A third one, a tall blonde, stood some distance away, in idle conversation with a short dark haired girl. A girl whose blouse were somewhat opened, revealing a rather impressive cleavage. From Ruth and June's comments I realised she must be Hazel Greensparrow, and the boy that suddenly started making out with her must have been Abraxas Malfoy. It was strange having faces to all the names I'd heard Ruth and June talk about all last night. But also somewhat amusing knowing so much about these strangers.

As the corridor filled up with sixth years and got more and more crowded I felt my attention slipping away from the Slytherins as the area felt more and more crammed. It was a slim corridor, and all entrances were blocked. That one thought made the oh so familiar weight press down on my chest as I looked around, trying to find something to focus on. Next to me Aiden suddenly looked concerned.

"You okay, Amberly? You look pale...er." He said, hunching down to meet my eyes.

I put on a smile, trying not to flinch as he got closer. "Yeah. I'm fabulous."

He didn't look quite convinced and took my hand, squeezing it reassuringly before quickly letting go. I barely even had time to react or feel scared at his touch. I looked up at him. Astonished. There wasn't anything inherently romantic about it. Simply a kind gesture between friends, but I could feel my heart skip a beat suddenly and behind us I could already hear the giggles from Ruth and Clara. They were already whispering frantically. No doubt planning on cornering me to question me about it after class. Lucky me... I thought as I looked up on the handsome face above me. For the first time I noticed the hint of yellow in his iris. islands in the oceans that were his eyes.

- Tom -

Avery was talking non stop in my ear. About girls, school, the death eaters, our next move and the most trivial of things. Always seeking my attention 'What do you think my lord?', 'Do you think I'm right, my lord?', 'Do you agree, my lord?'. It was enough to make anyone annoyed and after ten minutes of it I felt my patience running short. Meanwhile Malfoy was making out with the next in his line of girlfriends. Greensparrow this time. A girl that just months ago had been swooning over me and still glanced at me whenever she thought Malfoy wasn't looking. I glanced at her open blouse and almost fully exposed breasts. A cheap trick that had lured in Malfoy but wouldn't work on me. I looked away from her. Disgusted.

My eyes wandered over the room as I heard Avery talk, he didn't seem to notice that I couldn't care less about what he had to say currently. The only one clever enough to realise so was Lestrange who stood by stoically, watching his friend with a stoney expression.

I found my gaze land on her. The second time that day. Green stood next to the idiotic muggle lover Johansson. The rumours of his latest stunt had already reached me. Another cheap childish trick. An attempt to stay relevant and impress girls. I supposed all the bludgers he'd gotten to his head must have tampered with his brain. Or he simply was that daft. A great fit for Green then, I thought to myself as I fixated the pale girl.

She looked... haunted. It was the same expression she'd had during our first meeting. Strange indeed. Her breathing seemed jagged, and her eyes wandered aimlessly around the corridor. Like a trapped animal.