Non Omnis Moriar

10: The Sorting

Greetings, amazing people! It's been a whole messy rollercoaster of events in the past months, hasn't it? I hope everyone is being safe, wearing masks, drinking water, social distancing. God I hope you're doing all of that because I've seen those videos of people going crazy on twitter and...big YIKES.

So anyway, rambling aside!

It's very late so I'm just going to put up the chapter before crashing!

***

Riddle hadn't put on his Hogwarts robes just yet. He was clad in a pristine, pressed white shirt, the black school slacks and shoes that was part of Hogwarts uniform. He had combed his hair back neatly, looking every bit the picture of a model student.

The moment he reached the bottom of the staircase, Miss Cole bustled out, some keys jangling in her hand as she muttered quickly and inaudibly to Martha. I turned around to pick up Eric's battered suitcase, ignoring the turn of Riddle's lips and the way he hitched the handle of his wooden trunk closer to himself.

He had no right to be judgmental of me, I reminded myself. He was a murderer. I was just trying to make the best of my situation. I suddenly felt regretful of politely declining Dumbledore's offer of coming to see me off at the Hogwarts Express. It had been in the elation of the moment, just before I overheard Riddle with his pals.

However, I suppressed any grimace that might cross my face, blanking just as Miss Cole left Riddle and me to stand at the gates while she brought about something...huge, black...on wheels.

"What in the world?" I mumbled under my breath.

As the hunkering monster rolled to a stop near us, Miss Cole got out and walked to the back, where she unlatched and then lifted the back. I gaped at the thing, like it stared right back at me before Riddle was letting out an almost impatient huff, grabbing onto Eric's suitcase and hefting it into the big cavern. Next, he grabbed the two sides of his trunk, lifting it after the suitcase and the hood was falling back, engulfing our joint luggage in.

"Stop staring at it like you've never seen anything like a car before, Revel." Riddle hissed, as he opened the door, waiting for me to step in.

I didn't answer, too flustered to form a coherent sentence. I had actually, never seen a...car before. Of course, I'd seen them in passing in the muggle world while on King's Cross, but they had never been this...close to me. For riddle to comment that I actually may seem not muggle like that was just an added insult.

Riddle chose to enter the back of the car with me, with both of us sitting at the very ends near the small windows, looking out.

London was still just as gloomy as ever as Miss Cole drove the hunk down the streets yet there was an odd sort of fascination about them. I had seen older pictures of London in books in the library but to see it in person, had me nearly pressing to the glass.

Our matron chattered a little to pass the time but unless I was actively paying attention, I didn't have much of a response and Riddle blatantly ignored any presence but his own in the small jammed space.

Finally, when we drew up to the older, a little less bustling version of the King's Cross station, a sigh of relief could be heard metaphorically.

Miss Cole was quick to pull out the luggage while Riddle and I fetched some trolleys.

"Now dear, remember we always have an open room for you. Have a chat with Mr. Dunderbore and get back to us. Maybe visit on Christmas, Eric and Billy and the girls would like that." Miss Cole took me aside to say while Riddle got a head start.