Masquerade¹ → Tom Riddle [Rewritten] ✓

CHAPTER ONE

Evelyn Rivers had lived by the sea for as long as she could remember. Her grandparents had the most wonderful quaint little cabin by the seaside and it filled her with such joy she could barely contain herself. Never was there a moment in which Evelyn couldn't look out of her bedroom window and not be greeted by the sweet smell of the sea rolling in. It was something Evelyn adored so much that her bedroom window was rarely ever closed, much to the dismay of her grandparents who often complained about the freezing temperatures.

When Evelyn awoke on September first, she awoke with a spring in her step. As much as she adored being by the seaside, there was something about Hogwarts that simply made her feel safe, like nothing bad could ever happen to her whilst she was there, it was a feeling she hoped would last forever.

"Evelyn, you need to get going." She heard her grandmother call from the kitchen in her usual hushed voice.

Coming!" Evelyn called back as she glanced around her room one final time. "Trunk, wand, robes..." She repeated to herself, mentally ticking off each item as she spotted it around her bedroom.

"Hurry up! Your bus goes in ten minutes!" Evelyn sighed loudly, she did not enjoy being rushed. She knew she would make it to Hogwarts one way or another.

She stuffed her wand into her jacket pocket, grabbed her trunk by its unstable handle and made her way into the kitchen. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Say goodbye to your parents first!" Her grandmother reminded her, causing a lump to form in Evelyn's throat, oh how she missed them.

Evelyn dropped her trunk in the kitchen with a loud thud and made her way out of the cabin into the back garden. Instantly, the smell of the salty sea grew stronger and Evelyn knew she would miss this place greatly. She made her way towards the rose garden her grandmother had planted in her parents' name and crouched beside the largest bush. She placed one of her hands in the soil and closed her eyes. "Goodbye, mum and dad. I'm going to make you proud this year, I promise. I'm even a Prefect, just like you were." She smiled as she felt the pin in her trouser pocket. "I'm going to get top grades in my OWLS so I can become an Auror just like you were." Evelyn stood up, opening her eyes with one last smile. "I'm going to make you proud."

Evelyn wiped the soil off her hand onto her trousers and returned to the kitchen. "I'll be back before you know it," she smiled at her grandma.

"I know," her grandma paused, "it's just hard to see you go. It will be strange to have the cabin to myself again."

"At least you won't freeze to death anymore," Evelyn chuckled.

"You did close your window, didn't you?"

Evelyn had, of course, not closed her window, but that was not something her grandma needed to know. "Yes. Now I have to go, I can't miss the bus or I'll never make it to Hogwarts!"

"Alright!" Her grandma took her in a warm embrace, rubbing her dainty hand across Evelyn's spine. "Make them proud for me," she released her granddaughter.

Evelyn lifted her trunk from the kitchen floor, "I will." She smiled one last time at her grandmother before making her way out of the cabin and onto the country roads. Evelyn knew that she only had a few minutes until her bus arrived but she could already see the shelter just a few hundred yards in front of her. By the time she made it to the shelter, the bus was already pulling up behind her, her favourite bus driver sat in the driver's seat, beeping his horn at the sight of Evelyn.

"Where to this time?" He smiled as he opened up the doors.

"London Kings Cross, but I have baggage," Evelyn nodded at the hefty trunk she had been lugging behind her.