Masquerade¹ → Tom Riddle [Rewritten] ✓

CHAPTER FOUR

Evelyn tapped her feet against the floor of the Great Hall in time with her heartbeat. Her nightmare last night had left her shaken, to say the least. Evelyn felt like she was drowning in the Great Hall, something that she always despised about the first day of term was how busy it was. Not a single table was empty, each one was crammed with first-year students piling their plates high with the food before them. It was usually like that, the younger students were almost afraid to miss breakfast but by the time they finished their OWLs, they rarely turned up.

Evelyn found she could rarely skip breakfast, her brain simply didn't function without it. If she didn't shovel down two buttery slices of toast, she was as useless as a music box without any sound.

"Morning!" Lily exclaimed as she made her way into the empty space beside Evelyn. "Oh, I am starving!"

"Those custard tarts didn't fill you up enough last night." She let out a nervous giggle.

"Absolutely not! I need hot food and I need it now." Lily began to help herself to everything on the table: bacon, eggs, sausages, tomatoes, toast, potatoes and a large helping of orange juice. Evelyns eyes widened at her friends' selection, she was more than content with just her toast. "You got your Daily Prophet then," Lily looked down at the brand new copy of the Daily Prophet tucked underneath Evelyn's plate.

"Well, I have to stay informed somehow." Evelyn liked knowing things, even when she knew it didn't concern her, she found it comforting to have an idea what was happening all over the world. After she had finished her toast, Evelyn flicked through the Daily Prophet.

Cecilia Moores, Divination teacher at Beauxbatons Academy predicts 'unavoidable darkness'.

"Rubbish isn't it?" She heard Sara call from behind her.

Evelyn kept reading, "hmm..."

Madame Moores claims to have had her visions blocked by this darkness. She has been unable to make an accurate prediction since the middle of August on the account that the darkness is preventing her from using her sight. Madame Moores seems to have hinted at this darkness emerging from an academic setting, but one she could not divulge. Read more on page 14...

"Well, what do you think?" Sara questioned her as she began piling up her plate with food. "I think it's a load of rubbish."

Evelyn wasn't sure what to think. She was never the firmest of believers in The Sight or Divination, she personally considered it a fairly woolly subject, but something about this felt compelling. "I don't know.."

"I think she'll be locked up within a few months, that lot always tend to go crazy. Lily, what do you think?" She looked over at Lily who had somehow managed to plough through all of her breakfast already.

Lily finished her mouthful, chewing quickly. "I think it's rubbish. Why should we believe her with no proof?"

Sara nodded along in agreement. "Exactly."

"So, you still think you're interested in Daniel or are we picking a new boy to prey on this year?" Evelyn began, changing the subject. "I heard there was a new Hufflepuff student."

Sara rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't go for a Hufflepuff." She looked around the Great Hall, her eyes eventually pausing and hovering over the Slytherin table. "You know who is looking nice? Tom Riddle."

"As if."

"Yeah, Sara that won't happen."

"Why not? We're both attractive students.." She smiled over at the Slytherin table.

"Well, he's him..." Lily motioned over to where he sat, surrounded by his gaggle of followers. "There's nothing wrong with you of course!" She added hastily, "it's just that I have never seen Tom Riddle once have any interest in a girl, he barely even talks to Slytherin girls, let alone a Ravenclaw one!"