Non Omnis Moriar

11: First Night

Hello guys! It's been a while since I updated didn't I?

Honestly though, to very fair, I wasn't going to post this chapter at all. It's majorly a filler and I wrote it only to emcompass the 1st of September and to give me a timeline of both plot events and Rose and Tom's journey.

However, the main decision to post it came because of JKR and her newest book plot reveal.

If you haven't heard, it's about a man dressing up as a woman to kill women. Yes, with all her transphobic ideals and anti LGBTQ+ holdings, she went ahead and did that and I felt that maybe I should really just post it because I would be able to say this to my readers.

If you are a trans reader, if you are a gay, lesbian, bi, pan, ace reader, if you are a person of color, if you are a person of religion, or a person without one, if you are honestly, whatever:

YOU ARE WELCOME HERE ON THIS PLATFORM, ON THIS ACCOUNT. YOU ARE VALID. YOUR EXISTENCE IS VALID. YOU ARE LOVED. YOU ARE WORTHY AND YOU ARE DESERVING.

Please, let's not allow JKR to further pollute us. PMs are always open for anyone who wants to chat and there are several links posted on the bio for you to be able to get in touch. You are not alone and I hope my works provide that for you.

***

It was soon clear to me, that Tom Riddle would not deign to speak to me at all for the brief journey to the Slytherin Commons. His stride was quick, long arms moving in pace and I found myself fixed on his hand, ready for the barest hint of him reaching for his wand.

My hand had begun to sweat and cramp around the handle of my own wand, the feeling uncomfortable and the sight possibly suspicious.

Reassured that Riddle would not be blasting me through one of the walls tonight, I let go, letting my palm breathe and flexed my fingers.

Riddle had already led us through to the dungeons, moving along one narrow corridor at the very end, across the Potions classroom. I had never actually been anywhere near the Slytherin commons, so when he stopped at an empty stretch of wall, I was about to reach for my wand again.

"Émeraude," Riddle said smoothly and the wall seemed to shimmer just a second before the illusion melted away to reveal a passageway.

"That's the password?" I asked, curiously following Riddle, forgetting that Slytherin probably used silly words to confuse intruders.

"It's French, for emerald – one of our colors."

I looked down at the crest on my new robes, where the silver serpent reared on a magnificent deep green background.

"Ah, that makes sense." I muttered more to myself than him and I faintly detected a grunt before he was veering off course, leaving me to get my first real look at the Slytherin Common Room.

If the password wasn't enough, the entire room was a deep, rich 'emerald'. Silver fitted the furnishings of the room and instead of the worn, dull oak of the Gryffindor room; it was all polished and sleek mahogany. Even the fires blaring in the grates were green.

Even through the chatter that filled the bustling room, a gentle swooshing was audible; the Lake lapping against the murky windows of the back wall. It was cold, but warm – dark and unwelcoming but homey.

Familiar squashy armchairs and sofas littered the floor, with round tables and desks and imposing statues loomed in the four corners.

Something swirled in mystomach but it quelled when I heard my name called.