Rose & The Riddle || Tom Riddle Story

Chapter Eleven - Specialis Revelio

Rose's nightmares were getting worse by the day. The hooded figure with the red eyes and ghostly pale face haunted her dreams as well as the mysterious boy with the dark eyes. By the end of October, the leaves had fallen off the trees and the brisk air had sent a chill through the walls of the school.

Rose wasn't paying attention during Transfiguration. She gazed out the window as Professor Dumbledore demonstrated the proper technique for the Switching Spell. Rose had already mastered this spell in her third year when she spent almost every evening holed away in the library.

Her thoughts drifted to Tom Riddle, yet again. She knew there was darkness inside him. That much she had finally figured out. She just wanted to know what it was exactly. He was obsessed with power and being a leader. That's why he was a Prefect. He loved having authority over others. He was the complete opposite of Rose, yet he was drawn to her for whatever reason.

She hadn't told Mary or Isabel about any of the things Tom divulged to her. She was worried they wouldn't understand, or they would try to get Tom in trouble. Rose was determined to get answers herself. She needed to get her hands on that book that Tom had now been carrying with him for the past few weeks, Secrets of the Darkest Art. She knew it had to have come from the Restricted Section of the library. Fifth years needed permission from a teacher, but sixth and seventh years could wander the stacks as freely as they wished. She wondered if Dumbledore would give her permission... it wouldn't hurt to ask, but she'd need a reason.

"Miss Davies?" chimed the voice of Professor Dumbledore. Rose was reeled back into the present.

"Yes, sir?" she asked, not paying attention in the slightest.

"Would you be as so kind to demonstrate the Switching Spell on the ferret on your desk?"

"Of course."

***

At the end of class, Rose stayed behind to speak to Professor Dumbledore about getting a permission slip to the Restricted Section. She had no idea how she was going to swing it, but she tried her best to play it cool.

"Have you found your thoughts wandering off lately?" asked Dumbledore as the rest of the students filtered out of the class.

"Sorry about that," said Rose. "I've just been a little stressed lately and haven't been sleeping well."

"It happens to the best of us," said Dumbledore looking at her with his twinkling blue eyes. "How can I help you, Miss Davies?"

"Well, you see Professor," started Rose, thinking of the right words to say. "I was just wondering if you could give me a permission form to visit the Restricted Section in the library. It seems I have researched everything of worthy importance in relation to Defense Against the Dark Arts, all the way up to N.E.W.T. level, and I was wondering if it would be useful to see what other kinds of magic there is... the magic that the school isn't allowed to teach us..."

Dumbledore eyes her suspiciously. He was a smart man there was no denying that. But with Rose's superior academic standing, she hoped that her story was enough to sway Dumbledore without questioning her.

"Surely Professor Merrythought would have been more than happy to sign a permission form for you," he answered. "Unless your reasoning for visiting the Restricted Section has more to do with... personal matters."

Fuck. He knows.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," said Rose. "I just figured I would ask you because... well you and I seem to have a better relationship than I do with the other teachers. It doesn't seem that most teachers would give a fifth-year Slytherin permission to visit the Restricted Section based ambiguously for academic reasons."

Dumbledore could see right through her and she knew it. It was a lost cause at this point. She felt uncomfortable lying to him anyway, and waited for him to tell her no.

"Miss Davies," he began. He wandered over to his desk and took a seat as he adjusted his half-moon glasses. "You are not the first curious student to come to me and request permission to enter the Restricted Section. I like to think I have a fairly good judge of character when it comes to assessing my students. I do not that you have ill intentions, however, I do not think you are giving me the full truth."

Rose's throat tightened and did not respond. She knew Dumbledore was not a fool and she didn't take him as such.

"I do not have an issue in writing you a permission slip," he said as he pulled out a slip of paper from his desk. "But do be aware, your involvement with Tom Riddle makes me slightly suspicious."

He scribbled his signature and handed her the slip. She felt extremely guilty. She considered telling Dumbledore the truth, but her curiosity for Tom was stronger than her fear for Dumbledore.

She took the slip from Dumbledore's hands.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

She left Dumbledore's office without another word and made her way to Charms class.

***

After dinner that evening, Rose set off to the library alone. She told Mary and Isabel that she wanted to get a head start on their Astronomy essay. Most students were still on the Great Hall, which worked in her favor because the library was basically empty and she wouldn't have any wandering eyes on her.

She handed Madam Considine her permission form and she signed off on it. Rose was free to roam the stacks. 

The Restricted Section was small, but was filled with dozens of books on Dark Magic. It wasn't permitted to younger students without permission due to the dark nature of the contents within the books. It was without a doubt Tom Riddle's favorite section in the library.

She scanned the "B's" looking for Owle Bullock, author of Secrets of the Darkest Art. There were dozens of other books from Bullock, but not what she was looking for. Rose sighed in defeat and continued to scan the shelves, looking for anything that could possibly give her insight as to what Tom was up to.

She was about to give up when she noticed a book out of place. It was sitting in alphabetically in the "O's" but she realized it didn't belong there. She picked it up and opened to the first page. She read: Darkest Secrets by Lowell Bouck.

She flipped through the book and was shocked to see nothing but blank pages. She wondered if the book had a curse on it.

Rose pulled out her wand from inside her robes and tapped the book.

"Specialis Revelio."

Rose eye's widened. Just as she suspected, someone put a charm on this book in attempts to hide its contents. She knew exactly who placed the spell on this book when she flipped it back over and read the front cover.

Secrets of the Darkest Art, by Owle Bullock.