𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄; tom riddle

iii. brilliant

CHAPTER THREE
brilliant

｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ☆.

Lessons felt crammed and slightly unusual. Normally the first day back would feel painfully long and drawn out, but perhaps it was because it was Ella's last year, time was speeding up along with her age. She only hoped it would slow down, she wasn't quite ready for a world without Hogwarts.

She walked with Eugene Avery from the library, which was very rare as Eugene normally avoided being near it. Though his father had sat him down in the summer and informed him to put in some effort, or he would no longer be allowed to play on Slytherin's quidditch team. Ella was fine with wasting time in the library with the boy, helping him catch up on missed summer readings as she was a very studious girl herself. The Hogwarts library was her second home.

Avery had their arms linked, both of them giggling like little schoolgirls. Eugene was often like that with Ella, they were best friends and had been since birth, especially as they were only 4 days apart. Maryanne had absolutely zero issues with their close relationship, she rather loved the fact that her boyfriend and best friend were also best friends. It made things all the more easy.

Eugene had been cackling at the shape of some sixth year Gryffindor's head, shamefully Ella laughed along with him. It wasn't funny, but something about the way Avery phrased things was comedic.

"Oh! I have something to ask you," Ella remembered, jumping as they walked through the crowded corridors. She was supposed to be heading off to detention soon.

He quirked his right eyebrow, stopping in place. "Well, go on then, I don't have all day."

"Don't be difficult," she warned as he laughed at her annoyed expression. "I saw Mary this morning at breakfast and she said you and Carrow had gotten into an altercation."

"That's not a question, Black," he smiled innocently, throwing his head against one of Hogwarts' very hard walls. "Ow, shouldn't have done that."

"That's karma for being a twat," she told him smartly, clinging onto her keenly read-through astronomy textbook. "Anyway, what were you fighting about?"

"I wouldn't call it a fight, it was a slightly threating conversation," Avery told her sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. His hands carelessly held onto his transfiguration book, which was already a tattered mess. Ella didn't have the misfortune of taking the disastrous subject.

"Eugene," she pleaded, using his first name. This was something they never did with each other. He was just Avery, never Eugene to Ella. He was only really Eugene to Maryanne and his family. Then of course there was the dreadful nickname Maryanne and Ella had given him in fourth year...Genie.

"He was talking about you," he rolled his eyes, remembering the memory, "Saying that if you knew what was good for you, you'd marry him and I..." he trailed off, biting his tongue.

She looked upon him curiously, "you what?"

"I went a bit mental," he admitted, "but just a bit!" He chuckled lowly, "you should've seen him, he was absolutely terrified." He leaned off the wall, his gaze meeting his friend's once again. "Alright, all I did was smack him around a bit and tell him to stay away from you," he relented, telling her the full truth.

"Why?"

"Because you're like my sister, I wasn't letting him speak about you with such disrespect," he swallowed, "and your actual sisters weren't defending you at all. In fact, I think Bellatrix might've nodded along," he frowned. "You're important to me, but don't let it go to your head, Black."