Unexpected Encounters | Tom Riddle

Lilia followed Dumbledore as he led her to the office of Horace Slughorn.

While Slughorn had been a well-loved professor during her time, she hadn't been fond of him. He was obviously partial to those he deemed worthy of his time and Harry was a perfect target. He was the boy who lived, how could Slughorn miss an opportunity to turn him into an acquaintance? Slughorn had been surprised when he met her; he had never heard of a Lilia Potter and she did not have the same impact as Harry Potter.

The thought made her scoff lightly. Voldemort had inflicted the killing curse on Harry because the prophecy had mentioned that a boy would kill him, not a girl. He had probably not even bothered with her. Like everyone else.

"Miss Rousseau!" She snapped out of her thoughts when Slughorn walked towards her. She hadn't even noticed that they had reached his office and Dumbledore knew that she was not paying attention. His two unanswered questions attested to that.

"Professor Slughorn." She smiled politely. "Ah soft spoken, this one. Very nice to meet you, my dear. I am the Head of Slytherin. It is very exciting to have a new addition to our house!" He chuckled and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. "Miss Rousseau came here to seek refuge from Grindelwald's war in France." The older man clarified. "Such a pity you had to deal with these circumstances. Hogwarts will be good for you!" Slughorn sounded too enthusiastic for her liking but she smiled and nodded nonetheless.

"I will leave her with you, Horace. I have my class starting soon." Dumbledore smiled at Slughorn.

Lilia gulped down her nervousness, this was still Hogwarts. She knew the school like the back of her hand. Except for the fact that the future Dark Lord and his death eaters were also here. She tried not to think about it while Slughorn led her to the Slytherin common room. It was located underneath the Great Lake and she was surprised at how similar it looked to the one she remembered. She had spent a lot of time in the boys' dorm rooms, seeing as she had been dating Theodore for a while.

She blushed lightly when she saw the couches by the fireplace, remembering how she had straddled his lap and they had made out in the same spot.

She was not a big fan of the interior. The Slytherin colours were mostly dark with different shades of green, silver and black. Being under the Great Lake also limited the amount of natural light that came in and this was a stark contrast to the Ravenclaw common room. She missed the Ravenclaw tower terribly; it had been the one place where she felt safe as she overlooked the entirety of Hogwarts from the windows. It had also been the first tower to crumble when death eaters attacked Hogwarts. She tried not to focus on the ache in her chest and instead, paid attention to Slughorn.

"I will have to leave soon to teach my potions class. We will see each other tomorrow since that's your first class of the day. You should find your clothes, materials and schedule on your bed. Albus is very prompt with these things." He chuckled. "Sure, Professor." "Oh, one of my prefects will show you around the common room and the castle. Rest up and eat well, my dear." She hummed in agreement as he left.

When Voldemort won the Battle of Hogwarts, they had to go into hiding and supplies were limited. She spent most of her time in the healing quarters, helping Hermione tend to the wounded and in the duelling quarters, practising spells with Ron. She barely had time to eat, focusing her energy on things that would be useful. She had become well-versed in using dark curses and she could feel their traces on her body.

"Miss Rousseau?" She whirled around violently, hand immediately holding on to the wand strapped to her thigh. Her stomach twisted further in knots.

The young man stared at her with a curious look, raising an eyebrow as he took in her body.