Unexpected Encounters | Tom Riddle

IV: A Second Chance at Life

Good lord. The grandfathers of Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott. Abraxas Malfoy had the blonde hair typical of all Malfoys and Tiernan Nott looked so similar to Theo that she had to calm her nerves down.

"I'm Lilia P- Rousseau. I transferred from Beauxbatons." She swallowed thickly, mentally reprimanding herself for slipping yet again.

"What you're not introducing me?" Another boy with shoulder length curly hair sat down on Tom's left with a mischievous smile on his face. "You can do it yourself." Celeste remarked, sending a fake smile when he frowned.

"Icarus Lestrange." He beamed at Lilia while her stomach was churning with nerves.

Lestrange. Bellatrix Lestrange .

Tom observed Lilia's expressions, noting how she seemed to have paled when Icarus introduced himself.

She still introduced herself even as she kept reminding herself that he was not related to Bellatrix, who was originally a Black. "Lilia Rousseau." "Beautiful." She blushed when Icarus made that comment and Tom held back a scoff. He was already flirting with the new girl, that shouldn't have been surprising.

"Thank you," Lilia mumbled, making the others chuckle. "Look at how red you are. Are you shy, Lilia?" Evangeline beamed at her, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "No I'm not," she replied, not sure how to respond.

"Icarus, go easy on her," Abraxas chimed in, lightly punching Icarus' back behind Tom.

The latter shook his head in mild exasperation. They were so childish but he couldn't see himself going about without these people around him. Tom Riddle hated the unknown and the unfamiliar: he wouldn't give up on their company while he was at Hogwarts.

The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat interrupted their conversation and the hall became silent.

"Today, we have a new student joining us," Headmaster Dippet began, facing in Lilia's direction. Oh no, he would introduce her to the whole school and everyone would turn to look at her. Merlin, she hated being the centre of attention.

"Please join me in welcoming Lilia Rousseau, a transfer student from Beauxbatons!" Everyone turned to look at her when the headmaster pointed in her direction. There were claps around the hall and the students at the Slytherin table cheered loudly. Lilia was practically beet red with everyone's attention on her and she smiled around awkwardly before looking down at Tom's uniform in front of her.

Tom didn't hold back an amused smile. It was rare to see a Slytherin who was so shy, which made her more intriguing.

Why Slytherin? Why Hogwarts? He had found it suspicious that she seemed to have confused her name when she introduced herself. His instincts told him that she was hiding something and he wanted to find out.

"I have never met a Slytherin who is shy." He commented, smirking when she frowned at him. "Now you have." "It seems like it." Lilia didn't like how he seemed to be analysing her and she was hyper aware of the expression on her face.

"Did you transfer because of Grindelwald?" Tiernan asked, grabbing a sandwich as soon as food appeared on the table. "I did. The situation was getting too dangerous," she replied, eyes trailing on all the delicacies that were in front of her. Her stomach growled loudly when she smelled the roasted chicken. When was the last time she had eaten any form of meat? Her diet over the past months had consisted mainly of bread, cheese, fruits and vegetable soup.

"Your family does not support Grindelwald then?" The question caught her off guard. Of course it was Abraxas Malfoy who asked that question. She hesitated before speaking, "It's complicated. We didn't want to get involved." Abraxas hummed but eyed her suspiciously. Lilia gulped and took a bite of her chicken sandwich.