Unexpected Encounters | Tom Riddle

"Ah, Tom, my boy!" Slughorn patted him on the shoulder. It was obvious to Septimus, Aurora and Nelia that the Potions professor had a blatant bias towards his own students. Slughorn shifted his attention to Lilia, asking her how she was feeling after the "incident" over the past week. He complimented their outfits and only gave curt nods to Aurora and Nelia. "Ah Weasley, you made it! Oh, is Lilia your date for tonight's dinner?" He asked Septimus who smiled politely. "She is." "Interesting. Never thought of a pairing like that, myself. But enjoy yourselves, ladies and gentlemen!" He moved on to the other people who were coming into the room.

Lilia gaped when she took in the room, which was really more like a ballroom. In her time, the Slug Club had been a smaller and more private affair. She took in the sprawling tables draped in pristine white cloth, laden with an array of delicacies. At the center, a cascading chocolate fountain flowed endlessly, while hundreds of champagne flutes, stacked into a glittering pyramid, caught the soft glow of the chandelier. A string quartet played softly in the background, blending seamlessly with the hum of conversation and the occasional clink of champagne glasses. Around the room, guests in elegant formal attire mingled in small clusters, each holding a delicate flute of champagne. The scene had an almost comical resemblance to a photograph from a 1940s newspaper, capturing the essence of a grand and glamorous soirée. There were Ministry officials present too.

"Slughorn goes all out for his parties," Icarus said, "Don't mind me just heading for the champagne." He pulled out a tiny bottle of amber liquid and Lilia gasped. "Firewhisky!" "Anytime for you, sweetheart." He winked at her and walked away. "He's not supposed to be drinking." She told the others, who just shrugged. "We all smoke anyways," Tiernan added and pulled out a muggle cigarette. "Oh, don't mind them, Lilia. The boys smoke anywhere." Evangeline said when she saw her surprised expression. "Celeste and I smoke sometimes too." The blonde girl giggled but Lilia had never seen any of them smoke. "How have I never seen you guys smoke?" "Well..." Tiernan began, "We meet in Tom's room, seeing as he has the good stuff. He told us you don't smoke, so we just meet there and smoke for a small break." Tom corroborated with a nod. Lilia nodded and felt like it had clicked in her head. They had been smoking when she attacked Tom. That's what they were doing; they hadn't excluded her on purpose. It had been a blur through the rage she had been feeling.

"It's a surprise how I haven't smelled it on any of you," she mumbled. "Magic, baby," Tiernan chuckled and passed his cigarette to Nelia. Abraxas did the same to Aurora and Lilia felt uncomfortable at the subtle display of intimacy. "Wanna get some champagne?" She asked Septimus, who nodded. "See you later." She waved at them and turned around to head to the pyramid of glasses. "Bunch of troublemakers, your friends." "I didn't even know about that." "Merlin, I can't believe Tom Riddle smokes. The Tom Riddle who is a perfect student, perfect prefect, perfect award winner for the school." "What award did he win?" "Something for special services towards the school. He caught someone who was responsible for a girl's death last year." Oh right. Myrtle Warren.

"What happened?" She asked to keep up her pretence. "Basically, it was this giant who was in the same year as us. Gryffindor. Kept many weird and dangerous creatures, and one of them caused Myrtle Warren's death. Riddle found the giant and his creatures, and he was expelled for her death. Crazy story. But honestly, death might have been better for the girl. She used to be bullied by this other girl called Olive Hornby who dropped out of Hogwarts. Out of guilt, I imagine." Septimus just called Hagrid the giant, not even bothering with names. It stung, especially because she knew that Hagrid was innocent.

"Must not have been easy for Riddle," he added thoughtfully. "What do you mean?" "Well, Riddle and Warren were close. There were even rumours that they were dating." What? "What do you mean?" She hadn't even noticed that they were at the champagne table, and Septimus took one flute, handing it to Lilia before taking one for himself. "Well, they were very close. Used to study together in the library all the time." He answered after taking a sip of his champagne. "Oh." Lilia turned to look at Tom, who was talking to what looked like a Ministry official with Celeste by his side. Tom was close to Myrtle? She had never heard of that. Initially, she hadn't thought that Tom Riddle was capable of affection or care. But she had been proven wrong so far. Tom did care for people.