Unexpected Encounters | Tom Riddle

XV: Not Yet, Not Now

It was happening. She was meeting Newt Scamander, someone she has looked up to. As she approached the man, she couldn't help but notice how different he was in real life as opposed to mere pictures. Newt Scamander was very tall, very blonde and looked like he wanted to run away. "Newt, this is Lilia Rousseau. The one I told you about. She likes magical creatures and is a big fan of your work. Lilia, introduce yourself." Theseus gestured at his brother and Lilia nodded, stumbling on her way to greet him. "Hello Mr. Scamander. Theseus gave a good introduction about me, but words cannot explain how much I love your work." She began before getting distracted by something on his shirt.

"Is that a bowtruckle?" She asked softly, leaning in slightly to get a closer look. The creature was very small and it squealed before hiding into Newt's pocket. The latter smiled and looked down at Lilia. "His name's Pickett. Very shy, took him a long time to trust me." "I heard you are the only one they wouldn't hide from at Hogwarts." "I have always been interested in understanding magical creatures better. You like them too?" "I do, reading your book has been life changing for me! You are so dedicated to your passion, it inspires me." "Would you want to work with me?" "Oh, I- That would be my honour," Lilia stumbled over her words. "I am looking for someone to take care of my creatures while I bring a new addition to my family. I am leaving on an expedition in about three months. I expect it will take me two months to be done. So I would need someone in May, just for a month, but if you are curious about them, you might like it." "Yes!"

Theseus chuckled, "You jumped on my brother's offer so quickly, Lilia. I am hurt." "No, please, I apologise Theseus. I've just never really had an opportunity to deal with many magical creatures. I love them!" "You will love this job then. Nice to meet you again, Lilia Rousseau."

Lilia was on cloud nine. Fantastic Beasts and Where You Can Find Them had been her solace when she found it hard to sleep at night when she was in her second and third years (along with countless romance and thriller novels) . She practically jumped in joy while heading back to her friends, who saw her coming and tried to act like they hadn't been watching her interaction with the world-famous magizoologist.

"Lilia, how do you know the Scamander brothers?" Celeste asked her when she sat down. "I went to see Professor Dumbledore once and Theseus happened to be there. But I told him I loved Newt Scamander's work and I met him today. He said I could join him for a month over summer!" Lilia was beaming with joy. Tom's own lips quirked upwards when he saw how genuinely happy she seemed. He hadn't seen a look like that on her. "You love magical creatures?" He asked her, to which she enthusiastically nodded. "I'm a huge fan of his work, it's fascinating how all these creatures exist and we don't really bother with them when they can help out. I mean, magical creatures have been pivotal in some of the duals between Newt and Grindelwald.!"

Her friends were slightly confused when she didn't react to the mention of Grindelwald but they tried not to think much of it. Maybe she was just overenthusiastic at the idea of having met someone she admired. "That's an amazing opportunity, Lilia!" Icarus exclaimed, "Tom and Lilia already have offers. Eva, Cel, we need to work for something too." The two girls grumbled in agreement.

"Lilia, come join me for a dance." It was Septimus, who did not give her a chance to respond before holding her hand and making her get up. She gave her Slytherin friends an apologetic nod and went to the dance floor with the red-haired boy.

"Saw you talking to Newt Scamander," he said as he placed a hand on her waist and she placed hers on his shoulder. "I might have landed myself a small summer job for him." She trailed, lips quirking upwards when Septimus' eyes widened. "Merlin, you did, didn't you? You are an amazing woman, you know that?" He twirled her around while she giggled. Okay, the champagne had not been a good idea.

They danced happily and chatted while laughing. Tom could not keep his eyes off Lilia even though Celeste was talking to him. For once, he thought that she looked relaxed and happy while most times, she looked stressed. It was mesmerising to watch her twirl around, her dress glimmering and attracting eyes on her. "Tom, do you want to dance too?" He turned back to Celeste and nodded. The brunette had a light flush on her cheeks and he found it cute. Did all girls have such low tolerance? They only had champagne.

"Let's go." He got up and held a hand out towards his date. Tom noticed that Celeste's brown hair seemed to be shimmering too, just like Lilia's dress. "Did Lilia enchant your hair too?" The girl smiled at him, "She did. She has a few tricks up her sleeve." For some reason, he couldn't make the link between the girl who had used dark magic to kill him and the girl who knew small fashion spells. It was strange, but Lilia was an intriguing girl anyways.

They also made it to the dance floor. Tom had mastered ballroom dancing since he had gotten lessons at the Malfoy manor two years ago. He had practised with Celeste back then, but he had been paying more attention to how the British pureblood families seemed to know each other. They all maintained good relationships with each other and marriage happened exclusively among these families. Nott and Malfoy were both seeing girls who were not purebloods and he knew for a fact that their families would not approve, but who was he to judge? He had been infatuated with a mudblood himself .

In the meanwhile, Lilia and Septimus were done dancing and they were getting more champagne. She really shouldn't have been drinking so much. She didn't want to think about the state Icarus would be in after mixing firewhisky with champagne. The idea of this mixture made her scrunch her nose in disgust. She sipped on her drink while leaning against the table, her eyes finding Tom and Celeste on the dance floor. They were both tall and attractive, and Lilia felt a dull ache in her chest when she thought about how they would make a good pair. Merlin, she really needed to stop drinking (but she didn't) . What was she doing thinking about another man while her date was right here? Why was that man Tom Riddle, future dark lord, out of all people?

"Lilia." Septimus whispered her name while he stood in front of her. She had not been paying attention to him. She straightened herself, she hadn't realised how tall the redhead was. He leaned in with eyes fluttering shut and her own widened in surprise. He was going to kiss her . "No," she whispered, but he didn't hear her. "No!" Her voice was firmer this time and he stopped midway, his lips inches away from her own before his eyes opened immediately.

Her breathing was shallow, and she was secretly grateful that he hadn't tried to forcefully kiss her. Dolohov had done that, and the only person she had kissed afterwards had been Theo. But that had been a goodbye kiss and in the moment, she hadn't thought of Dolohov. But here, with her mind woozy and an unwanted kiss lingering, she clearly remembered how it felt to be forced upon.

"Fuck, Lilia, I- I'm sorry-" "You're just my friend, Septimus. I don't see you like that." "Right, yes, right. You don't." "I'm sorry." "It's oka-" She didn't let him finish before leaving her glass behind and rushing outside.

She left the room, the music and chatter slowly fading away until all she heard were her hammering heartbeats.