"The Serpent's Teeth"
(A Tom Riddle love story)

3rd September 1944
Tuesday

I wake up tired the next morning.

I walk sleepily into the adjoining bathroom, where I get ready for yet another day.

The whole castle still seems to be sleeping peacefully.

It seems to pick up one last deep breath before the school day animates the transitions and the peace and tranquility that currently prevails in the castle.

I walk through the cold corridors and enjoy the solitude and the silence.

Yesterday's day has overwhelmed me with impressions.

The new teachers, new classmates, the different era and especially Riddle ...

I hate to be unable to figure someone out.

I don't know how I should approach him... How to awaken his interest...

He gives me a headache.

If it wasn't so important to befriend him, I would leave him be,but no!

He is the reason why I'm here and he's living up to his name.

Riddle describes him better than any other word could do it.

Sighing, I let myself fall on a window sill and get my Charms and Ancient Runes documents out.

I'll have both subjects for the first time today and definitely want to make a good impression and impress the teachers.

There is also the hope that Riddle will notice me if he sees me as competition.

After all, he is undefeated school Best and as Harry described it to me he is arrogant and ambitious.

Competition is certainly a problem with which he will deal.

If all goes the way I imagine it, I can then make the suggestion that we learn together.

Somehow I will have to get to him!

But he is also determined and cunning!

If I didn't know how good he is and everything that he's already achieved up until now, I would almost say that he has found someone evenly matched in me, but that would be presumptuous and I'd be over estimating my potential in the highest degree.

With another deep sigh, I open my documents and start repeating.

The Charms and Ravenclaw Headteacher Ian Crook scurries across the class room from student to student and critically appraises the magic performed during the entire lesson.

We repeat the Rictusembra curse, at least for me it is a repetition, and Professor Crook freed Tracey from my curse imposed on her after five minutes of indignant laughter.

"Very good, Miss Hayes! Five points to Gryffindor. In your presence one must feel quite wary of sudden fits of laughter, I presume?" He winks at me kindly.

"Not at all, Professor. I avoid it as much as possible to use spells against classmates or teachers."

I reply, laughing.

"If you say so," he laughs and goes on to observe James as he uses the spell on Bailee.

"Rictusembra!" Tracey says loudly and hits me in the middle of the chest.

Giggling, I go to my knees and try to suppress my laughter.

I have the feeling of being tickled all over.

Uproariously laughing I let myself fall to the ground and can't hold back the tears that run along my face.

"Mercy, Tracey! Mercy," I say half crying, half laughing.

"Say pretty please," Tracey grins diabolically.

"Oh pretty please! I beg you, " I giggle and curl up on the floor just to feel myself being freed from the curse the next moment.

Grinning, she looks amused at me.

"Now that you know how that feels, I hope that next time you won't let me suffer for so long."

"I promise," I gasp and keep holding my stomach for air.

Merlin, I haven't laughed so hearty for nearly a year.

Alone I'm on my way to Ancient Runes.

Bailee, James, Tracey, Sasha, Casey and Jacklyn have Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Sabre Boyd.

There isn't even one Gryffindor student In front of the classroom.

Only a Ravenclaw who seems to be in a heated conversation with a Hufflepuff.

A few steps away theres Tom Riddle with Mulciber, Dolohov, Malfoy and Rookwood.

All turn their heads to me as I timidly walk closer.

The many eyes have an intimidating effect on me

The faces of the two girls appear open and friendly, the Hufflepuff girl appears a little shy and the Ravenclaw girl seems a little more confident.

They eyes of the Slytherins tell a whole different story.

Malfoy and Riddle seem to be having a competition to see who has the most emotionless gaze and Riddle is clearly winning.

In Malfoy's stare there's still a trace of arrogance.

Rookwood's look is pretty lewd, as well as that of Mulciber... Disgusted I look in another direction.

I hope the two stay away from me, or I will be having a crisis and a whole lot of panic attacks...

And that isn't something I can use at the moment.

If I had not already heard about what these young men were able to do, I would certainly make fun of them, but right now having them look at me is just making me wary and uncomfortable.

One is more brutal and dangerous than the other. An icy shiver runs down my spine.

How am I going to get close to Riddle if he has these guys as his wall of resistance around him almost constantly?

Why didn't Snape warn me who his friends were?

They're a bunch of feared Death Eaters who have spent time in Azkaban!

Just when I want to lean against the wall, professor Westbrook opens the door to the classroom and we enter the bright room behind the old teacher.

The two girls smiled kindly at me as I enter the room and am headed to the front of the first row ready to sit down by myself as a last resort.

Between them they made some space for me to sit.

"Sit down with us!" The girl from Ravenclaw demands with a friendly smile.

With a grateful smile, I put down my bag and sit down between the two.

"I'm Annabelle Cheverell, Anna or Bell for short a Ravenclaw. So you are the new Gryffindor everybody's been talking about? "

"People are talking about me?" I shy back and lower my head.

Having people talking about me is not good, standing out is not good!

The less I get noticed, the easier it is to not get in trouble.

"Yes, you are Hazel Hayes, am I right?"

Again I nod shyly.

"The girl on the other side of you is Dorothea Bloodwell, Doro for short."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance,"

I smile at the girl.

She has brown eyes and straight brown hair.

She's a typical wallflower, the typical Hufflepuff.

Unfortunately we don't have more time to talk, because Professor Westbrook starts the class and we need to fully concentrate on our translations.

After class, I rush to my friends in the Great Hall for lunch, where shortly after us girls devote ourselves once again to the task of baking a cakes the right way.

I am clearly not on Professor Philips good Students list... And the woman is a terribly irritable!

With her screeching voice that would make any Hippogriff shy.

However, Tracey and I have managed to prepare the cake properly this time, but unfortunately the dough is burned inside the oven, which we only notice as swollen clouds of smoke starte to come out of said oven.

Professor Phillips has deducted ten house points from us because of it.

In my opinion, that was unfair.

I mean, it isn't our fault that we don't know when the dough is ready and needs to be taken out!

However, I didn't complain.

People are already gossiping about me because I'm new, I don't need to add to their gossiping list that I am an incompetent cook, who behaves rebellious towards teachers.

In this time, witches and wizards are not considered as equal, they have different values and I don't want to stand out because of strange behavior.

Once again I walk silently beside my friends towards Transfiguration class.

Professor Dumbledore is already waiting for us and immediately starts with the lesson as soon as the door closes, even before all of the students have settled into their places.

"This is incredible! It's only the second day of school and I already have the feeling of drowning in homework now," Tracey groans loudly.

Secretly, I have to agree with her, however, I prefer to leave it to Bailee, who agrees just as loudly earning the two of them some annoyed looks from fellow students.

I sit down immediately wanting to finish my homework before the others.

Also, I've decided to write a diary of my time here.

But so that you feel like you're reading a book...not just about the problems of an eighteen-year-old teenage girl.

Maybe that helps me to structure my experiences and I'll be able to read back into past events and see if I notice anything strange.

The Ancient Runes homework reminds me strangely of Luna and a conversation that we had a few years ago.

She claimed that one must read the words from right to left to get behind their true meaning.

Although I didn't believe it, I still gave it a try.

The result was so funny and confusing that I've decided to be friends with Luna, she is now one of my closest friends and her quirky and crazy way has made us become really close.

The next time that I look up the sun is already going down and almost everyone around us has left the library.

Exhausted, I pack up my things and say goodbye to the others.

Before dinner I want to write today's events down before I forget something that could be of importance in the end.

"How do you like it here so far?" Casey asks me at dinner.

I quickly swallow down my piece of potato.

"Very good. The castle is incredibly beautiful and mysterious, and the teachers are not bad either.

Home Economics just isn't my thing, " I reply with a cheeky grin.

Casey and Jacklyn begin to snicker....well they still remember this afternoons class after all...

"Well, someday you'll get the hang of it. I can even lend you my old school books, so you can catch up." Says Casey grinning at me.

I gladly accept her offer.

It's embarrassing not to be able to even prepare a bit of dough...

"Let's go up and sit in front of the fireplace before we go to sleep, okay?" Says James.

We all agree with him and talk late into the night about various things.