CHAPTER FIVE : POTIONS AND PATROLS WITH MR. GRUMPY

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ELYNA walks beside Ingrid and Charles as they head to their first class, potions with the Gryffindors. The walk to the cold dungeons was filled with Charles rambling on about how try outs were going to start next week. "Ellie, I'm telling you; this third year has potential!" Charles exclaims in excitement. Elyna smiles at her friend's excitement, shaking her head "I do hope it works out for you Charlie, you are going to need it" Elyna winks whilst Ingrid giggles, "Do not forget Charles, you're talking to the enemy here" Ingrid points towards herself and Elyna. Elyna herself was beginning to feel excitement over try outs, hoping to build the team up for this coming season. The trio's conversation was cut short when they reached the dungeons, each going to their respective seats.

Elyna and Ingrid sat together whilst Charles sat behind them with Septimus. Elyna glances up to see Tom sitting with Nicholas in the front of the class. He was speaking with professor Slughorn, a charming smile on his face. Elyna rolls her eyes at the sight and gestures her head towards Riddle, mocking his facade, pulling a laugh out of Charles. Ingrid shakes her head at the shenanigans, fixing her hair before Professor Slughorn begins the class.

"Everyone, Welcome to potions! I hate to do this. but this year we will be having assigned seating, all of you stand up" Professor Slughorn exclaims sending a glance towards Elyna and Tom.

"Ingrid Valentine with Joseph Collins" Professor Slughorn reads off from his piece of parchment oblivious to the shy smile that Joseph sends to Ingrid. "Charles Potter with Billy Prewitt" Charles pumps his fist in the air and does some kind of handshake with Billy as he takes the seat beside the boy. Elyna frowns at her two friends, feeling a bit disappointed that she was nowhere near them.

"Septimus Weasley with Cedrella Black" Septimus face instantly goes red while Cedrella sends him a small inviting smile.

"Nicholas Evans with Penny Parkinson" Evans bangs his head on the table, sending a desperate look towards Riddle who ignores his friend.

"Tom Riddle with Elyna Achard" Elyna could hear some of the girls behind her sigh in disappointment as she moves her things to the front table where Tom sat. Elyna was more than aware of Professor Slughorn looking more than content with himself seeing the two of them together. It made her stomach twist in knots, and not in a good way. She steals a glance beside her to gauge Toms reaction, but he sat tall, focused completely on Slughorn until he caught her gaze. His face scrunched up, "Try not to mess anything up" he sneers.

Elyna glares at the boy, quick with her rebuttal, "Do not forget Riddle, we are tied for first place for a reason. The reason is that I am just as smart if not smarter than you" She sneers back, ignoring the offended look on his face and the audible scoff he lets out. He goes to say something but is interrupted by Professor Slughorn speaking, "The person you are sitting next to will be your new partner for the rest of the year and for the upcoming projects. I know you will all do well in your designated spots" Professor Slughorn sends a knowing glance towards where Tom and Elyna sat, a joyous feeling bubbling up in the old professor. He took joy in seeing his two best students work together.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Elyna mumbles and presses a hand to her head glancing to her side to see Ingrid giving her a look. "Want to switch?" Elyna mouths to Ingrid who looks towards Tom and back towards Elyna mouthing 'no thank you', more than content to be partners with Joseph.

"What are you sighing about? I'm the one who should be sighing!" Tom exclaims quietly from beside her, a disgusted look resting upon his face. He took no joy in being around Elyna no more than she did. Everything she did seemed to annoy Tom to no end, and he had no idea why. It was like looking upon her brought an immediate irritation. Perhaps it was because she challenged him like nobody else. She shared the same mindset as him and was just as competitive as him, never backing down from a fight.

"Thought you were supposed to be charming?" Elyna raises an eyebrow at Tom, truly questioning everybody's stupidity. How could they not see through his fake facade? Tom scoffs, "Not to you Achard. You do not get that privilege" Tom glares before turning around to write down everything Professor Slughorn was saying. Elyna rolls her eyes at his rudeness, deciding to shrug it off and focus on the lesson. Elyna did take to potions rather well; it was like she absorbed everything Professor Slughorn said and delivered it with just as much excellence. It explained her ranking in potions as number one, right beside Tom, who seemed as equally academic as Elyna. It brought irritation to the girl who was quite competitive, pushing her to study more and do better.

Elyna had no idea how potions would go, being paired with Tom, but the two worked together quietly and efficiently. They had gotten everything perfectly done before class ended, proving to Professor Slughorn that his seating arrangements were great. As soon as class had ended and Professor Slughorn had flooded them with compliments, Elyna fled. She was quick to spot her friends, Charles and Ingrid who watched Septimus grow as red as his hair. Ingrid sends Elyna a smirk and gestures her head towards Septimus who was fawning over the compliment Cedrella Black gave him. Septimus turns to Elyna, eyes wide, "She told me she liked my hair!" He exclaims in disbelief causing Elyna to pat the boy on the back, smiling at his excitement.

"You do have nice hair Sep!" Elyna compliments the boy with a wide smile, shaking her head at Ingrid. Septimus grins, "Ah gee thank you ellie " his face reddening even more as he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck

"Well, let's get a move on. We have charms next" Elyna states, dragging Ingrid to the other side of Hogwarts while Charles and Septimus follow behind the two girls. Charles continues to tease Septimus until they reach their new destination.

....

"I just do not understand why she does not fawn over me!" Orion Black complains while staring across the other room where Elyna Achard was laughing around with Ingrid and Charles. She was gorgeous, her eyes shining as bright as the stars-illumnaited with such happiness that it began to fill him with the same filling. Just looking at her, made his body feel warm with giddiness and true butterflies.

"Maybe because you are an idiot" Abraxas smirks at the lovestruck boy, nudging Cyril who shakes his head, "On top of that, my baby sister is far too good for you Black" Cyril glares down at the curly haired boy who frowns. Orion frowns, "I don't think I'm that bad" he mumbles underneath his breath, feeling offended that Cyril thinks that. He would treat Elyna very well, actually scratch that, better than well. He would treat her as if she was Merlin herself but 10x that.

"Besides she is the only girl I think about since I met her when we were children." He quietly states. staring at Elyna who threw her head back in laughter. What was so funny? He wondered what could make her laugh so lovely.

"Maybe she just does not like you" Tom bluntly states from beside Orion who turns to him with furrowed eyebrows. His face lights up as if he had a brilliant idea, "Hey, you're patrolling with Elyna tonight! Won't you do me a favor and tell her how amazing I am" Orion smiles widely while placing a hand on his chest, wiggling his eyebrows at Tom. Tom's face scrunches up, "You want me to lie" Tom y says not even glancing up from his book "— besides I don't particularly like talking to Achard" Tom frowns at the thought of Elyna.

"Why? Because she is just as smart or even smarter than you...?" Orion smirks at Tom who looks up from his book to glare at said boy. The atmosphere immediately changes, what was once uplifting and joking turned into a tense air. Tom stands to his full height, staring Orion directly in the eyes, successfully intimidating Black, " Do not forget who I am Black and what I can do. It would be wise to stay silent from now on forth unless you would like to find out how I deal with nuisances" Tom sneers causing Orion to stiffen at the threat and nod his head at Tom. His eyes were downward, "Yes, I understand my lord" Orion quickly apologizes.

Tom glares down at Orion, face void of any emotion that stirs more fear in Orion, before walking away from the group of boys. He was in desperate need of silence and alone time, quick to escape to his singular room. Once he was out of sight and the group of boys were sure, he would not be able to hear, Abraxas nudges Orion. "Orion, you know how uptight he gets when we question him. We all know what he can do, so next time be more careful" Abraxas warns Orion who frowns, "Yes, I am aware of the dark magic he posesses." He mumbles rubbing his forearm that was engraved with the familiar skull mark. His chest tightens at the feeling of being controlled at any moment.

It stays silent for a moment as they all let the tense atmosphere drop before Orion is reminded of the whole reason the fight happened. The fear in his chest disappears at the image of a familiar blonde, flashing before his eyes. His lips quirk up, "Do you think he will still talk to Elyna about me...?" He asks after a few moments of silence causing Cyril to glare at the boy

"No, you idiot!" followed by a loud smack and a small ow

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ELYNA quickly walks outside of her dorm and down to where Tom stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyebrow scrunch together as he tsked, looking down at his wristwatch before glancing upwards at the sound of rushed footsteps. His gaze falls upon a slightly disheveled Elyna who quickly pats her hair down and rubs her hands down her school robes to pull herself together a bit.

"You are late" he states with a glare before walking out of the portrait with Elyna right behind him, a frown on her face and a slight blush at her lateness. She huffs with her arms crossed over her chest, "I am only five minutes late! I had to help Ingrid with her sleeping hair" Elyna frowns, not liking the attitude from Tom as he walks in front of her, his strides much longer than hers. She has to fast-walk to keep up with him causing irritation to bubble up in the small girl.

" I do not want to know why you are late Achard, because I simply do not care" Tom states from in front of her, glancing around the corridors to see if any students were lurking around past curfew. Eyna just rolls her eyes and instead of rebutting him she stays silent and glances around her to see if any students were out. It was silent the whole time they patrolled until they come across a few Gryffindors out past curfew.

Elyna glances beside her to see a smirk spread across Tom's face, her eyes roll at his obvious joy of seeing their rival house out past curfew. It was sure to debunk a few points from the opposing house. Elyna herself was quite competitive, but she truly did not care for the rivalry against the Gryffindor's unless it was in quidditch. Tom speaks from beside her, almost smug as he deducts points from the house, "50 points from Gryffindor for being out past curfew. What could you possibly be doing out here?" He questions, staring coldly down at the group Gryffindor's who groan at the unfairness presented to them.

Elyna was quick to intervene, seeing the desperation in their eyes as they stare at her instead of Tom, "Ten points from each of you. Now go back to your respective rooms and sleep." Elyna states cooly, ignoring Toms glare for going against him.

Once the group of Gryffindor's were out of sight did Tom grab Elyna's arm glaring down at her, "I said 50 points, why did you change it?! " He frowns, his eyebrows furrowed in anger at the blatant disobedience. He was obviously not used to people speaking against him, yet Elyna did it so easily. It made him angry and irritated that she could him feel such emotions with such ease.

"Firstly, it is only the first week back. Secondly, it was clearly unfair and unjust, we are prefects therefore we should act it. Thirdly because I can, and lastly let go of me and do not ever grab me like that again!" Elyna frowns roughly jerking her arm from his harsh grip and walking away with a huff. She could not believe that anyone would ever believe Tom's fake facade of being such a gentleman and golden boy of the school. He was the rudest and most devious person she has ever met. Her eyebrows furrow at the interaction, confused and angry with the boy who was quick to lose his anger. She quickly finishes patrolling for the night and retires to bed not knowing if Tom was still patrolling or if he had left after yelling at her. She did not really care and quickly fell asleep with a sore arm.

Unbeknownst to her, Tom's thoughts were plagued with her.

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