The Head Boy
The Hogwarts Express arrived promptly at Hogsmeade Station, Edith made a lucky escape and slipped away to Tobias and Bonnie, there they travelled together, by boat across the bleak lake towards the towering castle of Hogwarts. A wave of Students hurried into the grand entrance hall, each house escorted by their respective prefects.
"Slytherins this way! Follow me to the Great Hall."
"Gryffindors, line up here to get sorted!"
"Uhm, sir, if we're in Gryffindor we are already sorted?"
~
Edith, Bonnie and Tobias were amongst the final entourage of students to fill the Great Hall, The four long oak tables filled up shortly, and the three friends, as usual, found themselves last to the prize. The Slytherin table had reached its capacity.
"Bollocks, we're going to have to split up." Bonnie sighed, rightfully so, being an openly muggle-born Slytherin, her housemates did not take kindly to her.
"Noo, they won't take me from you babes!" Tobias moaned dramatically.
"It's fine, the feast won't take too long, and we can meet after." Edith said diplomatically.
Tobias and Bonnie squeezed awkwardly onto the bench beside some younger years, smiling insincerely.
"Edith! There's a seat right here on my lap, surely this time you'll accept my offer?"
She did not have to turn around and look to guess who the voice belonged to. "Darius, I swear if you don't lea-" before she could finish her sentence a rough grasp enclosed around her wrist and waist, pulling her body onto his lap. In moments she found herself nose to nose with the dark-eyed Slytherin. Darius advanced a cold hand up her leg, he reached the hem of her skirt and Edith's arm-hair stood up on end and a shiver transcended through her spine. Edith shoved herself away from her captor and fell neatly into a gap beside him.
Edith only wondered where Tom was, as she sulked in his absence, if he were here, maybe Darius wouldn't dare to be so bold.
"That's right, sit next to me, so the rest of these boys know who you belong to, good girl." Darius wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him than she thought was already possible.
"Ahem." Headmaster Dippet commanded the hall into silence. "And that concludes this year's sorting ceremony, now a word from our Head Boy, Tom Riddle."
"Thank you Professor" Riddle graciously shook Dippets hand, smiling courteously. He took to the rostrum, cleared his throat and lifted his head to face the audience, his eyes momentarily locking with Edith's.
For a moment, Edith thought he had glanced at her... she shook off the idea.
"It's an honour to stand here as your Head Boy, representing the incredible history, talent and prowess of our school. I'd like to welcome all of our fresh new arrivals to this brilliant institution, particularly the ones who have just became members of Slytherin house." He smirked.
The Slytherin table erupted into applause while the other houses simply murmured amongst themselves.
"Right on Riddle!" Darius whispered. "I've seen some promising fresh meat already, if you know what I mean boys." he snickered, eyeing up a group of female first years, nudging Avery with his elbow.
Edith grimaced with disgust, trying with every cell in her body not to retch all over herself. "Don't be such a creep Darius, aren't they like.. eleven, you're legally an adult! Even if you act like a child..." she whispered.
"Even better, they are more submissive at that age, aghhh if only I'd caught you earlier Edith!" Darius pinched her cheek and the rest of the boys chuckled. "Now shushhh." He placed his finger upon her lips.
"I can tell this year will be truly memorable. For Hogwarts is not just a school, it is a stage, in which we all have a role to play, I can only remind you to choose yours wisely, because at Hogwarts, strength rules and loyalty thrives. Thank you." Riddle bowed his head as the students offered their applause.
"Let the feast begin!" Dippet proclaimed.
A banquet of tender meats, roasted vegetables and various delicacies appeared in front of Edith, by this point in the evening she was starving. She reached out her hand to serve herself the mouth watering goods, but it scarcely reached the tongs when Darius' hand grabbed her wrist and smacked it away from the food.
"Calm down sweetheart, you don't need all that, if your waistline gets any larger, you'll be big enough to play beater on the team." Darius whispered in her ear.
"How dare you speak to me like that!" Edith scoffed and finally got her potatoes, the peace was soon interrupted.
"Ah. I see you've given up my seat to Miss Sinclair, Lestrange, thanks for saving me one..." Edith jumped at the sound and sight of Tom Riddle. Riddle retracted his long pale hand from the table side and swiftly turned his back.
"Tom! Merlin, mate can you not sneak up on me like that. Edith just really wanted to sit with her guy, you can't blame me. Mulciber, move." Darius chewed a chicken leg obnoxiously.
"Don't trouble yourself, I have matters that need attending to." Riddle strode off, his long dark cloak trailing behind him.
The candlelight display suspended gracefully from the vaulted ceiling of the Great Hall resembled a dark constellation filled sky, Edith's eyes glistened as the light reflected off of her piercing orbs, which followed the head boy down all the way to the grandiose doors.
The feast of kings had gone and was replaced with sugary cakes, treacle tarts and scoops of scoops of ice cream.
Long muscular arms groped their way across the table, no regard for Edith's space. Well, every arm except Darius' which was still groping Edith's thigh. This ordeal would have been much easier if she could have just sat with her friends, Edith sulked to herself, as the boys howls reverberated through her ears.
"Mate move, I want some profiteroles!"
"What? Where's the trifle."
"Can you pass the cream?"
"Hey Edith, you can have some of my cream." Darius howled.
"Shut up, you're disgusting." As she scoffed, a feminine squeal emerged from behind her.
"Leave my girlfriend alone or you'll get it, big balls!" Tobias said with a sassy click.
"Tobias, I can handle Darius on my own." She felt her face beginning to flush. Tobias had begun to scold Darius like a girlfriend yells at her man for not putting the toilet seat down. Riddle's gang howled even louder. Edith had had enough for one night, she would rather be anywhere but here. She took a generous sip from her chalice trying to block out the jeering. Maybe she could slip out while nobody was looking.
"Oh babes, you have got it all wrong. Never, EVER! DISRESPECT MY GIRLS!" Tobias twirls, throwing it back.
Edith continued to guzzle her beverage, the drink was sour and not at all pleasant.
"You're an embarrassment to the house of Slytherin, you f*ggot, why don't you and Hagrid go back to kissing in your broom cupboard, Selwyn!" Darius shrieked, causing the others to roar with laughter.
"I'M IM MY RIGHT MIND TO COME AND SLAP YOUR PRETTY BOY FACE!"
"Tobias.. leave it. He's just trying to get at you." Edith slurred her words.
The entire Slytherin table shrieked with laughter, not only was the whole hall was watching, but Edith was sure she spotted a few professors from the teachers table hooked from the corner of her eye. Her head pounded vigorously. What was in that drink?
Edith could not be at the table with Tobias a moment longer. Ignoring the calls from him and snide remarks from others. She slipped away and rushed out the doors of the great hall. She ran through the vacant hallways. The pain blinded her. Thrusting her body weight into a small cranny. Chest heaving. She was dizzy, so dizzy.
Saliva filled her cheeks. She couldn't throw up, not right outside the great hall. She did not need anymore embarrassment for the night. Edith garnered all of her strength to carry herself to the nearest bathroom.
She hardly reached the basin of the toilet when she felt not only her breakfast and dinner, but her soul pouring into the toilet bowl. Did those darn house elves not cook the chicken throughly? Edith let her heavy eyes drift slowly into darkness, the weight of her body falling against the latrine.
~
Edith drifted in and out of consciousness, her eyelids opened momentarily and she had found herself being suspended through the dreary Hogwarts halls.
She drifted once again into reality, and felt the pulsation of another's heartbeat against her head, somebody was carrying her.
Edith was not comforted however, the carriers body was cold and bony, heartbeat intense, stride threatening, their hold unnerving.
"Where am I going?" Edith mumbled. "Augh, I feel terrible." She groaned.
Her vision was blurred, as her eyes attempted to adhere back to consciousness. She adjusted her focus on her carriers face, their features a blurred line between her dreams and reality.
She drifted asleep once again.
~
"Yes Matron, I found her unconscious outside the Great Hall, it seems my house mate thought she could sneak a quick drink at dinner and slip back out to the dormitories. A shame really, she should be well aware that bringing alcohol into Hogwarts is prohibited."
"Ahh there's always one isn't there Mr Riddle, thank you for reporting this to me, hopefully little harm has been done. Although it seems she took more than just fire-whisky, a blackout like this is I deduce to Solaris or perhaps Psilocybin's..."
"Oh dear ma'am that is rather strong....shocking for a fifth year...."
"Yes indeed Mr Riddle, something like this is not only grounds for expulsion, but.. well.. this will need to be reported to the Ministry of Magic! We should alert Headmaster Dippet at once. And send an owl to her parents!"
"I see..."
"The trouble makers awake! Explain yourself at once girl!"
Edith awoke flushed, in a cold sweat atop the hard hospital wing mattress, she had once been familiar with them after an outbreak of Spattergroit caused her to fall ill in her second year.
She was met with the faces of the school nurse, and none other than Tom Riddle.
"I just fell ill last night at the dinner, I went to the toilet and was sick, I wasn't doing drugs! I swear!" Edith choked out.
"You lying delinquent! Mr Riddle says he found you outside the main hall!" The school nurse snarled. "I've examined your regurgitation, and with your state, it would be very foolish to lie, particularly to the headmaster who I'm sure will be here momentarily!"
"But I was in the girls toilets, I was sick! I promise! Somebody moved me! I was carried out!"
"Look at the bile she's coming out with ma'am. She's either still under the effects of her psychedelic's, or an awful liar." Riddle argued, moving closer towards the bed, examining Edith with his piercing gaze.
"Well we shall carry out the drug test, Miss Sinclair, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law! No excuses even for young ladies such as yourself!" The nurse spat. "And we will have to fully search the dorms for anymore substances, unless you can inform us of remaining perpetrators." The nurse moved closer to Edith's bedside and raised her up.
Edith spotted Riddle, at the end of her bed, rummaging through the pockets of her school robes.
"Hey-" Edith stopped, as Riddle glared at her, he mouthed a 'shush', with a long finger placed upon his lips.
He withdrew Edith's wand from her robes, which lay on a wooden chair at the end of the bed. Riddle raised it up as he approached the school nurse from behind.
"Obliviate..." he muttered.
"Riddle! What did you just do!"
"Saved you from expulsion."
The nurses unconscious body lay on the stone floor. Riddle stepped over her and extended his arm out to Edith.
"Well, get up then." He whispered.
Edith faffled about with the bed sheets and adjusted her skirt, tripping over the body of the nurse as she emerged from her bed.
"Stop acting so helpless." Riddle scoffed, he strode on ahead.
"I wasn't trying to, and I didn't need your help, I knew I was innocent."
The boy stopped in his tracks, "You silly little girl, you should be grateful I saved you, look at the mess you nearly caused, they were going to search the dormitories!" He hissed.
"The mess I caused? I've not been doing drugs I just got food poisoning or something, besides if you're such a good student, then a dorm search should bring you no troubles!"
"Hah, you really think it was food poisoning, foolish girl, did you not think the dreams you were having were at all out of the ordinary?"
"Huh, how did you know I was dreaming?" Edith scowled.
"It was obvious wasn't it, you were in a drug-induced state, hallucinating, I watched it all from the toi- the corridor." Riddle sneered.
"But I didn't take any drugs!"
"Not that you know of. Perhaps one of those boys you're so fond of hanging out with slipped one in your drink, you do come across as highly oblivious." Riddle turned around, continuing on out the hospital wing, cautiously scanning the corridors. Edith followed behind, perhaps Darius did lace her drink at the feast.
"Stop following me little girl, it looks suspicious." He moved so close that there faces were only inches away. "Do not speak a word of this to anyone, do you understand?"
Edith nodded and retracted away from her, vanishing down the dark halls of Hogwarts.
~~~~~~~~~~~