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Tweak says, "My cat was right about you!"

Tom Marvolo Riddle (riddleman) wrote in beyondthepages,
@ 2010-05-23 00:37:00

Entry tags:

!complete, 2023 10, lily luna potter, tom riddle

RP: Home, Sweet Home
Characters: Tom Riddle and Lily Luna
Time/Date: 22 October 2023
Location: Common commons, Hogwarts
Warnings/Rating: PG
Summary: Tom mingles with his new fellow students.
Status: Complete

Tom settled himself at one of the small round tables in what he'd been told was called the common commons and pulled out one of the books he'd been assigned to read in order to catch up with eighty years of magical education. The room was empty for the moment but he hoped that wouldn't last. He was intrigued to see what the students were like now and whether any of them would be of any use to him.

He'd been brought back to Hogwarts only a couple of hours ago and settled into the Sixth Year dorm in Slytherin. None of his fellow dorm mates had been there but the empty bed that was to be his was obvious enough. He sorted himself out there and then decided to come here instead of staying in the Slytherin common room. He might as well make a statement, especially after days of dealing with the Ministry.

Not that that hadn't had its moments of interest. He'd gotten more than a few hints of what he'd done when he'd gotten older and he was secretly both delighted and annoyed - delighted that he'd nearly achieved his aims, annoyed that he'd been denied by a boy. He'd vowed to find a few history books and find out where he'd made his mistake. He didn't like admitting that he could make mistakes but he also wasn't a fool. He could learn and he would learn.

Other than those hints, the whole after had been tedious. He'd been forced to play the baffled innocent school boy as he as questioned. He'd even managed to affect surprise and horror at what he had done, going so far as he ask frantic questions as to what had happened to make him into such a... monster. The expressions on the faces of the Wizengamot members had been priceless. A few of the more gullible had even had a tear or two in their eyes at his horror. The less gullible eyed him with suspicion.

He hadn't been able to sit in on their deliberations but he had been informed of the end result. It was both good... and bad. The good was being permitted to return to Hogwarts. The chance of him being shipped off to Azkaban had been high after all. Hogwarts was a definite improvement and he was delighted by the opportunities he now had. The bad however was bad. Dumbledore was to be given some sort of official title and he knew it was because of him. No doubt he would be summoned by the man sometime over the weekend. Worse still, Dumbledore had returned from a few years after he had come back from. He knew about Fifth Year and he suspected Tom was responsible. It was not going to be easy to evade Dumbledore's watchful eye but he knew he could do it. Hadn't he done it many times right here in this school?

Tom pushed those thoughts aside for now. He could brood over Dumbledore later. For now, he wanted to establish his public persona once again. The good boy, the bright student, the goody-goody prefect (though he was no longer a prefect now). After all, he was the young innocent boy who could be redeemed. Maybe he should play at being amenable to being redeemed? It would be tedious but it might also provide its entertaining moments.

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riddleman
2010-05-23 11:08 am UTC (link)

"It's been mentioned," Tom said dryly. And he was definitely going to have to read those history books... and then affected the appropriate horror and shock to cover what he was sure was going to be delight. At least he hoped so. No doubt there would be things to make him angry as well. "Many times by many people. It does make me wonder what I did after I left school to end up that way. I can't imagine whatever it was is something I'll be able to repeat even if I wanted to."

He chuckled and rested his folded arms on his book. "Think how I feel. It's isn't history to me at all. It's so strange to go from rationing and bombings in London and so on to complete peace. I suspect I'm going to find mealtimes a bit odd. Meals were... nutritious but a bit lean with the war and rationing. The house elves did an amazing job of keeping us all properly fed."

He sighed again. "I'd imagine you're right. I can wait. Just from what I've read today, I'm going to be rather busy catching up."

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the_lily_luna
2010-05-23 11:22 am UTC (link)

Lily thought about pointing out that her dad could probably tell him in pretty decent detail what had gone on, but she didn't really want to venture down that path. "Well, that's the important bit, right? That you don't want to. It's a different time than the one you lived in and ..." she shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to turn into a killer, then you won't." Because, of course, it was that simple.

She almost pointed out it was hardly complete peace, since Fenrir was around and had done some bad things (presumably, if people were correct in blaming the village massacre on him). That there'd always been rogue werewolves and vampires and just plain old regular criminals to keep the Aurors and the hits occupied. But she understood what he meant; compared to life back then, this was a picnic.

Regarding him curiously, she wondered how much he knew or had already been told, what he'd read. She didn't think that was a first meeting conversation though, so she didn't press that front. "Well, there'll probably be plenty of people to hit up if you have questions or whatever. Lots of the Ravenclaws tutor."

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riddleman
2010-05-23 10:26 pm UTC (link)

Tom snatched hold of the opportunity that had been offered with aplomb. He threw up his hands in a well-feigned display of mixed exasperation and relief. "Finally! Someone whom I can agree with. Someone who actually pays attention and doesn't go running off on whatever preconceived notion that they've come up with in their own mind that bears no resemblance to reality. I tried to tell them that the whole idea that I'd repeat the past was preposterous but it's as though they think that every word that comes out of my mouth is a lie."

He snorted with amusement. "Which is going to make things rather difficult if they persist. What if I tell them I'm going to the lavatory? Will they instead be thinking I'm off cooking up some dastardly act? It will be rather embarrassing for all concerned if they burst in on me expecting to find me up to something evil and find out that I'm simply doing what I said... going to the lav."

He'd have to find out how true her words were about gaining help. He somehow imagined it might not be as easy as she stated but as long as he continued to play the good boy, he'd eventually make the naysayers and doubters look like conspiracy theorists. He could be patient. It was galling but he could do it.

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the_lily_luna
2010-05-23 10:38 pm UTC (link)

Lily was a bit amused, because wasn't that more or less what her mother had pounded into her? That every word he spoke was a lie? "I can understand, I suppose, why they'd think that, but everyone's having a second chance and why does it have to be the same as the first time 'round? My grandparents aren't together anymore, so that path's right out. They're not going to go about making an uncle for me or anything, so obviously the past isn't going to be a complete repeat of what it was before.

"They say people can learn from their mistakes, and there's no reason you can't too. You did bad things, but there's nothing to say you have to do bad things again this time. You could be a good person if you wanted to." Whether or not he wanted to was the issue. Every story she'd ever heard had indicated he had no desire to be anything other than what he'd become. Well, except for the part where he'd been dead and he'd wanted to be not-dead.

Still, she thought everyone was going a little overboard with the warnings. Caution, sure, but they were acting ... well, she didn't really have words for how everyone was acting.

"It'll probably just take a lot of time," she said to Tom. "For them to trust you, you know? I guess you did a pretty good job of fooling them before so it'd take a lot to ... convince them otherwise." She really thought about offering to be his friend, but maybe she'd wait on that.

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riddleman
2010-05-24 03:37 am UTC (link)

"And there are none of the influences around that there were last time," Tom said then affected a thoughtful look. "I think I may know where I went wrong... or at least part of it." He drummed his fingers on the table. "The purist element was... very strong back then. The Muggle war was having more effect than people had thought when it started. We were forced into rationing just as everyone else was. Some things were utterly unattainable even for the richest of pureblood families."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I am sure you can imagine what families such as the Blacks and Malfoys and Burkes had to say about such privation, even more so because it had been caused by Muggles. Before Grindelwald started his attacks on England they could... speak their minds and the worst that would happen is that they would be censured by Professor Dumbledore or given a detention by Professor Beery or so on. Once Grindelwald started his attacks, they could not speak their complaints at all lest they be labeled a Grindelwald supporter."

He looked rather cynical. "Of course, most of them shared his views on Muggles and the Muggleborn but to say so publicly was considered treason." He sighed. "And here was I, caught in the middle. As a prefect I had to set the example. I did agree with them a great deal privately but only because it was the most effective way to shut them up and give us all a little peace in the common room."

He frowned and propped his chin on his head again. "I wonder if I was attempting some sort of... I don't know, coup or something against the highest ranking families." He snorted and looked faintly amused. "I would say that I would very much like to speak to my older self and find out what was motivating him but I suspect it would not go down well."

He sighed and an expression of wry and patient amusement settled on his face. "I can be patient. And if I may be just a little petty for a moment, watching them end up with egg on their faces when I fail to manifest these evil tendencies they talk about so stridently will be somewhat entertaining."

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the_lily_luna
2010-05-24 03:58 am UTC (link)

Lily listened, an uncharacteristically thoughtful expression on her face. She wasn't stupid, shallow, or vapid, but she rarely considered the larger scope of things, or the long-term effects.

While she knew better than to blindly believe everything he said, she imagined there were at least grains of truth sprinkled in to hold the story together under scrutiny.

"It's a lot to consider," she admitted. "Even when we hear about wars and stuff in History, you never really consider what it's like to live through them. The mundane effects that the books don't really touch on. I guess we all kind of take things for granted these days. I mean, the worst I've had to go through is not getting the newest broom the second it comes out because I racked up too many detentions that term." She smirked and shrugged kind of sheepishly.

When he went on about not being evil, she regarded him curiously. Was this one of his clever lies, leading her on, or did he mean it? She wasn't adept enough to read, but if he'd fooled people older and wiser than herself ... what sort of chance did she have of sorting out the truths from the pretty words meant to disarm and push aside her worries.

If she was being perfectly honest with herself, she really did have grand, vague, not really formed ideas of being the one to help him prove them all wrong. To be the one who changed his mind, changed his ways, got through to him when no one else could. To make him a good person for his second chance. But Lily supposed if she was also being honest about the odds of that, she really didn't stand much of a chance. She wasn't anything special, really.

"So what do you want to do when you're done with school then? Career-wise, I mean. Assuming you can do anything at all you wanted, what field would you pick?"

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riddleman
2010-05-24 04:13 am UTC (link)

Tom chuckled. "Well, history books tend to be more concerned with the bigger picture and the grand events than the fact that rationing meant meals weren't as big and they often consisted of the same thing day in, day out, that people lost weight because of that, that people had to mend clothes they might once have thrown out and replaced or that people made clothes out of old sheets and curtains. All the little things that are insignificant in the grand scale but tend to grind people down and irritate them and make them wish it could just be all over and everything would go back to normal and they could have their comfortable life back."

It was almost amusing talking like this. It reminded of some evenings in the Slug Club, especially early in the school year when old Sluggy had recruited some new students and he was doing his best to charm them into submission. He'd always prided himself on his way with words though it was more of a triumph when he turned an adult to his side than a fellow student.

"I hadn't really thought about it," he said honestly enough. "Wit the war on and no end in sight, I'd always anticipated that I'd have to serve in the British Armed Magical Forces in some capacity before I went on to anything else. I was always content to leave the bigger decisions until the time came. Wait and see what opportunities were open in the aftermath of the war." He paused thoughtfully. "As for what I'd like to do ideally. I don't know. I'm good at a number of fields but... maybe something with cursebreaking? Gringotts allows you to travel which would be wonderful."

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the_lily_luna
2010-05-24 04:30 am UTC (link)

"Right. And I'm not the sort who digs history enough to go prying through the fine print or looking for war time journals or anything like that." Not that she minded history, but it was one of those things that was just there. Also something she'd drop as quickly as she conceivably could.

It was interesting to think about though, and she'd set it aside to ponder it some time when she was feeling more like deep thoughts. Without the map, she supposed she'd have a bit more time to think rather than ... find mischief.

"I don't know what I want to do yet, either. My dad thinks I should definitely do something that has lots of interaction with people. Think it'd be kind of neat to be the one who gets to go around to all the Muggle families who have Muggleborn witches and the like and be the one to tell them about the magic world. My gran was Muggleborn," she added. "But I wouldn't mind doing something with Quidditch. Professionally. My oldest brother's on a team, so if I did that it'd kind of make me feel like I was copying him. My mum was on the Harpies for a bit, too. But there're loads of things to do out there, and things I probably don't even know about yet, and it isn't as though we have to decide right now, right?"

Lily grinned. "But I should probably let you get on with your studying. I'm kind of a chatterbox. My dad's always saying that once I get started it's about impossible to shut me up 'til I run out of energy. Suppose he's right." She shrugged again. "So I try not to expose people to me for long periods of time so I don't scare them away. I even avoided the Beauxbatons students in our commons for the first couple of days to try to break them into the idea of me before they actually met me."

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riddleman
2010-05-24 04:58 am UTC (link)

"It would certainly be an interesting job though I hope you'd manage a little better than Professor Dumbledore did," Tom said with a laugh that covered the surge of irritation and anger that still came whenever he thought of that day. "Oh, he handled the explanations just fine, in fact he was quite impressive, but he hadn't quite gotten the hang of what was appropriate for Muggle clothing."

He smiled at Lily and decided that this meeting had been very interesting and possibly quite productive. It had been worth the waste of his time as she seemed quite friendly by the end. No doubt other would get in her ear after this and he'd have to undo some of their meddling but it was a good start.

"I quite enjoyed talking with you," he said, pulling out his best charming smile again and adding a tiny flirtatious edge to it. "It was nice to talk to someone who wasn't flinging accusations at me or looking like they were about to run screaming from my very presence."

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the_lily_luna
2010-05-24 05:09 am UTC (link)

"Oh, I've got a Muggleborn cousin from my dad's side. She'd keep me up to date on Muggle fashion," Lily assured him with a grin as she stood up and gathered her things.

She didn't miss the smile, and she flushed a little, ducking her head. Maybe she was just imagining it, but ... well, he was an attractive, charming boy.

Who ... had killed her grandparents and hundreds of other people. The two images simply couldn't fit together in her head, and Lily exhaled softly. "Well, I figure enough other people are going to be doing that, so you should have at least one person you can count on not to be acting like that, right?" She shrugged her shoulders a little before turning toward the door.

"It was nice meeting you," she said before she opened the door and ducked out. She wasn't completely sure if that was habit or if she'd actually meant it. But it had been like she thought - he wasn't some vicious monster, waving his wand about and trying to kill her. Not that she'd expected that, and everyone had insisted he was subtle and charming and all that.

But maybe he was sorry, too. Maybe there was hope for him. She didn't think it was fair to judge this him on the him that had grown up in different, darker times. She was determined to at least try to bring some people around to her point of view.

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