Rose & The Riddle || Tom Riddle Story

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Apparition & Abraxas

The month of April flew by in a haze. Rose was simply going through the motions, not truly living, merely existing. The Apparition Exam took place on the 5th of May in Hogsmeade. Rose and Isabel woke up early that Saturday morning and headed down to the village along with other sixth and seventh years who were of age.

Rose noticed Abraxas Malfoy a small distance ahead of her in the crowd of students as they hastily walked across the Hogwarts' grounds. The morning atop the Astronomy Tower from a few weeks ago flickered back into her mind. She recognized the back of Tom Riddle's head walking next to him, yet a few slight paces ahead of him.

Isabel must have noticed Rose watching them, as she nudged her shoulder which pulled her from her thoughts.

"What?" she quipped.

"I see you staring at Riddle," she smirked. "I told you he was signed up to take the exam too."

"I wonder why he waited so long," pondered Rose. "Probably because he wanted to show me up, once again."

"Or perhaps he just wanted to spend more time with you," suggested Isabel.

"Yeah right," scoffed Rose. "If he wanted to spend time with me then all he has to do is ask. I haven't even seen much of him lately."

"I'm sure he's been busy studying for his N.E.W.T.s," said Isabel.

Rose did not respond. She knew Tom Riddle was not wasting his time studying for exams he did not even care to take, which reminded her about his desire to take over for Professor Merrythought next year. She made a mental note to ask him about it, perhaps after the examination was over.

The students were gathered in a large field right outside of the Hogsmeade Village. There were four Ministry officials waiting for them. Rose recognized Demelza Burgess as the testing administrator.

"Please line up according to House," instructed Demelza. "Slytherins with me, Hufflepuff with Mr. Podmore, Ravenclaw please go with Miss Jones and Gryffindors with Mr. Boggs."

The students shuffled into the appropriate lines, and Rose lined up behind Isabel. Much to her dismay, Tom Riddle settled into the line right behind her. Now she was suddenly feeling very anxious. Tom picked up on it quite easily.

"Why so nervous, Davies?" he cooed. "I seem to recall a few months ago you informed me that you were an expert in Apparition. You should have nothing to worry about."

Rose's cheeks flushed red, but she remained with her back to Tom.

"I'm not worried," she denied. "Just... nervous is all."

"Why?"

Because you're going to be watching me. That's why.

"Well the possibility of getting splinched certainly weighs a little heavy on my mind."

"Just keep calm and focused," he said plainly. "Don't let doubt overcome you. You're stronger than that."

"She knows," interjected Isabel, spinning around. She picked up on Rose's discomfort as well. "She's going to do just fine."

Tom smirked as he eyed Isabel.

"I agree," he said sweetly. Rose knew it was all for show. There was malice behind his tone. He did not appreciate being spoken to out of turn by his followers, and that's all Isabel was to him. A loyal follower.

Rose waited impatiently, as each Slytherin student, one by one stepped forward for their examination. She did not dare look behind her. She did not want to see Tom's smug expression as she quaked with anticipation.