Life and Limb

It was the night of the Halloween dance at last, and Marie was getting ready with Nicolette in the girls’ bathroom of the Slytherin dormitory. They were already dressed and ready to go (Nicolette wore a dark red gown that accentuated her pale skin) and were just now finishing their final makeup touches. Marie was fairly convinced that Nicolette had used some sort of Engorgement Charm on her lips, because the girl’s lips looked plumper and fuller than usual, but she wasn’t about to say anything. To each her own.

“Who are you taking to the dance again? That Hagrid oaf?” Nicolette asked for the fourth time that evening as she applied dark red eyeshadow.

Marie resisted the urge to roll her eyes skyward. “Yes, I’m taking Hagrid. And you’re going with Jeremy, aren’t you? Finally asked him out?”

Nicolette flipped a piece of black hair away from her face as she grabbed her wand to apply a quick coat of mascara. “Actually, he asked me. I was surprised. I thought he’d ask someone else...” Here Nicolette shot a look at Marie, who didn’t notice, too wrapped up in fixing her hair. “I’ve never seen you with your hair up, Marie.”

The blonde girl blushed furiously as she placed a pin in her hair. “I just started doing it, actually.” She didn’t offer anything further. Why go into details? Tom hadn’t said a word to her since their shared kiss in Gladrags which had been three days prior, but Marie had decided to wear her hair up more often. Tom’s subliminal message had gotten through to her head.

“Well, it looks pretty. Best pile it high up though, then you won’t look too short next to the half-giant.”

Marie chose to ignore Nicolette’s comment, much as she ignored the other rude remarks that the other Slytherin students made. She wasn’t about to back out of being Hagrid’s Halloween date just because everyone around her was full of old prejudices and ancient beliefs. That was just something everyone else would have to –

There was a knock on the half-shut door of the bathroom.

“Marie? Is there a Marie Fugazi in there?” A scrawny third-year girl pushed open the door and poked her head in.

Marie turned, having finished putting her hair up in a low bun, and smiled at the girl. “Yes?”

“Tom Riddle’s waiting for you in the common room. He wants to talk to you.”



Marie descended the stairs from the girls’ dormitory slowly, taking the time not to trip over the cool, smooth stone slabs in her heels. She held tight onto the rail until she reached the bottom and looked around the common room. It was empty. The fireplace was still crackling (as it always did; Marie suspected it was some sort of eternal flame) but there was nobody there. Instead of wasting her standing there and looking like a fool, Marie turned to go back up the stairs and help Nicolette with her outfit.

“Marie. Wait.”

His voice sent shivers down her spine and she immediately froze on the staircase, one foot on the step above, heart pounding wildly in her chest. This was their first meeting since the incident in Gladrags and she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the anxiety and nervousness that threatened to choke her.

Marie turned, and there he was. He wore plain black dress robes paired with a white button-up and a classy-looking black bowtie. His hair, however, was untouched and still as unkempt as usual, falling every which way and giving him a more tousled look than touched-up. Pinned to his lapel, standing out inexorably from his colorless clothes, was a dark green rose. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, as though waiting for her to approach him.

“You look fantastic,” he said simply. “I like what you’ve done with your hair.”

“What do you want?” Marie blurted.

Tom looked taken aback. “Beg your pardon?”

“You’ve been ignoring me for days. You’ve barely even looked at me. And now you think you can just show up here and tell me I look fantastic? You want something, Riddle. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want something.”

“You’re right. I do want something.”

There was a pause as Marie expected him to continue, but he didn’t.

“Well, what is it then?” Marie pressed.

Tom swallowed hard and Marie could see his Adam’s apple bob a little as he spoke: “I want to escort you to the Great Hall.”

This wasn’t what Marie had been expecting, and so who could blame her for the chest spasm that occurred, the little jump of her heart, the sudden cold sweat that broke through her skin? After days of ignoring her presence, how was she to expect that Tom would ask to escort her to the dance, especially when she already had a date?

Tom stood there, waiting patiently for her response, watching the way her eyes widened a bit when he popped the question. He couldn’t help but glance over her once, at least once, as she stood on the staircase contemplating her answer. He looked at the way a few loose strands of her blonde hair framed the sides of her face gently, at the way she bit her bottom lip nervously, at the way she stood with one hip slightly tilted outwards as she stood casually on the staircase, at the way her back was ramrod straight with poise and confidence. She may have started out in Gryffindor, but tonight she carried herself with all the air and aplomb of a Slytherin. He couldn’t help but wonder if that had anything to do with his influence on her, or if maybe this was a side of her that had always been hidden and was just starting to emerge?

Either way, for the first time, Tom Marvolo Riddle was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of a girl. Lord knew there were plenty of girls that came after him, giggling and batting their eyelashes, and he enjoyed the attention as much as any airheaded teenage boy would. But there was something about the way Marie was completely unaware of how she affected those around her – including Tom – that was oddly endearing and enticing to him, of how oblivious she was to the way she seemed to light the room with some kind of ethereal fire whenever she walked in. Hadn’t she felt his heart beating wildly against his chest when they had kissed in Gladrags? Hadn’t she felt the spark that pierced the space between their lips?

And yet, in the back of his mind, something was stopping Tom from going any further into his thoughts. This was nothing. This wasn’t love. Tom almost gagged at the very word. This was just some sort of obsession, a kind of lust for something he couldn’t have. He had always been a greedy boy, even at a young age. Seeing that half-breed oaf with something he wanted for himself was just igniting that old flame again. That was all. Nothing more.

For a split second, Tom wanted nothing more than to cross the room and go to her, to run his fingers through her blonde hair, to feel her skin smooth against his, to inhale her lilac scent. But that other part of his mind told him to do so would be foolish and stupid. So he just stood there, trying to ignore the dual battle between his rational mind and that beating, emotional thing in his chest.

Marie’s voice seemed to reach him through a thick layer of water; she sounded distorted and far away. Still, despite all of this, he could still make out the “Yes” that escaped her lips, and he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

His chest rejoiced and his head howled.



At first, Tom thought that walking arm in arm with Marie through the halls of Hogwarts would feel a lot like dragging a trophy around with him – silent, cold, and distantly beautiful – but that wasn’t the case. Marie seemed to lighten up and talked animatedly with him as he led her up the stairs out of the dungeon and then joined the stream of students going towards the Great Hall for the dance. Overhead, real bats flew up against the ceiling and the Hogwarts ghosts were floating around, mingling with the students.

Marie’s grip on his arm tightened as they walked into the Great Hall.

“Oh,” she gasped.

The candles overhead were tinted orange and the ceiling itself was a black midnight sky. Pumpkins floated underneath the candles and a few black cats were weaving their way between the legs of the professors sitting at the staff table. In front of the staff table was a low makeshift stage where a skeleton band was already playing creepy music to give the atmosphere its final touch of Halloween scare.

“The Hall looks amazing,” Marie breathed into Tom’s ear as she unknowingly began to lead him forward towards the band.

Tom only nodded in agreement. He was quietly surveying the students around him, searching for the hulking figure of Rubeus Hagrid, but couldn’t see him. Maybe he would be late. Tom could only hope.

It was then that Victoria, Marie’s old Gryffindor friend, approached the couple. Victoria’s hand was intertwined with that of a tall and dark-haired Ravenclaw and she wore a pale red dress with silver trimming.

“Marie!” Victoria called out. “You look lovely!”

Victoria didn’t sound too sincere and Tom narrowed his eyes at the girl. Marie, however, didn’t seem to notice.

“Thanks, Vic. You look great, too.”

Victoria waved off the compliment. “I have a message from Rubeus.” Way to cut right to the chase there, Ronan, Tom couldn’t help but snap inwardly. “He says he’ll be running a little late tonight. He had some last minute thing to take care of. I think he said something about Care of Magical Creatures.”

“Oh.” Marie didn’t sound too disappointed, and Tom had to resist the urge to stick his tongue out at Victoria. “That’s all right. Tom will keep me company, won’t you?”

The look in her eyes, the pleading not to be rejected in front of her friend was so overwhelming Tom could almost feel himself melting to his core.

“Of course I will,” he said, meaning every word. “I’ll stay with you until Hagrid returns so you’re not alone.” Calling the oaf by name felt like his tongue was burning.

Marie smiled up at him gratefully and turned back to Victoria. “Thanks for telling me, though. We should...we should hang out soon. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“You’re welcome!” Victoria ignored the last part of Marie’s statement and dragged her Ravenclaw date to the other side of the room where her sister Siobhan stood with Charlie, the Hufflepuff boy who shared their train compartment on the way here.

“A bit rude, isn’t she?” Tom couldn’t help but ask hotly.

“She just doesn’t know how to take this,” Marie excused her friend.

“How to take what? A calm breather?”

Marie chuckled. “No. She’s still a little...on the fence about my Slytherin membership.”

“Membership?” Tom quirked an eyebrow. “Are we a private club now? I don’t remember paying a fee to get in.”

Marie put both hands on his shoulders, pushed him lightly and laughed. Tom smiled and gently grabbed her wrists, holding them to his chest absentmindedly.

“You promised me a dance, remember?” he asked her.

Marie looked over her shoulder at the skeleton band, who had just struck up what sounded like a hearty rock dance number. She turned back to Tom and grinned widely.

“Sounds like a good time to pay what I promised you,” she joked before pulling on his hand and leading him towards the stage.

Tom suddenly found himself wishing that Hagrid never showed his face at this dance.