The Girl in Blue

"Enervate."

Aurora gasped and her eyes shot open. She jolted up.

"It's alright, Miss Jenkins!" exclaimed Professor Longhorn.

"Wh--what--" She looked around vigorously and she saw Headmaster Dippet, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn crowded around the bed next to hers.

"What happened?!" Aurora exclaimed, causing every adult in the room to turn their head and look at her.

When she peered over at the bed, she saw a girl lying motionless. She didn't look Petrified at all, in fact, she looked dead.

"Miss Jenkins, you were found Stunned by the Slytherin common room just before Myrtle was found." Dippet said.

Aurora held her head where she felt the bruise form from when she hit the ground and she shook her head, "I'm sorry, Headmaster, I have no idea what happened." She looked at Myrtle again and she whispered, "Is she--is she dead?"

"Mr. Riddle found you, Miss Jenkins." Slughorn said, pointing to Tom Riddle, who was staring at her by the window. His expression was completely blank and his hands were entwined together.

Aurora looked away from his hard eyes and repeated her question, "Is she dead?"

Dumbledore nodded, sadly, "I'm afraid that she has passed away tonight."

Her stomach dropped, but Aurora dared not to look at Tom again. If she did, she would probably have whipped her wand out and hexed him so badly to be permanent.

"On a brighter note," Slughorn said, quietly. "The mandrakes are ready to revive the Petrified students."

"We must get on that." Longhorn said.

"The Heads have to tell the students of their Houses what has occurred tonight." Dippet said.

The four adults turned away and just before Dumbledore reached the door, he turned around and said, "Tom, you should go back to the Slytherin common room."

Tom nodded his head slowly. Dumbledore closed the door and Aurora let the tears fall. They were silent, and she hoped that Tom wouldn't see them, but he had.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, standing up and sitting down on a stool beside her bed.

Aurora didn't answer him. She just cried harder. Tom stared at her, an expression that she couldn't decipher was etched on his face.

"I wrote to you." She said, finally, regaining her composure. Silent tears didn't stop, though.

"What?" Tom asked, confused.

"Every single day until I was eight years old and I had decided that you didn't care about me anymore." She nodded. "I told my mum that she had to send the letters to the orphanage so that you could get them."

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked, still confused.

Aurora shrugged. "You were the only friend I ever had, Tom. I thought we were like--like a team, or something."

They were silent for a second. Tom had no idea what to say, but Aurora knew--she just didn't want to explode on him.

"You killed her, Tom." Aurora whispered. "You took a life from a human being. Why would you do something like that?"

Tom didn't say anything. He stared at her. He reached his hand out but Aurora instantly drew back. Tom took his hand back and stood up.

He looked back at her, but didn't say anything. He walked out the oak doors of the hospital wing and left Aurora, with tears streaming down her face.

She laid down in her bed and turned away from Myrtle, the dead girl.

~

Tom reached the Slytherin common room and when he opened it he was instantly bombarded by Nott, Avery and Lestrange.

Nott grinned, slyly. "Slughorn just told everyone what happened. You did it, mate."

"Shhh." He hissed, looking around to see if anyone were in earshot, but it had seemed that everyone had gone to bed except for them.

"Did your alibi work?" Lestrange whispered.

Tom nodded his head. "It worked."

"Now, nobody can suspect you!" Nott exclaimed, but Tom gave him a cold look to quiet down and he immediately shut up.

Avery grinned like Nott and said, "See? I told you Jenkins was of use."

"Yes, except that now we can't use her for anything else." Tom sounded disappointed. "She was furious at me because she bloody knew that it was me."

"But why won't she say anything to Dippet or somebody?" Nott asked.

Avery replied for Tom, "Because she's in love with him." He shrugged. Tom shot him a look but the boys nodded as they thought it over.

"I don't think that is true." Tom mumbled, but none of the other boys heard him. He leaned against the wall and he let his mind wander.

"Aurora is the perfect alibi." Lestrange said, suddenly. "I mean, she is in great standing with Slughorn and Dumbledore and Dippet, too, probably. Her parents are incredibly well known Auror's at the Ministry. If you are associated with her, Tom, then no one could suspect you!"

Nott and Avery turned their excited face to Tom and they exclaimed, "Yes!"

"Mate, think about it," Avery explained. "Aurora is the good girl. She would never do anything like--well, us--but if Dumbledore sees you with her all the time, then he would just assume that she's rubbing off on you."

Tom sighed and he walked towards the boys' staircase.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Lestrange asked, calling after him. The three boys looked at each other in confusion. They thought it was a great plan.

Tom shook his head. "No."

~

Aurora was released from the hospital wing the next morning, and was sent straight to breakfast.

She ignored Remington who waved at her from the Gryffindor table, and she ignored James who yelled out her name. She wait straight for the Slytherin table and sat down at the edge by herself, ignoring anyone who spoke to her.

Someone sat down next to her as she took little bites of her toast and muttered, "Your friends are worried about you."

Aurora looked up and her eyes locked with Tom's dark ones. She turned away and focused her attention back at the toast.

"I'm sorry, Aurora." He whispered. "I didn't mean to...do anything." Lies. Aurora didn't say anything, she just ignored him.

"Will you forgive me?" Tom asked. Aurora shook her head and she turned to look at him. "If you can somehow bring Myrtle back to life, then I will forgive you."

"That's impossible." He scoffed.

"Then it is impossible for me to forgive you." She stood up, throwing her unfinished toast onto her plate and she walked off.

She waved to Remington and James so that they wouldn't follow her back. They waved and smiled back at her.

Before she reached the Slytherin common room, Aurora felt her wrist being grabbed and she was suddenly pulled into someone.

"I got one of your letters." Tom whispered holding Aurora against him. "Just one. Mrs. Cole didn't give me any but she did when she remembered it was your birthday."

Aurora's heart pounded so loudly against her chest she hoped that Tom couldn't hear it. They were so close to each other.

Tom leaned in and before Aurora could register anything, they were kissing in the shadows of the Hogwarts dungeons. It felt like explosions were going off inside of her and every process of her body was malfunctioning.

"No!" She exclaimed, pushing him away. "You killed someone."

Tom's eyes turned dark and he shook his head. "I never killed anyone, Aurora. I will find who did it and you will apologize to me." He was angry but Aurora kept her stance.

"You don't deserve an apology." She spat, turning around. Tom stood behind her, but he didn't follow her. He let her go.

Aurora turned around, just before she reached the entrance to the common room, and she shot Tom a cold look and said,

"I feel so silly that I sent you so many letters. I wish we never even met, Tom."