[victoria's pov]

The following day seemed to be brighter than yesterday. I was more thrilled about the library itself than the job. I hadn't been to a library in ages, and that doesn't include Hogwarts. I only get my books from the kitchen cookbooks and as gifts.

Though it wasn't a date or something of the like, I wanted to dress my best to give a nice first impression to the caretaker, Ms. Cole. I fixed the ruffles on my dress, made sure not a single strand of hair was out of place, and made sure my face was clean. My wand was tucked in a self-sewn pocket on my dress, by my torso.

"I'll be back by supper!" I cried, rushing out of Feathering's Orphanage and on my way to the one across the street.

I shut the door and a ray of sunshine blinded me. I assumed it was a sign that today was going to go well. The Feathering's children were repainting the white picket fence, trimming bushes, flying kites, and some were even eating the grass. But on the other side of the street, only a few children were writing on the sidewalk with chalk.

The moment I crossed the gate to Wool's Orphanage, a woman swung open the door. She looked very professional, her hair in a tight bun, her blouse was stainless, and her black, ankle-length skirt was wrapped around her legs. She wore spectacles that hid the colour of her eyes, but I could still feel her sharp glare.

"Good day, Ms. Cole," I said when I neared her.

She looked questioningly at me as if I had offended her. Hot beads of sweat dripped down my neck. Had I said something wrong?

"I am not the caretaker," she said sharply. "And if you must know," she added. "The library could use some tidying."

Just then, another woman, who I assumed was the actual Ms. Cole, showed up. She had greying, blonde hair and wrinkles under her eyes as if she had spent an eternity without sleep. "Oh, you must be Victoria from across the street."

"You're correct. You must be-"

"Ms. Cole, yes. If you could get started right away, that'd be nice." She and the woman moved over and I entered the orphanage. There was a big entrance and a pair of stairs that led up on the right, and there were no children in sight.

"Where're the children?" I asked.

The health inspector left and Ms. Cole shut the door replying, "Almost everyone's indoors studying for tomorrow's summer school exam or just out and about. The library's empty, as no one ever goes in there during the summer. It could use some serious cleaning before this school year starts."

"Where can I find it?" I asked politely.

"Just down the hall, turn to the right, and you'll see a pair of tall wooden doors. They're unlocked, open freely to anyone, although there aren't many children who prefer to put the library to use."

I nodded and thanked her, then made my way. The ceilings were so tall, that my footsteps echoed loudly. I could hear chatting from down the hall and the kitchens were causing a small racket. It was like a private school. The corridors were much smaller than the rooms. The orphanage was gloomier inside than it was on the outside. Children dressed in bland-coloured uniforms and their skin seemed pale from being inside so much.

Shabby place, I thought. I suddenly felt grateful for being left at Feathering's doorstep.

The corridors to the library seemed to get duller and duller. I was quite amazed by the library view from outside. The window opening on the door showed a very dusty and dim room. My hand reflexively grabbed the door handle. I didn't expect the brass handle to be so cold and the chill through my arm. The door was already slightly opened, I had noticed.

"Hello?" I said quietly, but a loud echo repeated in the shadows. The noise behind me died down as soon as I entered. There was no response. I looked around for a switch of some sort to turn on the lights.

I found a couple of lamps sitting on the centre table as if they would be displayed in an antique shop. They all looked mismatched as if they were from different centuries. But there was a switch I hadn't noticed behind me until now, so I chose to flip that instead. The lights flickered on, one by one and I pulled open every curtain on the ground, making the library much brighter.

I walked up the spiral stairs. The heels of my shoes clicked, echoing in the tall room. It was so beautiful here, but no one ever wanted to see it. What a waste. It was like the budget of this orphanage was broken because of this library. The stairs had dusty rails. Books were scattered on the tables like a moment frozen in time as if everyone had vanished in the middle of a study hall.

After opening every curtain on the second floor, I looked down at the lower floor of the library and got a good view of the entire room. It was fanatical. It was as elegant as a ballroom, but not as large. A small dome in the centre of the library hung paper birds. Shelves stood as tall as two stories, circling the circular room.

Four columns around the room held up the ceiling. A built-in rolling ladder stood alone by the far end of the room. I imagined the library to be the size of two classrooms. The view was so exhilarating, that I'd almost forgotten this was an orphanage.

The other side of the room was still dark but a pale human figure made me jump. Across the room, a corpse was leaning on the table, whilst they sat on a wooden chair; They were put in a sleeping position with their arms resting on the table, their head on top. I immediately ran down the spiral stairs and rushed toward the dead man. There was no way my first job was starting off like this.

Perhaps they weren't dead, and so I thought about checking their pulse. Once I made it over to the dark side of the room, I gently pulled the man's hair so he was sitting up. His eyes opened in shock slowly and my jaw dropped. His eyes turned and glared at me. I released my grip and jumped back in disgust.

"What the devil?" Tom Riddle cried, jolting awake when he realised what was happening. He raised his arms, massaging his scalp from the pain. He squinted his eyes from the bright light in the room. I couldn't blame him for doing so, as he just woke up. He looked like the definition of Dracula.

I didn't know whether to apologise or to run for it whilst I could. He rubbed his forehead and moved down to his nose bridge. His eyes met up to mine and his eyebrows arched low. I didn't know if he recognized me or even remembered me at all from Hogwarts. My hand held onto my other elbow, nervous. I didn't know where to set my eyes. Was I to simply stare at him and pretend nothing had happened? He was probably planning some sort of revenge already, but maybe he was still trying to figure out how to react to this.

"You," he scowled. "You're that mudblood from across the street."

So he did know of me. I scoffed. I may have been an orphan, but I'm sure I was anything but a mudblood.

"And you," I said, unsure how to continue my statement, "speak as if you're from a pure bloodline yourself."

His eyes moved up and down, inspecting me like I was something to present. He stared at me so hard, I swear his eyes were turning red with rage.

"You're a fool," he said, getting up–obviously in pain from the incident. How rude. It was an accident, and he didn't even let me explain how... unalive he looked. It wasn't my fault.

He picked up his books, not bothering to push in the chair he had been sitting in. As he walked towards the exit, I followed him from behind and said, "Well, I was going to apologise, but what's the point of saying so if I don't mean it anymore."

He walked faster than I realised before. "I don't need your pity."

He quickly slipped through the door and disappeared down the hall before I could say anything.

"How ignorant," I mumbled. But then again, what else had I expected from him?

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It took me nearly all day to clean half of the library. The number of times I've been tempted to whip out my wand and use a tidying spell had been toying with me all day. I was famished and exhausted. My dress was now coated with a nasty layer of dust and dirt. I probably smelled just as bad as a ghost (No offence to the Bloody Baron, but death really isn't a pleasant scent.) I hoped I didn't look as bad as I smelled.

"All in a day's work," I said, satisfied with my progress. It was the most productive I've been in a few days.

Leaving Wool's was like being able to breathe again. The sun had set already so it must've been quite late. The street lamps were lit and the quiet night made me feel like I was in a book. Still, I couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. I looked over my shoulder to the highest window of Wool's. I could feel the staring of someone from there. The curtain inside only swayed, no one in sight.

It could've been all in my head, but I guess it didn't mean it wasn't real either.

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Things will get more interesting in the next chapter, trust me...

Your author, riddlefiqs.