Arabella's bed wasn't as warm as she remembered. She tossed and turned and rumpled the green linen sheets as her mind wandered over Tom's words to her down in the common room just hours before. Her, wonderful, curious mind danced tenderly of the memories of the Ravenclaw prefect, all beaten and bloody in the secret hollow. She muffled a sob in the pillow. Was Tom always this awful? I should hope no one was out of their bed tonight for the wrong reasons... Was he always so callous and cruel? ...because, I would just have to punish them, accordingly. Was Jacob Summers in the wrong corridor at the wrong time? Was stunning him then letting the vicious Malfoy at him, Jacob's punishment? Arabella's pillow was growing damp, and she was failing miserably at hiding the sound of her sobs. 

"Arabella?" Jaelyn Marigold turned over in her bed. "Are you alright?" 

Jaelyn was one of Arabella's closest friends at Hogwarts. They had met in their second year during the sorting when Jaelyn's sister was sorted into Gryffindor. The hall had gone silent the very second the Sorting Hat placed the the very Slytherin-based family's youngest child in the house of Godric Gryffindor. Jaelyn was sitting next to Arabella and had let out a barely audible gasp. She watched as her only sister walked over to the house of blood-traitors and mudbloods. Little Caroline Marigold was gone. Arabella had wrapped her skinny arms around the trembling twelve-year-old Jaelyn and comforted her and in that moment, both girls became inseparable. 

Now, in the dark dorm, Arabella needed Jaelyn's arms and warmth to shield her from the darkness that was Tom. "No," Arabella said softly and a few moments later, she heard sheets being thrown away and feet padding along the ground. A warm body snuggled close to Arabella and pulled covers over both bodies. 

Jaelyn's face lay close to Arabella's and she watched the troubled girl struggle to close her eyes. "What happened, Bella?" Jaelyn whispered. 

"Tom Riddle," Arabella replied softly and nothing more was needed to be said. Jaelyn had been at the receiving end of Tom's words not long ago and knew what it felt like. Knew how Tom's words cut like knives, stinging and painful. Jaelyn's eyes softened, her heart ached for her best friend. Arabella sighed and felt Jaelyn wrap her arms around her torso. Warmth errupted from where their skin touched. Silence ensued once again in the girls dormitory and then it was peaceful. 

Deep in the dungeons, water dripped from the ceilings and onto concrete floors, a steady drip, drip, drip sending two best friends off to sleep, wrapped in each other's arms. 

September Fifteenth, 1943

Arabella woke first the next morning and was greeted by Jaelyn's beautiful sleeping state. Mouth slightly ajar, eyes scrunched closed and hair messier than a hippogriff's feathers. Most of the other four-poster beds in the dorm were empty, most people having gone up to the Great Hall for breakfast. She shook Jaelyn lightly. "Jaelyn, wake up! Time to go to breakfast." 

Jaelyn rolled over, groaning. "I'm too tired. Go without me, Bella." she said and snuggled deeper into the mattress. Arabella sighed and gripped a fistful of the sheets. Yanking, emerald linen sheets went flying, leaving Jaelyn exposed to the chill that lurked in the dungeons. "Bella!" Jaleyn shrieked, tumbling off the bed in a panicked attempted to hide her (mightily embarrassing) pyjamas. She hid the ground with a heavy thud and then there was silence. Silence, until the giggling began. Her head appeared behind the other side of Arabella's bed, rosy cheeks and a wide smile. 

Arabella loved those moments. The ones where her sides ached and the only sound was the chimes of laughter. Sometimes, when she was alone, Arabella found herself watching the Gryffindor students during meal times and although she hated herself for it, Arabella found her heart aching as she watched them smile and laugh together. Gryffindor students always seemed to be happy, they all always seemed to be laughing with each other. There was a small voice in the back of her mind that whispered- maybe Gryffindor would have been a better house you you. Maybe the Sorting Hat made a mistake when it put you in Slytherin. 

But then Arabella remembered the determination and cunningness that she always felt when taking on a particularly hard task from Professor Dumbledore or the hatred she felt towards those students who had abandoned their families and their traditions- the blood traitors. 

No, Arabella Caerwyn was a Slytherin through and through. Those moments that she loved, they were rare but when they came, it just made them even more pleasurable. 

"Ok, Bella," Jaelyn said, buttoning up her blouse, "you win. Let's go eat now, all that laughing made me hungry!" 

The Great Hall was buzzing with morning life. Students adorned in reds, blues, yellows and greens littered the tables, reading Daily Prophets and opening mail from family and friends. The soft cooing of owls hummed in the air. Jaelyn dragged Arabella to an empty spot in the middle table, in-between two Ravenclaws and a couple of Hufflepuffs. The blonde dished a heap of scrambled eggs onto her plate and some toast then did the same to Arabella's plate. 

"Thanks, Jae," Arabella said, spooning a forkful into her mouth. "So, who do you have for charms now that Professor Carpenter is leaving?"

The current Hogwarts Charms professor had been transferred to Saint Mungos earlier that week with an awful case of the Jelly-legs Jinx. Some awful student had hit her with it in class and nothing anyone could do would fix it. 

"I'm not sure," Jaelyn said through mouthfuls of toast. She shrugged her shoulders, "I think Professor Dippit said something about a Flitwick but I can't remember very much." Jaelyn glanced at Arabella with a glint in her eye. She grinned. "It was the night we all got wasted on Firewhiskey. Heather brought some back from Scotland where she went for her family vacation." 

Arabella grinned, remembering the hazy, colourful burning memories of that eventful night. "I remember. Lucky witch." 

Jaelyn nodded, "that Scottish Firewhiskey was brilliant." 

"It sure was. I was out of it in five minutes." Arabella laughed then turned to her friend, serious. "Anyway, what I really need to know is if you know anything about the painting at the dead end of the DADA corridor?"

Jaelyn let her fork drop on her plate and wiped her hands on a paper towel, peering at Arabella quizzically. "Why?" 

Arabella shrugged, glancing down the table. She spotted Tom Riddle, sitting at the end of the bench. He was next to Malfoy and Goyle who were deep in conversation but his stare was on her. Shivers ran up Arabella's spine and she quickly turned her head, cheeks burning, the memory of his sparkling green eyes stuck in her mind.  Jaelyn snapped her fingers in front of Arabella's eyes impatiently. "Hello? Were you listening?" 

Arabella glanced down the table once again but Tom was resting his chin on his palm, facing the two idiots that were his friends. She shook her head, her dark hair falling in front of her eyes. "Sorry, Jae, I zoned out. Could you say that again?" 

Jaelyn rolled her blue eyes but there was a smile tugging at the edges of her lips so Arabella knew she was't really mad. "I said, that painting is super old. Like, there are rumors that it was painted even before Hogwarts was founded." 

"Wow." 

"Yeah. Oh, and the old guy in the painting, he's never moved. Always sleeping, always with his eyes closed." 

Arabella cocked her head, thinking. "Ok, so the man in the painting never moves. Cool. What about the box behind him? What's in it?" 

Jaelyn swung her legs over the bench, pushing her empty plate away from her. "Jeez, I don't know, Arabella. Why don't you ask Professor Dumbledore or something?" Jaelyn pulled her long blonde locks into a high ponytail and secured it using her wand. She glanced down, now standing up. "I'll see you in Potions." 

Arabella rested her head in her palms gloomily. So far, the painting seemed to be a mystery to everybody, not just Tom Riddle. She knew that if she pushed herself enough, she would find something useful but Arabella just didn't know if it was worth it. What if it was just some old painting that Tom wanted by his bed because he liked it? What if she was completely overthinking things? Arabella felt the air shift behind her. "Go away Jaelyn, I'm not in the mood."

They sat down next to her. "Well that's not very nice, is it?" 

Arabella froze, recognising the smooth voice. Tom Riddle. Tom leaned close. "Why are you interested in the painting, Arabella?" 

Her name sounded so beautiful coming out of his mouth with his smooth, deep voice that she almost didn't realise that he shouldn't know she was investigating the painting too. She noticed other curious students turning their heads to watch her and Tom, always wary of him. "What painting?" she asked, playing dumb. Se shrugged. "If you're talking about the one in Dippit's study then I don't know what you're talking about. Who wants a picture of that freakish screaming thing hanging somewhere civil?" 

Tingles spread all over her neck when Tom reached out and hooked his fingers under her chin. He forcefully pulled her head around to the side so she was looking at him. His cheekbones tensed and he frowned, not letting her go. "Now doesn't this seem familiar," Arabella gritted out, the memory of him doing the exact same thing last night coming to mind. 

Tom smiled, his teeth perfect and white. "Yes, I thought this felt weird." He dug his nails into the flesh underneath her chin painfully. "Now, unless you want this to be a regular occasion," Tom leant in close, his breath smelt of fresh mints. "I suggest you tell me why you were looking at that painting last night." 

Narrowing her eyes, Arabella wrenched her head away and swung her legs over the side of the bench and stood up. She glared at the older boy, touching her chin tenderly, wincing when she made contact. "That is none of your business, Tom. Stay out of my business." 

As she made to walk away, Tom grabbed her hand and pulled her close. Stumbling, Arabella fell forward into Tom, who stood up suddenly, meeting her halfway, catching her in his arms. Up close, Arabella saw that Tom's eyes weren't just green but speckled with gold. She blinked hard, remembering who she was almost touching noses with and tried to pull away but Tom placed his hand on the back of her neck and kept her head in place, his hand surprisingly warm on her skin. Both breathing heavily, Tom's eyes roamed over her face, taking in every feature. Then he opened his mouth. "No one tells me what to do."

Then he let go and Arabella stumbled back, cheeks burning red. She glanced around the hall and noticed that the table had gone silent, watching her encounter with the nefarious Tom Riddle. Holding her head high, she walked quickly out of the Great Hall, rubbing her wrist unconsciously. 

No, she knew what she had to do know. That painting was special and Arabella wanted to find out why. She also wanted to know how Tom had known she was looking into the painting, no one else knew she was even vaguely interested but Jaelyn. Something was up with Tom Riddle and she was going to find out what. 

Arabella remembered the smell of his breath and feeling of his skin on hers and wondered if maybe, just maybe, his actions weren't as spiteful and bad as everyone thought.

Her heart beat at a fast pace, still slowing from her encounter with the handsome boy and a little part of her hoped that maybe Tom Riddle was just misunderstood. 

Chapter Two! I'm so excited for this story to get flowing! Who's liking the spark between Tom and Arabella?