The Head Boy's Secretary

Chapter Three: A Secret in the Restricted Section


Alice didn’t know where in the library to go. Eventually she opted out on waiting cross-legged in a chair, sitting up straight and alert. She clutched her schoolbag and continuously searched the room for the Head Boy.

“Is there anything I can help with you dear?” said the librarian.

“No, ma’am. I’m just waiting for somebody…”

The Librarian hardly registered this inane piece of news. It sounded like any other student on any other day. She went along and left Alice to herself, lost and alone.

Alice continued to wait. She had scarped her dinner down all for this. It was possible, even likely that Tom Riddle along with the rest of Hogwarts was still eating.

But then it came to a time that Alice was sure dinner must have ended. A nagging thought surfaced in her mind that he had lied to her. Maybe he wasn’t going to show. But that was hard to believe of such a boy.

At the sight of her, Riddle’s face abruptly turned to a smile. Alice felt at ease, she wasn’t going to lose her bearings.

“Good evening…I thought you wanted us to meet earlier?” she managed pleasantly. She was very confident with him.

“I regret that I hadn’t come sooner, Alice. Please except my apology. I had other affairs. But of course normally, you’ll find me to be….quite punctual.” Riddle felt a bit strange, being so open with her. Yet there was no way she’d be learning what he had been up to.

“Okay,” said Alice, her trust in him fully restored.

Alice walked with Riddle all the way around until they came to foreboding heavy doors.

“I don’t think I’m allowed in there,” she wavered.

Riddle answered immediately, in a stout, strong voice, “You are when you’re with the Head Boy.” He felt a tenacious desire to have her start today.

So Alice followed him inside. The Restricted Section was a lot bigger than she’d ever expected. Alice found herself turning her head everywhere, trying to read titles off the spines.

“The Headmaster has allowed me a special, private office. It would be very kind and considerate of you not to tell anyone this.”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t disobey Professor Dippet,” said Alice. And she meant it. She wouldn’t be telling.

At this moment, Riddle had had his back turned to Alice. His lips were curling, gloating to himself about how easy it was to lie to this naïve little girl. Meanwhile, Alice was marveling over how odd it was to find the Restricted Section deserted.

“Come on…”

Riddle took her to a corner in the back. There was a padlock that resembled a crude cross. The cross was upside down, muggles would call this a Satanic symbol. But Alice didn't know that. A single doornail was driven into the cross, set against the plain stone wall. “Where does this lead to?”

“No worries, Miss Alice. You see these are the cloisters. In the medieval era, students were allotted them to study in….Mind you there was substantially less students back then.”

That made sense. And Tom Riddle was actually telling the truth. But what was most vicious of all was the fact that Riddle was mixing so many truths with his lies.

Riddle touched the padlock smoothly with the back of his hand. Suddenly a doorknocker appeared above the lock. Alice found herself in shocking surprise at the apparent ease Tom Riddle could use magic. Well, on second thought she had heard he was talented. But Alice had no idea that this was a secret passage, that it was one of Hogwart’s many secrets, and neither did she know that he had access to all of them.

Riddle tapped the knocker against the wall and before Alice could register what had happened, she saw Riddle had disappeared. Alice’s gray eyes grew round, and she went forward to do the same.

Riddle waited for her to follow and all too soon she arrived in a tiny, narrow corridor. Several labyrithine chambers jutted off in several directions. An entire section of Hogwarts that nobody had ever seen! Riddle took her to the end of the corridor to the largest dwelling of all the convent-like rooms. It had a solid black granite door.

There was a flash of green light and the door opened. Alice followed inside.

“What a cozy place to study,” she remarked.

Riddle nodded absently. But then seemed to suddenly change his attitude. “Feel at liberty to put yourself at ease. I want you to be comfortable here, Alice.”

Alice did not know what to do with herself. She just stood there on the threshold taking it all in. It was an austere environment despite the amount of things the room held. Alice wasn’t sure she could get comfortable. Straight ahead of her was piles of books, a whole stack of large volumes on Riddle’s desk. Then she saw an old-fashioned lantern and many other surprising things. There were so many peculiar objects and she didn’t quite know what to make of them.

Riddle rose from his desk, and hurried over to her, quick to get her acclimated. He was also doing an excellent job of acting unusually kind. Lightly he put his hand on her back; Alice could feel his warmth.

He led her with his arm around her shoulders to another desk. This one was much smaller than his, and was slanted, a kind of lectern. There was already a book with a feathered quill and inkwell attached to it. “I’ll show you the ropes…”

So Tom Riddle told Alice all about the jobs he wanted her to do. Alice found him to be very engaging and caring.

Soon enough Tom Riddle was able to go back to his work at his desk. Occasionally he would glance at her and she never once saw him looking. He pondered her in these brief moments, appraising what made her tick. He wanted to know just in case it was useful in future. And he was glad to observe her working diligently. He suddenly noticed that she looked a little older than her fourteen years. Her hair was wrapped tight in a bun and she wore wiry spectacles framing her face. She looked very industrious and it was exactly what he wanted her to be. He felt the first day had gone well. There was no need to do anything else with the girl. She was doing exactly what he said.

The next day Tom Riddle was very surprised by Alice’s behaviour. She had came to the Restricted Section just as he’d told her, but she’d completely changed her appearance. Instead of the bun in her hair, she was wearing her hair in two braids. And yet Tom at first didn’t even notice this. It wasn’t until later that he picked up on the strange incongruency in her beahavior.

Knowing the way through the Restricted Section, she almost boldly entered in at four o’clock, right after classes, and a couple of hours before dinner. “Good afternoon,” she said.

Riddle barely looked up, too intent upon his studies. Besides he’d already showed her what to do, and suspected that was all there was going to be to this. “Good afternoon,” he added stiffly. “Your work is laid out for you on the desk.” He expected her to retreat to the corner where the prefect duties were outlined for her to make the necessary revisions he’d taught her.

“Thanks for setting it up for me, Tom. And look, I brought you strawberry jam!”

And now Riddle looked up, and stared at her fully. She was holding a little jar of red liquid. He was surprised, but his face immediately relaxed into a cheery smile for her. Alice’s innocent face blushed, not with lust but simple liking for the boy, a kind of friendship she hoped to kindle.

“Why thank-you, Alice,” he finally said.

Alice went on, “You know where I got the jam from? We have preserves at home. I live in the country when I’m not at Hogwarts…Do you like to go outside in the summer? I love summer; especially looking at clouds while I’m lying in the grass. How about you?”

Quickly he answered; inwardly praying she’d end the mindless prattle. “I’m a city boy actually. I’m afraid I only prefer the fog and dreariness of London.” He did not want to make a conversation with her. Why couldn’t the stupid girl get on with it and shut-up?

“Oh…” Alice sounded slightly disappointed.

Tom decided suddenly to switch tactics. He’d be the charmer. At least for a while he would play this part. So he told her, “But I do find jam a tasty substitute for butter. Later when I have my spot of tea, I’ll enjoy it.”

The girl smiled at him and practically skipped over to her seat. Tom was more than happy to see she went to work. And later he made sure to tell her that the jam was delicious, which made Alice very happy.


*


“Hey, Kiddo,” said Riddle in the most casual voice.

“Tom…” she said coyly. In the last three days Alice had been Secretary for the Head Boy she’d never heard him call her that. But she liked it. “Hey, if you can call me Kiddo…can I call you Daddy-o?”

Riddle leaned closer and peered intently into Alice’s gray eyes. He was a bit intrigued. Why did the girl want to call him this? Sure, it was a popular nickname these days. But even so. “Yeah. Why not?”

Tom Riddle didn't know but it may have been Alice's subconscious yearning to have a father in her life.

“Hey, Daddy-o! I finished everything for the prefects. Can I call it a day early? I have a lot of homework tonight, please?”

Riddle put down his quill and let some of his usual authority come back, the authentic personality and not the false image he projected, the one he knew Alice wanted. “Let me see, Kiddo…Bring it to me.”

Alice rose from where she’d been scribbling away at the Arithmancy figures, and brought the papers with her, handing them proudly to Riddle.

With one glance at it, he instantly put it down with a sudden air of impatience. “Already I see three errors.”

Alice pouted, but did not whine or protest. Riddle was feeling particularly generous today, so decided he’d let it slide. Alice was lucky she hadn’t caught him on a bad day. “I can fix this myself. You run along now. And make sure you do all your homework, Alice. I’d like to see that tomorrow as well.”

“Sure, Tom,” she answered sweetly. Alice felt wonderful inside that somebody was paying so much attention to her that they were interested in her grades!

Alice bounded forward to grab her schoolbooks waiting on the floor beside her lectern. She picked up her schoolbag and swung it over her shoulder, and realized there was almost nothing inside them. It felt as light as a feather.

Alarmed, Alice’s eyes glazed over the floor. Her books were nowhere in sight. Finally, she noticed Riddle smiling slyly at her. “Tom did you take my books?”

He chuckled good-naturedly. “Why Alice I’m only playing an innocent prank. Isn’t it funny? Let’s see if you can’t find them.”

Alice went over to Riddle at his desk and opened the drawers. But they weren’t there either. Alice looked around the room again, and suddenly saw them. She bolted across the room, and then out of nowhere they disappeared from sight.

Alice whipped around, turning towards Riddle, trying her best to be furious. “Come on! What are you playing at! What? I don’t believe it!” She exclaimed this once she finally spied Riddle’s wand poking out of the folds of his robes. He’d been making the books vanish and reappear in different spots all along!

Finally, Riddle let her put her books in her bag. “You think you’re clever don’t you Tom?” she scolded half-heartedly. But overwhelmed by the silliness of the situation, Alice burst into fits of laughter. Riddle was quick to overcome the humour; he slid back in his seat and watched the back of her go, his hands folded over his desk. Once she left at his early dismissal he picked up his quill and hastily went on with scribbling his works, glad to be alone for a change. It was what he preferred afterall.


*


“Do you ever stop sulking and and moping about Edwards?”

Alice turned her head eagerly to look a little further down her house table. It was breakfast in the Great Hall. Alice saw Anthony Edwards sitting alone, sipping at his porridge languidly. There were tears in his eyes, tears that refused to fall.

Alice continued to eavesdrop on the conversation even though she knew it was supposed to be none of her business. “You used to be the best at our Transfiguration homework….And now-Why I don’t understand what’s happened to your mind!” complained another boy.

Anthony Edwards, the morose Ravenclaw shrugged. “I don’t feel well. I don’t know what happened to me. You’re right…I used to be a genius. But now-“

But the other Ravenclaw boy left him to stew alone in his unhappiness. Alice watched curiously, wandering what unfortunate circumstance had befallen the boy. It was obvious Anthony’s schoolwork was suffering greatly.

But Alice soon forgot about Anthony as the day wore on. Even though she made a note to herself that she would try and speak with him later.

She continued to help Head Boy Tom Riddle every afternoon and sometimes even after dinner. She found the passage of time with him pleasant and she enjoyed the secretarial duties he gave her. At first she had made a lot of mistakes, but Tom had been patient with her.

But by the next meeting and the next Alice noticed less and less laughter. They weren’t even calling each other by those cute nicknames anymore. And Alice was catching herself losing her train of thought. She couldn’t help but gaze upon Tom Riddle’s handsome face, with dreamy, far away eyes. He always seemed to catch her at it, and soon enough Alice would go back to her work. Tom would smile encouragingly at her.

This went on for a good few days, until one day everything went differently. Alice gazed longingly at Riddle once again, wanting to be more than just his secretary. She wanted to know him better. But Alice thought she just wanted a friend, she was not aware of her unconscious desire for him. After a couple of hours of doing this, Alice became quite disturbed. Riddle’s handsomely carved features were glowering at her now. She’d never seen him look so vexed and stranger than ever. He was stern….


NOTE: Tom may be acting really fun and silly but I assure you he will be getting grave and seriously evil like he always is in my stories!