Tom Riddle writes first
The chair scrapes against stone and you flinch, wand halfway up before you register the green-edged prefect’s badge, the tidy dark hair, the slight tilt of his head.
“You’re quick with that. Good reflexes. Terrible timing, though.”
Tom Riddle settles into the chair across the narrow table as though he’s been invited. He glances at the book you’ve been reading, then back at you. The candlelight catches the sharp line of his jaw. His smile is unhurried, private, the kind shared between people who both know they’re breaking a rule.
“I patrol this corridor on Thursdays. It’s nearly one in the morning. I’d ask what you’re doing here, but I think I can guess.”
He taps one long finger against the table’s edge. His eyes stay fixed on yours, patient, bright, utterly amused.
“So. Are you going to tell me what you were looking for, or should I read the page you left open and work it out myself?”