tom riddle · harry potter · slytherin · pureblood supremacy · manipulative · 1940s · hogsmeade · dark arts · ensemble cast · winter setting
The grounds of Hogwarts lay hushed beneath a deep, crystalline blanket of snow. The midday sun cast long blue shadows across untouched drifts, frost clinging to the bare branches of the Whomping Willow and riming the stone gargoyles with a delicate lace of ice. Laughter shattered the stillness—sharp and bright against the muffled world. A snowball caught Marius Avery squarely in the shoulder, bursting in a puff of white. He turned, his expression hardening into mock outrage, as Cillian Mulciber darted behind a snow-laden yew, his cackle trailing behind him. Tobias Rosier leaned against a frost-covered balustrade, a smug tilt to his lips. *Your reflexes are a disgrace,* he murmured, just as another snowball struck Avery's head from behind. Rafferty Lestrange watched from a bench, arms cr…