' Then she delicately stepped out
toward the edge, tenuous as a leaf
as if waiting for a letter
but it froze too swiftly before her
At dusk his voice broke her concentration
She turned, vexed, and saw he had not spoken. '

— mei-mei berssenbrugge

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THE Great Hall was uncharacteristically quiet when the news of the bombing in London came on Sunday morning, clutched tightly in the claws of hundreds of owls. Usually muggle news didn't merit inclusion in the Prophet, but Gwyn supposed war was different. She was grateful she had her own subscription to the paper—every so often her father would be interviewed at the Ministry for the international section and she liked to read it. This time, it meant she could keep to herself and not worry about craning over someone else's shoulder to see the dark text and muddy moving photo that stretched across the front page.

LONDON BURNS UNDER AERIAL ATTACKS
CLIFFORD CRESSWELL. September 8, 1940
☞ The skies above London are alight with fire and smoke, a result of the German aircraft that unleashed a relentless barrage starting yesterday evening and continuing throughout the night. The death toll in the wizarding community is mercifully low, though the same cannot be said for the muggle residents of England's capital city. Ministry officials are working around the clock in order to monitor breaches of the International Statute of Secrecy and provide aid to wizards in need.
"The events of last night are a sobering reminder that, though we remain separate from the Muggle world, we are not untouched by its tragedies," Minister Spencer-Moon remarked in a statement released in the early hours of the morning. "The Ministry is working diligently to protect our own while upholding the Statute of Secrecy. These are dangerous times, but I urge every witch and wizard to remain calm and vigilant. We shall weather this storm, as we always have."

A wail of anguish echoed through the hall, startling Gwyn from her spot in the article. She looked up in time to see fellow third-year Frances Calver stand from the Hufflepuff table and rush out of the Great Hall. A few moments later, a few of her friends scurried out after her.

Someone further down the Slytherin table let out a snort. "Pretty convenient of the muggles to wipe themselves out."

It was Avery. Malfoy snickered in response to his remark. The former had already abandoned his Prophet and was digging greedily into a second serving of eggs. Gwyn bit the inside of her cheek. Calver was muggle-born—her parents must have lived in London. She wondered how many Hogwarts students were waiting anxiously for news from their families that they were okay. Or any news at all.

Her stomach turned uncomfortably. She couldn't read anymore. Nor could she stand to be in the Hall—the energy was oppressive, the ceiling a dark grey as though it could mirror the ash and smoke all the way from London. She folded her newspaper, looking around the Slytherin table for someone to hand it off to. It was relatively sparse, given that it was a Sunday, but after a moment her gaze landed on Tom Riddle, who sat a few seats away Prophet-less.

He didn't look at her as she approached—his attention was absorbed by a weathered copy of Numerology and Grammatica.

"Here," she said, dropping the paper beside his textbook, just barely missing the edge of his cup of tea.

Tom's eyes flicked from his page, first at the newspaper's bold headline, then to her. His face was unreadable—Gwyn wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him express an emotion other than mild distaste. "I don't want this."

Gwyn shrugged. "Neither do I. Throw it away if you'd like."

She marched past him before he could try to hand it back to her. She didn't want to have to look at it anymore. There was now a steady stream of people leaving the Great Hall, but still barely anyone spoke in tones louder than a whisper. It meant she could hear the soft crinkle of parchment when, behind her, Tom unfurled the newspaper.

gwyneira "gwyn" shen
living room // grouper

played by natashia liu bordizzo

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tom marvolo riddle
ringleader // public memory

played by christian coulson

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marit cross
salt circle // eliza mclamb

played by sadie soverall

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draven mulciber
it will come back // hozier

played by george mackay

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OTHER CHARACTERS

soren avery // tom glynn-carney.
audra lestrange // marine vacth.
olivier lestrange // as described.
bastian rosier // bill skarsgård.
abraxas malfoy // freddie fox.
balthazar nott // as described.
changqi "cecil" shen // as described.
alys shen, née balfe // rose byrne.

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PLAYLIST

contorted figures // arigto.
call across rooms // grouper.
hide and seek // etta marcus.
carrion comfort // aeseaes.
sour switchblade // elita.
cow song // meredith monk.
never is a promise // fiona apple.
special death // mirah.
creator, destroyer // angel olsen.
headache // grouper.
all i need // radiohead.
the fold // wickerbird.

✶

// YAY it's finally here!!! this is my first time doing an introduction chapter like this so hopefully it looks okay. thank you to ethelcained, mydarkflower, and girlpools for the help in figuring out how to format everything teehee. also thank you to sainteda because your work got me into the tom fandom months and months ago i've said it before but this is your fault <3

just as a note this will be canon divergent in terms of timeline and details and such! jkr has run the series into the dirt so i will be prying these characters from her black-mold infested hands thank you VERY much! that being said, i'm going to try my best to make canon characters in character, if not canonically accurate if that makes sense. i am not a slytherin boys™ enjoyer so if that is the type of tom you're looking for then maybe this is not the right fic for you. this will be a slow burn as is my wont. i also will be trying not to paint tom as a victim but also every character in this is a victim of the time they live in. that being world war ii. cannot have been easy.

as far as content warnings go i'm not entirely sure because i have not written everything yet but i think descriptions of violence, gore, war, some period typical racism but more-so blood-purity stuff, unhealthy relationships and discussions of sex but not in a spicy way. if a chapter goes super into any of these or other triggers i'll put a content warning at the start.

i think that is all! YAYAYAY thank you so much for reading! please don't be a silent reader, i love love love comments even if i don't reply i love seeing thoughts and reactions and every single one makes my day <3