Wit Beyond Measure
written by Lizzie Scamander
Will her Ravenclaw wit keep her where she belongs? It is the year 1962 at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Tom Riddle is back wanting to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Will Professor Dippet permit this future Lord Voldemort to have the place, or will Cecelia Blackwood convince him otherwise? Little does she know that this is not just a career argument, but the beginning of a dangerous and magical adventure.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
6
Reads
750
Expect the Unexpected
Chapter 2
Ten to two. I stood up. Striding to my office door I slipped out into the corridor. Fingering my wand nervously I hurried along, up a staircase, then another. After mounting another staircase I came onto the seventh floor and hurried through several hallways. What on earth could Professor Dippet want with me? At least it isn't about my teaching here, I reassured myself. He just complimented me on it this morning. No, it's not that. But what then?
I saw the stone gargoyle up ahead that marked the entrance to the headmaster's office. "Galloping Gargoyles," I said. The gargoyle promptly moved aside, and I stepped onto the spiral staircase behind it. It began to move upwards, up, up, up, until I stood before a door. Swallowing, I knocked.
"Come in."
Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open. I had not had any idea what to expect, but this was surely the most unexpected.
Professor Dippet sat at his desk with his hands clasped together. Sitting before him in a chair was none other than Tom Riddle.
Riddle had been at school the same time I had when I was a student. I remembered his cunning nature, his thirst for knowledge, and his popularity among both students and staff. The dark hair and pale skin were as familiar as ever, yet his cheeks looked quite gaunt and his eyes strangely hollow. I had heard that Riddle had not pursued the career everyone had expected him to after he left school - he had taken to working in a rather suspicious shop in Knockturn Alley entirely devoted to the dark arts called Borgin & Burkes instead.
I could not help narrowing my eyes slightly. Yet my dignity was still unwavering. Straightening, I looked Riddle straight in the eye. "Tom," I said stiffly. "What a pleasure to see you again."
Riddle must have somehow known this was a dishonest greeting, for his eyes looked cold as he replied in an icy voice. "Cecelia."
Professor Dippet cleared his throat. "Now Cecelia has arrived we will move on, shall we not?" He said. "Cecelia," he turned to me.
"Yes, Armando?" I said. A curious sort of apprehension flickered inside me that I could not identify properly. Why should I be apprehensive? I asked myself inwardly.
"Cecelia, Tom here just arrived with a request," Professor Dippet continued. "You see, he wishes to - wishes to -" the headmaster hesitated - "well, he wishes to take on the job of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
I gaped. All my vocal cords seemed to have suddenly wilted and lost their use. Swallowing, I struggled to summon up words.
"I - I - Armando, I -"
I bit down hard on my tongue. No, I was not going to stand here stuttering. Taking a deep breath, I said, "But that place is already occupied, isn't it?" I spoke these words icily while staring hard at Riddle.
"Erm - well, yes..." Professor Dippet avoided my gaze, awkwardly twisting his fingers together while looking down at his desk. "But Riddle here - well he shows promise in the position... Maybe such should be obliged to... Of course I mean no offence but if -"
"I see," I said coldly. My previous respect and admiration of Professor Dippet seemed to have left me completely in that one minute that he had told me I was no longer appreciated as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. "I realise that you no longer want me to teach here at Hogwarts and that you'd prefer -" I shot Riddle a look of utter loathing - "another person to fill that place."
"Cecelia please," Professor Dippet said, looking up with an apologetic expression on his face. "It's just Riddle's always been very devoted on that subject, and he'd be absolutely perfect for that place. I'm very, very sorry but -"
Yet at that moment the door burst open. Someone was standing in the doorway.
