Chapter 26: The Scarf
Astronomy at eleven o'clock at night produced a genuine, physiological revulsion in Tamara.
Not only because it meant climbing the tallest tower when she ought to have been asleep, but because September nights in the Scottish Highlands were so cold it felt like kissing a Dementor.
Wrapped in thick cloaks, the Slytherin first years panted their way up the last stretch of the spiral staircase. The moment they stepped onto the Astronomy Tower, a biting wind poured straight down their collars.
Goyle hunched his shoulders, teeth chattering.
"Why can't we have this class in the daytime? Or use some sort of magical projection indoors?"
"Because the stars don't come out in the daytime," Pansy Parkinson muttered, shivering. She tried to tuck herself into Goyle's broad shadow to escape the worst of the wind.
Tamara stood near the tower's edge, her black robes snapping loudly in the night air.
Moonlight made her face look even paler, almost the same colour as the surrounding stone.
This body was too weak. Years of poor nourishment had left her more sensitive to cold than most children. The wind sliced across her cheeks like a knife and stole what little warmth she had.
Still, she remained perfectly straight.
Pride was carved into her soul. The pride of a Dark Lord. Even if she froze solid, she would freeze like a statue. She would not huddle like the group of Hufflepuffs nearby.
Yes, this lesson was shared with Hufflepuff.
The little badgers in black and yellow robes were gathered on the far side of the tower like a flock of cold terrified penguins. They chirped complaints about the weather and passed around hot biscuits smuggled from the kitchens.
Professor Aurora Sinistra approached then.
She was dark skinned and serious, dressed in deep blue robes patterned with stars.
"All right. Stop complaining," she said. Her voice was not loud, but it carried easily on the open tower.
"Astronomy requires patience and precision. Set up your telescopes and adjust the focus."
"Tonight's task is to observe Jupiter's moons and map their orbital paths."
"Each of you must draw one and hand it in before class ends."
The students got to work.
Metal stands scraped harshly against stone. Adjustment knobs clicked and squeaked as hands fumbled with them.
Tamara set up her brass telescope with practised ease.
For someone who had excelled in a great many obscure subjects, star charts were child's play. In her former life, studying the relationship between Dark magic and celestial phenomena, she had spent countless nights on this very tower.
She knew every star by name. She knew when each would burn brightest. She knew what omens people liked to pretend they carried.
In under ten minutes, Tamara finished her observation and drew Jupiter with three surrounding moons on parchment, neat and precise.
"Perfect," she murmured.
She set down her quill, breathed out a small puff of warmth, and rubbed her stiff fingers.
Just as she was about to find a sheltered corner and wait for the lesson to end, a muffled sob drifted over.
"I can't see it. Where is it."
The sound came from the Hufflepuff side.
Tamara turned her head.
A small girl with two golden plaits, Hannah Abbott, was blinking back tears in front of her telescope. Her hands were beet red from the cold and shaking so badly she could not adjust the fine focus knob.
Worse, the ink in her bottle had thickened. Her quill would not properly mark the parchment.
The more anxious she became, the more she shook. The more she shook, the less she could see.
A few Slytherins let out quiet snickers.
Hearing them, Hannah cried harder. Tears and snot ran down her face, making her look painfully pathetic.
Some Hufflepuffs tried to help, but they were struggling themselves.
Tamara watched with cold eyes.
Then the system chimed.
[ Ding! Detected a classmate in distress. ]
[ Current attribute panel: wisdom 19/20. ]
[ Hint: You are one step away from unlocking the next spell. ]
[ Triggered mission: Warm Sun on a Winter Night. ]
[ Mission Description: A true leader must not only look up at the stars, but also look down and offer a hand to those who have fallen into the mud. Though Hufflepuffs are mediocre, they are the cornerstone of loyalty. ]
[ Mission Requirement: Help Hannah Abbott complete her observation without using magic. ]
[ Reward: wisdom +1. ]
Wisdom plus one.
Tamara's gaze sharpened instantly.
Every ten independent attribute points unlocked something useful, and she was one point away.
She straightened her robes and walked towards the Hufflepuffs.
Her approach made them fall silent at once. They watched her warily, as if expecting trouble.
Hannah hiccupped, staring at Tamara through watery eyes.
"Move," Tamara said, voice cold and clear.
Hannah stepped back like a startled rabbit.
Tamara reached out with long, pale hands, now slightly reddened by the cold, and gripped the telescope's adjustment knob. Her movements were steady and precise, without a tremor.
"Correct thirty degrees elevation. Pull the focus back two notches."
As she worked, her tone remained flat.
"Your tripod is not level. In this wind, even the slightest vibration in the barrel will make you misjudge positions."
She leaned down, checked through the eyepiece, then straightened again.
"All right. Look now."
Hannah stared, then slowly leaned in.
"Wow," she breathed. "I see it. It's so clear."
She turned to Tamara, eyes shining as if the stars had lit her from the inside.
"Thank you, Riddle."
Tamara glanced at Hannah's ink bottle. The ink had gone syrupy.
"Is the ink frozen?"
"Y yes," Hannah sniffled, embarrassed. She hid her hands behind her back. "And my hands are a bit stiff."
Tamara looked at those hands. Frozen like carrots.
Hannah's clothing was thin for this weather. She had clearly underestimated the tower's night cold.
What a nuisance.
Tamara sighed inwardly.
Then she reached up and unwound the thick Slytherin scarf from her own neck, embroidered with silver patterns.
The moment she removed it, the wind slid into her collar. She shivered, unable to stop it.
But she forced her face back into that unreadable calm, as though she felt nothing.
"Put it on."
She wrapped the scarf around Hannah's neck without allowing argument, tightening the bow that was already slipping loose.
Then she pressed her own self warming quill into Hannah's hand.
"Tuck your hands into your sleeves. Use this."
Hannah went completely still.
Warmth spread around her throat. A faint, cool fragrance lingered at the edge of her breath.
She looked at the black haired girl in front of her, who wore only a thin robe and looked almost fragile in the wind, yet whose gaze was unshakably firm.
In that moment, Tamara Riddle shifted in Hannah's mind from scary Slytherin to angel dropped from the sky.
"Ta Tamara," Hannah whispered, moved enough that fresh tears threatened. "Aren't you cold?"
"No," Tamara lied smoothly, even as her lips paled.
"I am used to staying clear in harsh environments."
She lifted her chin slightly, voice cool.
"It is willpower."
Around them, Hufflepuffs stared in open shock.
This was the famous Slytherin girl, arrogant and distant, the one who looked down on everyone.
And she had given her scarf away.
Even Draco and Pansy on the Slytherin side watched with their mouths slightly open.
"What is she doing?" Pansy whispered, stunned. "How can Tamara give her scarf to someone like that?"
"This is a matter of level," Draco said, watching Tamara's back with a thoughtful look and a flicker of admiration. "A true noble is ruthless with themselves, but can still show mercy to… to commoners. It's called… what was it again?"
"Chivalry?" Goyle offered helpfully.
Draco glared at him.
"Shut up. That's a Gryffindor word. It's called the art of leadership."
Tamara ignored them.
She watched Hannah begin to draw, clumsy but finally steady.
Then the system spoke again.
[ Ding! Mission completed: Warm Sun on a Winter Night. ]
[ Using the most primitive method, you have earned the most sincere gratitude. ]
[ Reward: wisdom +1. ]
[ Current wisdom: 20. ]
[ Congratulations host. Wisdom attribute has reached a milestone threshold. ]
[ System rewards being issued… ]
[ Unlocked passive skill: Elementary Occlumency. ]
[ Skill Description: Your thoughts will no longer be an open book. You can construct basic mental barriers to resist prying and Legilimency. ]
[ While it cannot yet block old monsters of Dumbledore's level, it is sufficient for general prying. ]
Tamara's pupils tightened.
Finally.
Her mind, which had felt exposed for far too long, now seemed to gain an invisible layer, fragile but real. A thin film of privacy.
That scarf had been well worth the cost.
Back with the Slytherins, Draco immediately pulled off his own thick cashmere scarf and offered it to her with eager urgency.
"Here, Tamara. It's not as nice as yours, but it's warm."
Tamara looked from Draco to the scarf.
This time, she did not refuse.
"Thank you, Draco."
.....
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