#znootsrd

[znoots]

Tom Riddle headcannons Part 1.

calls you dear, love

Is more of a listener and will listen to you ramble about whatever topic while he’s presumably studying or tending to another task.

You could be talking about Ancient Egypt while he’s making breakfast and he’ll respond with a “mhm” or a low hum of appreciation. He may ask you more on the subject to test how far your knowledge really goes (also because he enjoys when you ramble about topics you love)

If you’re more of a debater he’ll feed into your ideologies seeing how far he can push you until you give in.

He’s not big on PDA but he will show slight gestures of affection here and there if needed. If someone starts getting a bit too talkative with you he will intervene with a hand to your back or around your waist.

If the person still doesn’t get the memo they may be taking a lifelong vacation for while. ☺️

He’s big on organisation and staying reputable , he often subconsciously moves things around in your room that look out of place to him. If he’s quite disturbed he may lend a slight helping hand to sort out your room. He also adjusts your uniform if it look’s distorted throughout the day.

He’ll adjust your hair if a strand falls out of place and all in all is a pretty good judge on things. You don’t know what colours go together? He’s telling you the best colour matches for your skin tone and how to balance them accordingly.

This man doesn’t like being late or off schedule unless it’s something utterly important that needs tending to.

He’ll most likely give you some pointers on how to do something but that’s about it. If it’s taking too much of his time he’ll take some time later out of his schedule to help but you’re on your own for the time being.

If you’re struggling with academics he’ll offer to help you. He’s very observant and will know if something isn’t working for you or needs adjusting. If you’re having trouble memorising he’ll make notes shorter and easier to understand.

[znoots]

Tom Riddle headcannons Part 2.

Puzzles / board games.

• enjoys certain puzzle like games like chess , sudoku, even mahjong solitaire. Mainly games that get his brain thinking. I’d also think he’d be the type to play the crossword puzzles at the back of newspapers.

• will gladly partake in any puzzle games if you find more . I think he’d have ago at unsolved murder mysteries though it’s more like he walked in on you trying to solve it and ended up joining in.

It would go roughly something like this:

“What’re you doing”

“I’m trying to solve this murder mystery wanna join?”

“I’m busy maybe later dear”

Though after watching you kerfuffle about, he eventually puts his work aside to help you.

Watching you struggle was amusing to him because he had been watching you play and already knew half of the character links while you were practically losing sanity trying to work out the links between the characters and answers.

He makes his way over to you sitting beside you and starts to analyse the situation. After some back and forth conversation from him you start to understand some of the patterns.

It’s from then you realise how good he is with puzzle games.

He’d probably buy a set himself and it eventually becomes a guilty pleasure.

• your date nights are probably more inside activities than outside. Of course the occasional trip to hogsmeade but in general you’d probably be inside playing a board or puzzle game.

Chess : You mainly came across him playing chess as a relaxer or stimulant to keep his mind at bay. He’d play by himself moving both white pieces and black pieces.

And it’s from there you also learnt how to play.

The scenario probably went something like this :

If you already know a bit about chess

You walk into the library finding his usual spot, he’s usually somewhere deeper in the library to avoid commotion or unwanted attention.

You walk up behind him giving him a slight hug when you look over his shoulder to see him playing chess.

He’d be moving the pieces quite rapidly so it took you some time to understand why he was moving certain pieces to certain places.

You’d ask him questions while he’s playing and he’d give you a brief explanation.

You nod and continue to watch him play until he finishes or eventually averts his attention back to his books.

“Can I play against you perhaps?”

“Sit.” He said extending his hand to a seat

Tom is definitely good , to say the least and often you’d be stuck or move your chess piece to a position where he’s able to easily counter it.

After some short matches , he’d probably give a book on chess so you can play by yourself while he studies next to you.

He glances over every once in a while to see how you’re doing making some adjustments and explaining why he’d move certain pieces to certain positions, he also does this mid match so you have a better understanding of why.

Eventually he incorporates a Fischer clock to see how you work under pressure. He’d also do this to strengthen what you already know and how to play your pieces smartly.

Though if you don’t know anything about chess

Then he’d try and be more thorough while explaining.

It probably takes you a while to adjust but after a few sessions you eventually grasp the concept.

His play style would be more laid back trying to accommodate you as best as he can to the game.

Your sessions usually go something like this :

“No you can’t move that there.”

“Why the hell not”

He rolls his eyes moving your piece back and explains why.

“Ohhhh ok”

“…You’re moving the pieces wrong again”

“I thought I could move my Knight there?”

“No darling look”

This basically goes on back and forth until you eventually understand the basic rules.

He probably finds you reading the chess book he gave you in lesson to which he smiles at.

Though he realises how determined you are to learn when you genuinely start bringing it everywhere with you. And I mean everywhere.

To breakfast , to lunch , dinner. In lesson your probably asking him about certain moves and the limitations of the pieces to which he answers but eventually tells you to shut up and focus before you fail the class.

He even saw you attempt to take it to the bloody bathroom once to which he snatched it out your hands.

“That isn’t necessary is it.”

“🤗😙”

He’d buy you a chess board so you can grasp how to play against yourself and how to counter certain moves.

You may even get yourself a Fischer clock to truly test yourself though this doesn’t happen after a longggg while. You instead jot down where your pieces move to for future plays.

He truly didn’t expect you to take it as seriously as you have but he’s honoured either way. He finds it quite adorable how you’re willing to spend so much time just to end up getting checkmated after moving a piece wrong, but he’s commending you for trying either way.

It takes some time to learn how he plays and how to beat him but if you do win against him he’s definitely proud of you. He feels a twinge of warmth when he sees how happy you are.

[znoots]

Raven

Raven 

1.2k words.

A girl who has trouble sleeping and a wounded bird. They both find solace.

Reader is in Ravenclaw 

Time was moving at its usual slow pace, the irritable ticking of the clock keeping her up. It was almost 2 a.m., yet sleep hadn’t answered, and her eyes grew hazy with discontent, the bags under her eyes only darkening with each day.

Rising from atop the bed, she peeked through the velveted curtains. Playing with the hem of the fabric, it was smooth against her rough hands, delicate and heartfelt.

Turning her gaze back to the shadowed windows, the weather outside seemed to be fighting against its own troubles, the back-and-forth howling against the flakes of occasional snow that fell from the clouds.The swindled howling and wailing that seeped through the window pulled her back toward rest. A sudden tap that hit the window with force snapped her out of her drifting state.

Groaning in annoyance after many attempts at trying to find slumber, she looked around her dorm room only to find everyone else still asleep. She got up to inspect what may have hit the window.Wine smeared across the window with fluffed onyx feathers. Tracing over the smear with her fingers, she looked down, trying to find the residue of the animal.

After some time, her eyes adjusted to the haziness, and she saw a faint outline of a bird. It lay still among the gelid breeze that was battering it with the howls and timbers of the night.

Moving from the window, she snatched the nearest hoodie, throwing it upon herself and loosely tying her laces. Though having failed miserably, the laces came undone a couple of steps towards the entrance of the common room.

Sighing, she tucked the shoestrings into her tattered shoes.

Making her way down the halls and outside onto the frosted licks of grass, she squinted and cradled her arms around her body, attempting to save as much body heat as she could while being beaten with the unwelcoming crisp winds.

Hands grasping at the fabric of her hoodie in hopes of warming herself to no avail, her nails soon painted with watercolour blues and purples. Nails brittle and chequered.After trudging against the grounds for a while, she came across the bird. Kneeling down to clasp it with frozen hands, the bird lay still, unmoving to the frosted touch, which it couldn’t decipher.

Getting up and whimpering in discomfort when the winds slammed against her skin, her lips were chapped with paled hues of pink and purple. Lashes covered with droplets of defrosting snow.

Turning her back towards the hurdling breeze, she sheltered the animal beneath the fabric of her hoodie, trying to make some sort of heat for the bird to combat the cold.

Marching with unsteady steps back towards the dorms she huffed when entering back into the mediaeval building. Its stature offering a sense of pride and reassurance compared to her small, unrivalled presence.

Finally making it back to the common room she kicked her shoes off with no regard to where it landed or who was to find it later that morning.With soft steps to not alert anyone awake she made her way to the fireplace where books of mythical creatures were scattered around its luminating flames.

Crouching down to the fireplace where she flicked away the hair obstructing her view. Taking out the frail bird from beneath her ragged hoodie she coddled it within her hands as close as she could towards the weakening embers.

Realising the flames were too weak she placed the Raven at the ledge of the fireplace before getting up to find some spare wood. Wandering around on the slight tips on her toes to not make too much noise she found some spare blocks of darkened wood.

Mentally cursing when she kicked a book against the ashy floor sending it a few feet away from her. She paused to make sure no one had woken up before resuming her way back to the fireplace. Delicately placing in the pieces of wood , deciding it was more than enough then placing the rest by the hem of the fireplace.

The flames eventually grew producing a thick warming heat around them.

Subconsciously she began to pet the raven combing in between its feathers to allow more heat to make its way past the coaled feathers. Feeling a sort of dread when some time had gone by yet the small creature hadn’t reacted to her touch yet. 

Still keeping the raven in her hands she looked at it with hazy eyes and short calming breaths left her nose. She was relaxed. Almost falling asleep, ironic she thought, all this time she had been battling for sleep yet a bird by the fireplace is enough for her to lose her consciousness.

When she reached to take another pet the bird sporadically darted under her touch. Flinching slightly at the sudden movement she tried her best to grasp it again before it attempted to fly, potentially hurting itself in the process.

“Shhhh,  it’s ok “ she softly hushed, trying to lul it back to a relaxed state.

The bird stood on the stone ledge still in her grasp and she let it stand to get to know its surroundings.

The bird looked up at her somewhat perplexed but thankful for her presence. It made a slight crow at her before cocking its head to the side , blackened eyes staring back at her.

She smiled, stroking the top of its head with a gentle finger. The raven, as tired as it had been, began to shut its eyes and nuzzled back into her touch, falling back asleep. A few moments went by before she looked out the window to see the brightening of the clouds signaling the dawning of the upcoming day.

Realisation kicking in that she hadn’t slept the entire night, rubbing at her brows to release the tension and racing thoughts of the new day to come. 

Wondering what to do with the creature unsure whether to maybe give it to Hagrid to take care of or keep it for herself. Her face dropped in sadness at the thought of having to give it away. So she resorted to keeping it for the time being until she could find a more permanent place to keep it.

She would have to confide in her roommates opinions of the Raven and if they would let her keep it or not if it wasn’t an obstruction to them. She hoped for the best and picked up the Raven making her way back to her bed.

Placing the bird on her bed under some blankets as it slept soundly. She in turn decided to sit at her desk to finish some assignments she had been avoiding due to lack of sleep. Turning on the lamp beside her, her gaze flickered back outside the window, some of the crimson smears still faintly present but mostly gone, head resting against her hand as she watched the clouds part sitting in solitude. Her eyes closed and she appreciated the silence around her, it was almost heavenly.

With a final glance towards the raven, she turned her attention to her work. The morning lights that graced over her, for the first time in a long time, she felt at peace.