Work Text:
Tom Riddle walked through the dark halls of Hogwarts, it was after curfew and he was patrolling the halls, per his head boy duties. He was awfully bored, the prefects were also roaming the halls but none were decent enough to waste time with.
I was out past curfew, with a book in hand, I hadn't meant to stay out past curfew, but I was in the depts of the library and lost track of time. Maybe not the best of excuses for being out past curfew, and I had maybe made it worst by staying to finish the book I was reading, I grabbed a new book and made my way back to the dungeons.
Tom turned the corner and spotted me almost immediately. He called my name, and I stopped walking, cursing under my breath.
"Well, what are you doing out of bed this hour?" He asks. I turn around and take a breath of relief when I see it's Tom.
"Oh, Tom" I say quietly. He leans against the wall and crosses his arms, a small smirk on his lips as he looks at me.
"You do realise that there is a curfew, right?"
"I do" I answer matching his smirk "Since when do you care about rules?"
I watched as he thought about it for a moment, making a little face, he knew I was right, I knew I was right.
"Are you being a little disrespectful?" He asks, using that deep voice that was a few octaves lower than usual. It scared most, not me however. Never me.
"Maybe" I answered, leaning against the wall behind me, opposite him, copying his stance. He smirks again, darting his tongue out to lick his lips. "But you always liked that"
"A bit daring, aren't you? Out past curfew, breaking the rules" He says, still a smirk over his lips, he 'tutted' a few times.
"Keep it between us?" I ask, stepping closer to him. It was our little game, always flirting with each other. It never went past flirting, to my chagrin. He made no effort to get closer to me, merely watching me with a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Hmm, and what will I get if I keep it between us?" He asks.
"Hmm" I say copying him "What would you like Tommy?" He hated the nickname, really hated it. Hence why I kept saying it. I watched as he rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I want you to quit calling me that"
"Fine, I'll quit" I mutter "See you tomorrow"
As I go to step away his hand finds its way to my wrist, holding me still for a moment, I didn't flinch or pull away like I would anyone else.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asks quietly, he steps closer to me, so I step back, feeling the wall against my back. I look up at him, he's so much taller than me. I liked it, liked looking up at him. I smile a little and answer. "To my room, it's past curfew, remember?"
He pressed my wrist against the wall, pinning me with his body, I sighed and tried not to think about him pressed against me, he was surprisingly muscular, it was hidden behind his Slytherin robes.
"You have quite the attitude problem, anyone ever tell you that?" He asks, moving slightly so his breath touched the skin of my neck as he spoke. "Yeah, you. Plenty of times" I mutter back, my throat tight as I think he's finally going to touch me, kiss me.
"I say it, because it's true, you never learn" He says, his voice dropping to a slightly lower tone, his hand still holding my wrist with a firm grip. "Such an attitude problem, who do you think you are, talking to me like that?"
"Oh Tom, you're so overdramatic" I say with a smirk.
"And you're infuriating" He says quietly, moving the hand away from my wrist and up to my chin, holding me still and forcing me to look at him, his face only inches away from mine, eyes locked, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Just how you like me" I whisper, if I could move my head a few inches forward I could kiss him. The thing I had wanted for years.. To kiss Tom Riddle... I had it bad.
He chuckled softly, running his thumb over my lips, smirking down at me. "You're very annoying, you know that? But...you know know how to piss me off in the right ways"
"I do" I whisper, my eyes threatening to close, our lips moving closer to each others. But he stopped, I almost groaned out loud. I moved closer to finally kiss the boy I had been crushing on until a prefect stopped us. And I was sent on my way with a detention.
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
The next morning I dressed in my Slytherin robes and left the common room for the great hall. My stomach grumbled, ready for food. I smiled softly to myself when I see Tom sitting at the Slytherin table. He sat alone, like usual, he didn't have any friends, except me, but I was sure he'd never call me a friend.
I walked closer seeing he had a book in hand as he idly ate his food. He looked up when he saw me and put his book down.
"Good morning Tommy" I grin as I sit down at the table opposite him. He let out a small groan as I use the nickname, and glared at me. "Why must you keep calling me that?"
"Because you hate it" I say smirking, as I start to load my plate up with food. I watched as Tom rolled his eyes, he was still glaring at me.
"Oh, I know it. It's very much on purpose, isn't it?" He asks.
"Of course" I answer, smiling as I eat my breakfast. He smirks lightly, his eyes still on me instead of his book "Of course it is...You enjoying pushing my buttons, don't you?"
"I really do" I say with a smirk, I watched as he took a sip from his coffee, looking elegant, naturally. "Are you coming to Potions class today?"
He hummed, watching you still, his gaze travelling my body for a moment before looking back up to my face, smirking. "Yes, I am. Are you?"
"Only if you are" I say, my tone dripping with flirtation as I lean against the table, smiling at him. Tom chuckled and leaned in.
"Are you flirting?" He asks quietly.
"Me? Never" I say smirking. He scoffs and leans back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other, a smirk on his face. "You're such a bad liar, you know that?"
"Hmm yeah" I hum "Maybe I am, but I know you like my flirting"
Tom chuckled, leaning in once again, slightly closer this time, looking me up and down. "You're going to get yourself in trouble, one day, if you keep up this behavior"
"Let's hope" I say with a goofy grin, taking a bite of toast.
"You're quite darling today, more so than usual" He speaks. I shrug and smile at him, looking into his eyes, they were cold, always cold to anyone he ever looked at, but to me, they were warmth.
"I guess I am" I say quietly, frowning a little "Or maybe girls get annoyed when boys don't use their brains"
He raises an eyebrow "Oh? What's that supposed to mean? You girls are all so confusing, so complicated"
"Of course we are" I say sarcastically, I finally stand up "See you in Potions, Tommy"
I didn't stay to watch him roll his eyes, I got angry too quickly then, I hadn't meant it. But I wanted him, I was so obvious, and yet, nothing. When our...friendship started I thought he knew, he flirted with me, but then nothing happened. All those 'almost' moments. They were driving me crazy. I was far too scared to make the first move, if he rejected me, I'd ruin our friendship, he'd be all alone.. I couldn't.
I walked through the halls of Hogwarts, walking down to the dungeons, the hallways became colder, it was alway so cold down there, I loved it, far better than the warmth of the halls elsewhere. I walked into my Potions class, Professor Slughorn stood at front, I sneered at the Gryffindors in the class. Hating that I had to share the classroom with them.
Tom walked into the classroom a few moments after me and sat down next to me, he must of seen me shooting glares at the lions, he leaned over slightly, speaking in a hushed tone that only I would hear. "Trying to pick a fight?"
"Always" I answer, my glare never leaving a certain Gryffindor I hated. Tom smirked slightly. "Which one are you trying to pick a fight with this time?"
"I'm not sure yet" I answer, smirking. He chuckled and started setting up the potion ingredients for our small table. "You just find a new target to annoy every day, don't you?"
I grin, and nod, moving my eyes away from the red to look at his beautiful green. "Yes, don't worry, you're still my favourite target"
He snorted, a noise you didn't hear often from him. "I am honored, I think. Favourite target? I should be worried, shouldn't I?" I gave him a sly grin and then got started with my own potion, I opened my book and followed the ingredient list, gathering them and preparing them all. I worked a little quicker than Tom, he was careful and precise. Once our potions had been made, and were bubbling away in the cauldrons, I smirked to Tom, Professor Slughorn was walking through the room, checking everyone's potions.
"Ready to see that my potion is better than yours?" I ask him quietly. He smiled back at me, raising an eyebrow, clearly quite amused. He gestured to his own potion. "Of course I'm ready. I'm quite sure this one will actually work as intended, unlike yours"
"Mines better than yours, Tommy"
Tom lets out a breathy laugh, it was enough to make me swoon, not that he would of noticed. "Oh Really?" He asks "Are you willing to bet on that?"
"Oh you're so on!" I say grinning "What are we betting today?"
Tom thought for a moment... "If I win, which I will, you stop calling me that idiotic nickname"
I grumbled a little, I didn't like the idea of not calling him Tommy. "Fine" I say begrudgingly "If I win, you give me something I want" He raised an eyebrow, intrigued by what I would say. I wasn't sure what I wanted from him, well. I was. But was I brave enough to ask him. "Very well, what exactly do you want?"
"That's a secret" I answer smirking. He rolled his eyes and lent against the the table. "You're not going to tell me?" He asks.
"I will, when I win"
Tom chuckles, shaking his head slightly. "Deal, but I intend to win" He whispers, dropping his head down closer to mine, it made me shiver, and I had hoped he didn't notice. "As do I, Tommy" I add smirking. He groaned again as I used the nickname, only fueling me. Professor Slughorn came over and inspected both our potions, I smiled as he did, he always made me laugh as he held onto the front collar of his robes and looked over potions with a scrunched nose.
"So Professor, which is better?" I ask, hopeful.
"It's close, very close but it seems this one is a tad better than the other" Professor Slughorn says, his gaze over Tom's potion as he speaks. Tom smirked hard, he knew he had won, I frowned and groaned, slapping my forehead dramatically. "Damn it"
Tom raised an eyebrow, obviously very satisfied with himself. "What did I tell you? You lose" He smirks, Professor Slughorn wandered off to check more potions, chuckling at us.
"Too bad" I say, as I start cleaning up my table, my voice teasing in tone "My reward for winning, was ever so fun"
"Oh do tell me" He grins "Oh but remember, no more nickname"
"Yes, Thomas, no more Tommy, as promised" I giggled softly.
"Good" He says with a cold smile "Because I was beginning to get quite tired of that, you know. And it's about time I find out your so-called reward, I'm curious"
I grab my bag, hopping off the stool, I lent over, so my lips were close to ear, ready to whisper "I was going to ask for a kiss" And once the words leave me lips I walk off, ready to go to my neck class.
I laughed to myself as I walked through the corridor, thinking about his reaction, I wished I had stayed put and watched. My next class of History of Magic, I walked in and sat by the random Hufflepuff I usually had to sit with. I concentrated on the class, not looking over to Tom even once. Knowing it would drive him insane.
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
Once class was over, I walked slowly to the great hall for lunch, wondering if Tom would catch up to me, like he usually would. I smiled fondly when someone started walking next to me, he didn't say anything, just quietly walked with me. As we walked into the great hall instead of sitting with him at our usual space I walked over to my small group of friends I had besides Tom, instead. Tom didn't follow, he never did.
"Why do you hang out with him?" Antlia asked. Both her and Mensa were my only friends other than Tom. Though I prefer spending time with Tom than I did the two girls. They were nice enough, but they were judgy of my friendship.
"He's my friend" I say with a shrug. They both went on a tangent about how they didn't like him, thought he was weird. I huffed and stood up, I walked away from them and sat by Tom.
"You're back, are you?" He asks, not looking up from his plate.
"I am, Thomas, that okay?" I ask quietly, the cocky attitude from earlier gone. He hesitated for a moment, he shrugged not a move I saw him do often. "It's fine, I suppose"
"My friends drive me crazy sometimes" I mutter.
"They don't see why you're friends with me, do they?" He asks, neither of us looked at one another yet.
"They do, everytime" I say with a sigh. He hummed "And tell me, what do you tell them?"
"I tell them to mind their own business"
"Very blunt, I expected nothing less"
"Of course" I say with a small smile.
"You should ditch them for every meal, I'm much more fun" He says with a slight grin. I matched his grin, "I did ditch them, to come sit with you, Tomm-Thomas" I say, stopping myself from using the nickname.
"Good. They're annoying, and you know it, you shouldn't listen to what they have to say. They don't know you like I do, you know that I'm better company"
"I do know" I say with a sweet smile "You're my favourite company" I say leaning forward a little, switching back to my usual flirty self. Tom rolls his eyes. "Of course I'm your favourite, who else would you rather annoy?" He asks, rather sarcastically.
"No one" I answer smirking "Well, except those pesky Gryffindors"
He chuckles, agreeing with me. "Of course, who doesn't hate those idiotic Gryffindors? I've noticed a certain Gryffindor boy who likes to give you a lot of...attention"
I smirked a little, hoping he was jealous. But he was right. "Lyall Lupin, seems to think he can wear me down, win me over" I say with a scoff. He laughs in a scoffing manner as well, rolling his eyes. Lupin was a pain in my arse, always talking to me, making flirty comments, asking me out, you'd think the guy likes being insulted.
"Idiot Gryffindor, trying to get you to 'switch sides' as if you would ever give into him" Tom says.
"I prefer my men dressed in green anyways" I say, batting my eyelashes a little. He smirked, quite liking my response. He moved slightly closer, lowering his voice so that the other students nearby wouldn't overhear "Good. Gryffindors are stupid and arrogant. You shouldn't listen to them. It's the Slytherins you should go for, I, for example, am clearly much more suited for you."
"Oh you think so?" I ask, my voice lowering, finally, I thought to myself. He chuckled, smirking confidently "I know so. You know I'm right, you like me way more than you like those other idiots"
"Oh do I?" I ask, unable to switch off the flirty playfulness. He continued to smirk, his voice dropping to an almost taunting and teasing tone "Oh, I know you do. You just can't resist me, can you?"
"I certainly can't, Tommy" I say, smirking, forgetting that we were in the great hall, people were walking past us, at this moment, it was just me and him.
"Hey! You lost the bet, remember?"
"Ah yeah, sorry I forgot" I answered sheepishly. He rolled his eyes, quite irritated that I had forgotten, but he had probably expected it. He smirked slightly, leaning a little closer, his voice dropping again to a quiet and teasing tone, his eyes glancing up and down my body as he spoke "You are a very, very annoying girl, you know that?"
"You think all girls are annoying" I say with a slight laugh. He chuckled, thinking for a moment. He was still looking me up and down, not bothering to hide it at all. "Most of them, yes. But you're the most annoying one of them all."
"Do I get a badge? Or a trophy for that?" I ask sarcastically. He chuckled again, his tone still teasing. "How about the knowledge that I, Tom Riddle, find you to be the most irritating and annoying girl in this school. Does that make you feel special?"
"Yes" I cheer. I watch as he rolls his eyes again, chuckling again. "You're insufferable, you know that?"
"Yes, well so are you" I say smiling. I finish eating what's left on my plate and then start getting ready to leave for my next class.
"Where are you going?" He asks.
"Thought I'd head to class early, we do have DADA afterall, your favourite?" I ask smirking, I stand up and sling my bag over my shoulder. He copies and grabs his own back. We walk together, not really talking, just enjoying the walk together. The classroom was empty when we reached it, it would be, we were early, I sat at my usual seat and he sat at his, right beside me.
"Still another ten minutes till people start flooding in here, however we will pass the time?" I ask, giggling a little. He raised an eyebrow, chuckling slightly. He leaned back in his seat, looking me up and down once again, smirking. "Oh, I'm sure there are many ways to pass the time"
"Like what?" I ask, my voice a little breathless, I cursed myself inside, I was so obvious. Clearly not enough, or he would of made a move...Or he had noticed and didn't care. I tried to push the thought away.
"Use your imagination, princess" My breath caught as he uttered the last word, the nickname, he hadn't used it before, not that I could remember, either way, I adored it the second it left his lips. His lips...Oh..
"Princess?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow at him. "Yes, very fitting for you. You're such a spoiled little princess, you know that?" He asks.
"I do" I say quietly "Guess I just need a prince then"
Tom laughed quietly.
"Yes, I suppose you would. But what prince would actually want you?" He asks, grinning.
"Hmm I should hope the prince I want...knows I want him...Lord knows I've been obvious enough" I say, muttering the last part. "Oh, have you? What have you done to show this prince you want him?" He asks.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, he didn't know...did he? Ugh, he was frustrating. "Well if you don't know, guess it's not for you to know" I mutter turning away from him and opening my class book. I concentrated on the class not talking to Tom like I usually did. Once class was over I decided to skip dinner, heading towards the library instead, not realising Lyall Lupin followed me.
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
Once in the library I took my usual seat right at the back, I grabbed my books and opened a few of them, sighing heavily when I see Lyall Lupin sit down at the same table as me.
"Hey beautiful"
"People come into the library to be left alone, you know" I answer, not looking up from my book.
"You make it really hard to leave you alone, I just can't help it"
"Well, try harder or I'll make it hurt" I say, looking up I shoot him a sneer. I watch as he holds his hands up in mock defeat. "Hey, I'm just talking, that's all. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"
"I'd much rather you left me alone, you know I'm not interested" I snapped.
"Ah come on, why not?" He whines, whilst running a hand through his long hair.
"Because you're an annoying little Gryffindor, piss off"
He rolls his eyes and scoots his chair a little closer. "I don't see what's wrong with being a Gryffindor?"
I laugh bitterly.
"Just one chance, let me take you out on a date, if it doesn't work, I'll back off?" He asks, smirking at me. I sneer once more, wanting to be left alone. "Piss off, or I'll hurt you"
Lyall huffs, and moves to rest a hand on my arm. "You're being cruel, just give me one chance"
"You want to take your arm off me" I hiss, my other hand moving to my wand, still in my robe pocket. Lyall obviously didn't like that, he gripped my arm tighter, hurting me a little. "You should be nicer"
I rolled my eyes and raised my hand, muttering a quick curse towards him, it hit his hand and he yelped in pain, immediately releasing my arm and jumping up, gripping his probably throbbing hand. "You're crazy! What the hell was that?" He yells.
"That was me telling you, I'm not interested" I snapped again, standing up.
"I think you broke it, you psycho!" He whines loudly. I laugh bitterly.
"It'll be a reminder that you shouldn't touch what isn't yours" I say and then start to walk away. I leave the library and walk down to the Slytherin common room, seeing Tom was sat on the couch, there weren't many people around, most had probably gone to dinner, I walked over to him and sat down next to him.
"I hate men" I mutter.
He raised an eyebrow, still staring at me with a look of curiosity. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was staring now. "What makes you say that?"
"You know that annoying Gryffindor that likes me?"
"You mean that idiot Lyall?"
"That's the one, let's just say he won't be touching anyone any time soon" I say with a sweet, innocent smile. He glanced to your face, still curious about what had happen. "How, exactly? What did you do?"
"I sent a curse his way, broke his hand" I say, laughing bitterly. His smirk grew when I explained what I had done, he leaned closer to me, his voice dropping to almost a teasing tone. "You broke his hand, huh? Remind me never to anger you princess."
"You always anger me Tommy" I say not caring that I lost the bet and I wasn't allowed to call him that anymore.
"Do I now? Really? Then why are you willingly sitting next to me, if I anger you so much"
"Because you're my best friend, idiot" I answer like it was the most obvious thing ever, but he cocks his head slightly, slight disbelief in his eyes. "Really? You consider me your best friend, princess?"
"Yeah, I guess I do. Let me guess, Im just some pathetic girl that you can't get rid of?" I ask, maybe a little harsher than I should of. But I was angry at Lyall, angry that Tom hadn't made a move, mad at myself for not making a move. I was pure anger in that moment. "Yes. You are a pathetic girl, but you're also stubborn and very irritating. And you're correct, I haven't been able to get rid of you." He said, almost playfully.
"Do you want to?" I ask quietly, thinking maybe he didn't want me around, maybe he did want me to go away. I looked down at my lap, watching my fingers.
"Oh yes, very much. If only you were more tolerable... I would be rid of you in a heartbeat." He answers. I nod, sighing "Right.." I stand up and start walking away before turning to him. "You act like everyone hates you, and that you hate everyone, its like you only ever want to push people away"
"I don't need anyone!" He snaps, the playful tone no longer there "I don't want anyone, why would I want company, when people are so irritating!"
"Duly noted Riddle" I mutter, turning on the spot, and then I rushed to my room. I avoided him for the next few days, too hurt and embarrassed at myself to talk to him.
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
A few mornings later, I sat by myself at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, I grabbed a book and started reading, not looking up when someone sat opposite me, I already knew it was him.
"So you still have no plans of talking to me, I take it?" Tom asks quietly. I sigh heavily and look at him, I wanted to much to not be hurt by what he said, I wanted to forgive him so easily, and it pissed me off. "Oh you want me to talk to you now?" I muttered, sneering at him. He raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise over his face.
"Well you've been keeping your distance for the last few days, what am I supposed to think?"
"Tom, you can be so dense sometimes"
He frowned, looking a little irritated, good, that's how I felt. "What the hell is that supposed mean?"
"It means" I start, my voice getting a little louder "You may be one of the smartest people in our year, but when it comes to things outside the classroom, you are an idiot"
Tom clenched his jaw, his fits tightened slightly. "And just what do you mean by 'things outside the classroom', hmm?" I sigh heavily, he didn't get it. "That's what I mean" I say quietly, I stand up and gather my things and left, walking to my next class. It didn't matter how much I flirted or yearned for him, he would never notice. I sat in my next classroom alone, class hadn't started yet, Professor Dumbledore taught Transfiguration and didn't mind when I sat in the class. I looked to the empty space next to me, in a few minutes Tom would be there, I suddenly hated how many classes we shared and sat together.
I looked up when he sat next to me, without thinking I gave him a glare. He matched it. "What is your problem?" He asked, his tone harsh.
"You're my problem, Riddle" I muttered.
"How am I your problem?"
"What's a girl gotta do..." I mutter, my attention going back to my classwork. "You're being stubborn princess. You're just making things more difficult than they need to be."
"Says you, why do you deflect me every time you get close to talking about your emotions?" I ask, snapping, I tried to keep my voice a whisper, but it was hard when I was so angry. He rolled his eyes at me. "I don't deflect. I don't care about emotions, they're a weakness" I nodded when he said that, turning back to my work, feeling my eyes burn, I would not cry, not in front of him.
Once class was over, I sped out and walked alone, feeling alone towards my next class, Herbology. Someone catches up to me, and I think at first it's Tom, I go to snap at him again, but it wasn't him, it was Mensa, one of my other friends.
"What's wrong?" She asks.
"Nothing" I mutter.
"Let me guess, he doesn't like you back, does he?" She asked, I took a deep breath, and shrugged. "I'm trying not to think about him"
"He's a weirdo anyways, you're better off" She smiles. I rolled my eyes and walked into the classroom, I take my usual space, which once more was next to Tom. He filtered into the classroom a few moments after me. The class went on, as boring as it usually was, I could feel Tom look at me every so often. But every time I looked to him, he looked away. It was frustrating, it almost made me want to smile. "I can hear you thinking from here" I mutter to him. He didn't respond, so I turn to look at him, he stayed looking ahead.
"Well?" I ask quietly.
"What?" He snapped in a whisper.
"Nothing" I say sighing, I suppose I didn't actually have anything to say to him.
"What are you sighing?" He asks quietly.
"Because you're worth sighing for" I mutter. I watch as he cocks his head for a moment. "..I'm worth sighing for?"
"Yeah Tom, annoying boys tend to make girls sigh in annoyance" I snap.
"Do I annoy you that much, princess?" He asks, smirking.
"Don't call me that" I say, rolling my eyes. He leans in a little closer to me, keeping his voice low. "Why should I?"
"I'll start calling you Tommy again" I threaten. "You wouldn't dare." He says with a sneer.
"Oh I would" I say with a playful smirk.
"You're so damn annoying, princess" He mutters as he looks away from me down to his book. I sigh quietly as I watched his eyes move away from me. I hated my feelings for him. Hated them.
"Whatever" I say, taking a huge breath, I didn't have the effort in me to banter anymore. He looked up at me and narrowed his eyes, the corners of his lips lowered as he frowned at me.
"Don't do that. Don't become quiet" He says in a whisper.
"Too bad" I mutter, shrugging. I felt a small pain in my chest, I looked away, looking down at my desk.
"Don't do this, talk to me" He said, his voice stern and strong.
"Or what?" I snap in a whisper, not wanting to alert the professor. "You'll curse me? Would you do that Tommy? Hurt the only person in this whole school willing to be close to you?" I asked, anger strong in my voice. I knew I shouldn't of said it, even before I said it. I was so angry, and maybe not fully at him. He flinched at my words, looking at me with wide eyes.
"...No I wouldn't curse you" He answers, his voice steady.
"Didn't think so"
"Princess, just talk to me. Stop being so damn stubborn for once"
"After the way you've treated me this week, why should I?" I ask quietly, everytime I tried he deflected my emotions, he must of known how I felt about him. I wasn't subtle, and yet...
"...Because I... I don't like how you're being silent all of a sudden"
"Girls get silent when boys they like hurt them" I whisper, remembering the things he had said over the past few days. I didn't watch for his reaction, but he stayed silent for the remainder of the class. So when class ended, I walked to the Great Hall alone.
I noticed Tom walked into the Hall a lot later than I did. He didn't come sit with me, I ate my food quickly, I decided to leave the Hall and skip my next lesson. spending my time alone in an empty classroom. I found the one I usually used, it was never used for classes anymore so it was always empty. I sat quietly in the corner under the window that looked into the classroom, I wouldn't be noticed that way, and I grabbed my book, as tears trailed down my cheeks.
I got maybe three pages into the book before I set it down, succumbing to the tears, I shuffled and brought my knees up to my chest, hugging them close. I hadn't notice the door open until I heard it close. I looked up and sighed, wiping my tears.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"I could ask you the same thing" He answers, taking one step closer.
"This is my hideout" I answer as I wipe more tears.
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm not" I mutter. I heard him sigh as he rubbed a hand over his face and into his hair.
"Don't let to me, princess. I can see the tears"
"Why do you care? Emotions are a weakness, remember?" I mutter, wiping more tears. I sniffled slightly. Tom takes a deep breath, I could hear the pain in it, he didn't sound annoyed for once either.
"...I care about you. I hate seeing you cry" He whispers, taking another step closer to me.
I scoff, not believing him. How could I? My voice sounds a little harsher as I speak. "Don't make me laugh, you don't care about me"
"...And what makes you think that?"
I sigh "You. You make me think that"
"How? How do I make you think that I don't care?" He asks, he was now standing in front of me.
"Telling me emotions are a weakness, you deflect me...You may like flirting with me as a joke, and you've had your fun, I just need you to not" I ramble. He moves to sit besides me, his back leaning against the wall, his arm pressed into mine, his leg against mine.
"Do you really think I'm just playing with you for fun?" He asks quietly, his eyes meeting mine as he lowers his head slightly.
"Yes" I mumble.
"You're wrong, I'm not playing with you. I'm not just flirting with you to keep myself entertained, I'm not teasing you just for fun. And I'm not doing it to make you feel bad, princess"
"Then why, Tom?" I asked, confused.
He swallows, taking a deep breath as he closes his eyes for a few moments, before opening them again. "Because... I have feelings for you, you stupid girl"
"Feelings? For me?" I asked, my voice squeaked as I felt shock surge through me. Tom had feelings...Tom had emotions, and feelings, for me. "I don't believe you" I add in a whisper.
"Why is it so hard for you to believe me?"
"The way you've acted" I say, shrugging. He felt so warm beside me, and warm is never a word I would of used to describe Tom. He even smelt warm, and comforting. I would never admit it, but his cologne was one of the things I smelt when making Amortentia. It was intoxicating, deep and almost woody. I loved it. And as he sat close to me, his knees close to his chest, just how I was sitting. It made my brain cloudy.
"I just...I don't know how to deal with feelings. I don't know how to express them, so I...I say things that I don't mean" He says quietly, he shuts his eyes, and moves to rest his head on his knees. Oh. He did know about my feelings, he felt the same. He was saying sorry, talking to me about his feelings, I was almost in shock just from that alone.
"Tom..." I whisper. "Tommy..."
"...Y-yes?" He asks, stuttering. My heart ached for him, he was being vulnerable in front of me. Actually vulnerable.
"The whole time...You were just scared, weren't you?" I ask, his eyes were still closed, head still on his knees.
"Yes" He answers, muffled. I reach over carefully and take his jaw in my jaw, moving his head as my fingers caress his chin. He swallowed as his eyes meet mine, I could see how vulnerable he felt.
"Don't you see...Haven't you seen? I ignore all the boys who want me in this damned school" I say, moving my fingers to softly cup his cheek.
"W-what do you mean?" He asks, whispering.
"How many boys have you seen ask me out" I ask bluntly.
"Quite a few"
"And do I ever give them the time of day?" I ask, I watch as his eyes widen a little.
"No, you never do"
"And you know why?" I ask as I slowly start stroking his cheekbone with my thumb. He looks uncomfortable with the touch, but not from not wanting it, he leaned into my hand, like a man starved of touch.
"Why?" He asks quietly, his eyes shut as he relaxes in to my touch. I take a deep breath. This was it, I had to tell him, admit it finally in simple words.
"Because I want you"
His eyes open as I speak "You...You want me?" He asks in disbelief, I almost laugh, we were both idiots, all this time, we had wanted one another, scared the other didn't.
"For so long...I thought I was being obvious with my flirting, but obviously not" I say with a nervous giggle.
"You...You were flirting with me?" He asked.
"What? Did you just think I was teasing you for the fun of it?" I ask, my expression almost comical. I wanted to slap the both of us over the head.
"I-I thought that you were...I thought I was just...a game to you" He admits, his head was cocked now as he rests it into my hand.
"Well" I say playfully. "I do like teasing you"
"Well, you're damn good at it" He says, smirking. I move my hand away, as I started to feel sweaty, we were both deep in this now, I shouldn't be scared or nervous.
"Tom, would you do something for me?" I ask, feeling my nerves spike.
"Yes....yes princess, anything"
I took another deep breath, I move my body, moving so my legs were under my body as I leaned closer to him. "Kiss me?"
"Y-yes princess, I'll kiss you" He whispers, slowly he moves toward me, moving onto his knees, Tom moves his hands to my jaw, cupping either side as he moves closer. I could taste his breath on my lips, he tasted pepperminty, and just as our lips were about to touch, the door opened and in walked a professor.
The professor yelled at us and took points away from Slytherin, ordering us to leave. Tom and I left the classroom, walking side by side, when we turned the corner I started to giggle, he stopped walking and turned to me.
"...What are you laughing about?" He asks.
"Nothing, that was funny"
"..It was, I suppose" He mutters.
"Oh come on grumpy, it was a little funny" I say giggling.
"...I'm not grumpy" He mumble as he starts walking again, I catch up, skipping slightly to keep up with him. "You're just annoying"
"Says you, Tommy" I say with a smirk, my eyes glance down to his hand for a moment, imagining walking together hand in hand.
"Shut up, princess" He says, giving me a side glance, but I could see him start to smile.
"Make me"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" He says, we turn another corner, reaching the outside of the Slytherin Common Room.
"Oh, I would" I say as I open the large circular door "But I bet you would like it too"
The common room was empty, classes were still being held.
"I don't know about that princess" He answers playfully.
"So you're saying you don't actually want to kiss me to shut me up?" I ask, grinning as I flop down onto one of the couches. He approaches me, standing in front of me. My heart raced as he did so.
"I never said that" He murmurs.
"So you do want to kiss me?" I ask, smirking up to him. I watched as he sighed as he ran a hand over his face, I could see he was hiding a small smile. "Come on Tommy, kiss me" I added, giggling softly. I reach out to take his hand, bringing him closer to me, he moves himself to sit by me.
"Truth time?" I offer, looking up into his eyes. I needed him to feel comfortable with me, and I had a feeling he was still feeling insecure. I moved my hand to his arm and he flinched from my touch, he was so uncomfortable with touch, I needed to him to know it wasn't just about touch with me.
"T-truth time?" He repeats as he cocks in head.
"Tom. I love you. I'm stupidly, painfully, and completely in love with you. And I know you struggle with emotions and getting close to people...But it's me, your best friend, your only friend the entire time we've been in Hogwarts, I am here for you, whether you want to keep it as our friendship, or if you want more, and if you do want more and decide you would rather I didn't touch you, that's okay to" I say, explaining myself fully to him.
"Princess, I..." He says quietly.
"Tom...it's okay, you don't have to, don't force yourself to want me like that, okay?" I say quietly, I felt a little hurt in my heart, I wanted nothing more than to kiss him, hold him. But if he couldn't, I'd have to deal with that.
"Princess, I do want you, I want you so damn much" He says, sighing.
"But it scares you..?" I ask quietly. He swallows, sighing again. "Yes...yes it scares me"
"I'm here for you, I know about the horcruxes you've been planning, and I know about the 'evil' plans..." I say with a deep breath, I said truth time, I meant truth time. "And I don't care, I'm here, and I want you"
Tom watched me in horror for a moment, he obviously was not expecting that from me. "You don't care about any of that?"
"No" I admit "I decided a long time ago, that I wanted you, Tom. I'll stand by you"
"You'll...stand by me?" He repeats asking as if he didn't believe me.
"I love you" I repeated.
"I...I love you too" He whispers, it was my turn to widen my eyes, I looked at him shocked. If someone where to walk into the common room right now, I'd hexed them, I wouldn't have anyone ruin this moment, not anyone.
"You do?" I whisper.
"Would you kiss me?" I ask carefully, if he said no, I'd deal with it. But I needed to know, needed to ask first before letting it go. "If you don't want to, it's okay, I understand"
"I want to kiss you" He responds not even a second after I speak. "Kiss me then" I say, my voice breathy. Tom swallowed, leaning closer to me, his lips slowly trailing towards mine. His lips ghosted mine, I darted my tongue out to lick my own lips, catching his lips slightly. I felt him gasp softly, I could tell this would be his first kiss, and something about that made me feel fuzzy inside. His lips finally touched mine, he was a little sloppy with his movements at first, but I liked it. I took control and kissed him softly, showing him how to move his lips.
After a few moments, we parted, I smiled as I looked at him, his cheeks were a little flushed and his eyes hooded as he studied my features.
"That was nice" I whisper.
"That was more than nice, princess" He admits, and I beam, I could tell admitting that was a big deal to him, and I felt so special.
"You enjoyed it?" I ask, hopeful, feeling a little anxious.
"Yes, yes, I enjoyed it"
"Good" I say moving to place my hand over his. "Because I plan to keep doing it"
"Good, because I don't plan on stopping you" He answers a little cocky, I smiled, for the past few moments, he was nervous and a little quiet, so hearing him become cocky again was enough to make me smile.
"Kiss me again, Tommy" I beg. "Tell me I'm yours, please" I add, a little pathetically. He moves a little closer, awkwardly placing one hand on my waist.
"You're mine" He murmurs "You're all mine" He leans in and kisses me again, he still kissed a little messily, but he tried, following my lead. I already felt addicted to his touch, I never wanted to stop.
"I'm all yours" I mumble against his lips. He kisses me again, pulling me a little closer before whispering. "All mine"