Imperium - t.r.

Chapter Fifteen: The Last of the Autumn Air

A few weeks had passed. To any other, it would seem that Tom and Anastasia were the happiest couple on earth. Hell, even Tom thought so. Over the days, he had actually met with Dumbledore quite a lot. Arguing with a professor who thought that he would come over to the light and know love can be pretty emotionally draining, even for him. Though, that strange, alien concept of love slowly began to make sense to him. Or maybe it was something else. The way Anastasia smiled as the fallen autumn leaves crunched beneath her feet made a peculiar fuzzy sensation bubble up in his chest. It startled him. He had felt it before, but only briefly and slightly. This was totally different, fireworks went off in his stomach and its heat rose up to his face. Is this love? Is it sickness? A precursor of a regular winter cold? Who on earth would want to feel like that? He scowled at himself, disappointed that he was actually considering anything that senile old bat would tell him. After all, unconditional, true love doesn't and has never existed. It's just not part of human nature.

"Hey, Tom," Anastasia chuckled, waving her hand in front of his face. "You alright?"

That snapped him out of his thoughts. Smiling down at her, he replied, "I'm fine."

"Really?" she inquired, walking with him among Hogsmeade's roads. "You just seemed a little on edge is all."

"Well, midterms are coming up," he replied.

"Like you need to worry about midterms," she chortled. "I'm more worried about Avery and Lestrange. They are Grade-A slackers."

"Come to think of it," Tom said, stopping in front of her. "When exactly did you start caring about any of them? Last I checked, you screeched like a dragon on firewhiskey whenever they bothered you."

"Honestly, I have absolutely no idea," she said. "Even though they are quite possibly the most purist people I've ever met, I've forgotten that they were human. In families like that, you have to conform or be cast out. That kind of hatred and supremacy is taught, passed down from one generation to the next. The brave ones break the cycle, but for people like them... it just seems unbearable. I don't blame them. Even though they're all bags of dragon dung... there's still some good in them that they try to hide. I'm just hoping they'll grow up, apologize, and we can all part ways on good terms."

Tom sighed, knowing that her little dream will never come to pass. She, whether she wants to or not, always tries to see the best in people. And sometimes, she sees things that aren't there. It's nice conceptually, but it's too much for them and he knew that. Also, he feeds their prejudices which in turn makes him more powerful, so he's not going to let it happen either way.

"One day, maybe," he said. "Would you like to stop by Madam Puddifoot's for tea? I mean, we're literally right here."

"Sure!" Anastasia replied with a smile. "I haven't had a chance to try her new pumpkin pie spice latte with everything that's been going on! Also, she really outdoes herself every year with her autumn decor!"

"Why does everyone love this pumpkin pie spice so much?" Tom scowled. "It's called pumpkin pie spice, so why should it be in coffee? Animals..."

"I suppose you're afraid of change in everything, Tom," Anastasia jested.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that," he retorted.

Since it was a designated Hogsmeade trip for students in their third and fifth year, the shop was packed with happy and not-so-happy couples. They waited outside for a table, but were quickly seated after a girl ran out of the shop crying and her presumed boyfriend running after her with profuse apologies spilling from his mouth. Tom and Anastasia looked at each other before chuckling a bit.