Malefic [BOOK 2]

Leo? Not Leo.

"How did we end up here, again?"

Tom, whose nose was buried deep into his book, rolled his eyes for the fifth time since morning. He slammed the pages shut before regarding Leo with a burning glare. The girl was staring off into a distance, her lips were parted in order to breathe due to her stuffy nose.

Tom scrunched his own red in annoyance, "We are here because of you!"

"Hey, my memory of last night might be a bit rusty but I don't recall telling you to follow me," Leo pointed out.

Tom began to retaliate but was cut if by a series of sneezes from Leo. He shook his head from side to side and went back to reading his book.

"You know-"

"No, I don't and nor do I want to," Tom cut her off even before Leo could share her ideas.

The girl sniffed aggressively and pushed the blankets off of her. Being the only two in the infirmary, Leo didn't want to give away endless opportunities to annoy Tom. He was the only source of her entertainment for the time being.

Tom unconsciously scooted away when Leo hopped towards his bed. The girl sat down beside him but he refused to pay her attention.

"Have you ever broken any rules, Riddle?"

"Of course, not!" Tom exclaimed only to see the girl smirking at him in triumph. She had successfully grabbed his attention on the first try. Tom wanted to smack himself with his own book but refrained from doing so.

"You see, Riddle, you need to experience everything at least once in your life. Today, I offer you the golden opportunity of bringing absolute chaos inside Hogwarts. Are you with me?" Leo dramatically offered her hand to Tom who stared at it like he was being offered poison.

"Absolutely not!"

She looked unamused, "You act all disciplined and mighty but don't forget that one time when you apparated us to the astronomy tower. Also, you used magic outside of Hogwarts without a second thought."

Tom stared at her with the coldest look on his face. Even with the fever, he looked like he could shoot icicles through his eyes. Leo didn't look like she cared. She only wiggled her eyebrows, urging him to join in her evil plans. Tom had other ideas.

"If you are not going to let me read in peace, might as well answer some of my questions," he suggested.

Leo immediately shot up from his bed. She turned her face away from him and raised her palm, "No, thank you. I will only answer when my lawyer arrives."

"What?" Tom frowned.

"What?" Leo repeated dumbly.

Tom bit back a groan of frustration. One normal conversation was all he asked for, ever since Leo came back to life.

"If you answer only a few of my questions, I will help you make everyone's day miserable," Tom suggested through his teeth.

Leo slowly turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, "I might look dumb, Tom Riddle. But let me clarify- I am NOT," She plopped down back on his bed, "So, what do you want to know?"

Tom look unamused.

"Back at the Riddle manor, you told me to follow you before they took you away," his face darkened at the mention of the incident, "But when I arrived at the forest..."

Tom couldn't finish his sentence. He tried to push down the lump in his throat. Not finding Leo inside the forest was a memory he wanted to bury forever. The very mention of the incident left a weird feeling in his chest. In those moments, he felt lost.