Of Monsters and Men- Tom Riddle x OC

25

Suppressing her smile, Animo watched as Alphard and Avril ambled off towards Hogsmeade, barely a few centimeters of space between them.

"Little lovebirds," Lyall crowed from behind her ear, following her gaze. An amused grin dimpled his right cheek as he stomped a few clumps of snow from his leather shoes. "Swore Black was gonna murder me after I disarmed Avril last night. I barely hit her!"

Animo snorted, remembering Avril's rage at being bested by a "ruddy lionheart." "If anything, she got even with that Bogey Hex."

The sun had managed to crest through the clouds, dappling the courtyard with rays of light as Lyall leaned closer to her, holding out his arm. "May I escort you to thy store, Madame Wallis?"

"She doesn't want to be anywhere near you, Lupin." Abraxas's drawl was unmistakable as the Slytherin strolled down the stairs towards them, his long hair tied into a neat ponytail. "I fear I dirty my blood by just looking at you."

A hateful expression twisted Lyall's brow as he spat a ball of saliva on Abraxas's gleaming soles. "Sorry, figured if you were already tainted, a bit more wouldn't hurt."

Snarling, the Malfoy heir lunged forward, pulling his wand from his robes. "I'll—"

"Malfoy."

Tom's unmistakable tone froze the pair as the Slytherin ducked from behind one of the pillars, coatless despite the frigid air. The Head Boy raised a condescending brow. "Don't make a fool of yourself for someone like Lupin."

"And what's that supposed to mean, Riddle?" Lyall snapped, offense lacing his stance as he swung around to address the Slytherin. "Do I not bully enough first years for your liking?"

Raising his other eyebrow, Tom just looked down his nose at Lyall. Despite the Gryffindor being several centimeters taller, Tom seemed to tower over him, his shadow long over the ground. "Is that really the best insult you can manage?"

Her breath billowing in front of her, Animo tugged on Lyall's elbow, nodding towards the castle gates. "I just saw Dom and Cilla pass through. Seemed like they were searching for you." When Lyall refused to move, not breaking his stare with Tom, Animo tried again. "Lyall," she hissed, "go."

"I'm not—" Lyall was mortified at the idea of leaving Animo alone. "They're a bunch of Slytherins!"

"And so am I." Refuting his protests quickly, Animo's stoic posture made Lyall sigh in defeat.

"I'll see you later."

Animo made sure the Gryffindor was actually walking toward the gate before she turned back to Abraxas, who was shaking his head in her direction with disgust.

"The number of bloodtraitors in this school goes up by the day."

"Malfoy!" This time Tom's tone rang with command as he jerked his head towards the boy. "Lestrange needs assistance with his task."

As he turned to leave, Animo caught Abraxas regarding her with a strange expression. "A task?" she didn't break eye contact with the pale-haired boy, but posed the question towards Tom.

"You may have spilled your story to me," Tom gestured towards the gate, thrusting his hands in his front pockets, "but that doesn't mean we're close, Wallis. What I do is no concern of yours."

The sunlight reflected off the snow clumps surrounding them while they made their way towards Hogsmeade, far behind everyone else. Animo wrinkled her brow at the landscape, searching for the Whomping Willow in the distance. But the barbaric tree was nowhere to be found and she was hit with the realization that it had not yet been planted. No, that was for Lyall's son. She rubbed at the side of her temple. It was becoming more difficult to differentiate her various pasts. Perhaps one day they would not seem separate at all, but part of a great tapestry that would then make sense.