Of Monsters and Men- Tom Riddle x OC

26

"Miss Wallis?"

Animo titled her head up from where she had been stirring her shrinking solution to see Professor Slughorn looming over her desk. "Yes, professor?" She furrowed her brow, surprised at his address. Ever since the Amortentia lesson, Slughorn had pointedly avoided her.

"I was just wondering if there was a bit of a—" Slughorn drew out the question for dramatic effect, his blue eyes wide, "lover's spat? Between you and Mr. Riddle?" He wobbled towards the front of the room, his tie a brilliant maroon.

Pointedly not following his gaze, Animo returned her attention back towards her potion. Ever since Saturday, she and Tom had seemed to be at a sort of impasse. Contrary to his discovery of her Dark Mark, Tom had given her a wide berth in the corridors. She didn't know what to make of this. She would have thought Tom's curiosity and arrogance would have broken the barrier between them ages ago. But she was currently at the back of the Potions room, stationed at a desk all by herself.

"No, professor. Tom and I were never anything but friends." Even that lie was hard for Animo to force. "I just believe that he wants to work alone."

Slughorn tutted his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment. "I'm sorry to hear that. Don't tell Tom I said this," he leaned towards Animo conspiratorially, although his voice remained at the same volume, "but you two together create better work than alone!"

Smiling slightly at his shaking finger, Animo nodded her head. "I think so too." She ladled a bit of solution into the test vial Slughorn handed her. "May I leave early?" Dueling club was tonight and Animo was anxious begin setting up.

"On one condition," Slughorn leaned closer with a merry chuckle. "I'm holding a party of sorts for my finest this weekend. I would like you to be in attendance."

Hesitating briefly, Animo wondered whether she would rather be at one of Slughorn's forced events than holed up in her room. But she had promised herself to never hide again. "Sure, professor. Thank you for the invitation."

Beaming, Slughorn accepted her vial with flourish. "Excellent! Feel free to bring a guest—" his expression soured slightly. "I just beg, not Mr. Lupin. I fear he lacks a taste for the finer things."

Animo barely held back a snort as she grinned. "I'll be sure of that, professor." Balancing her books on her hip, she trotted between the desks, determined to pass Tom's as quickly as possible. She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed when he didn't even look up from his cauldron.

Taking the stairs up from the dungeon, Animo scoured the corridor for Avril. The fourth-years had a staggered period and the younger Slytherin was often able to help her plan for their dueling nights (which Alphard repeatedly claimed was unfair).

A dark sheet of hair caught her eye and she waved Avril over from the door of the Transfiguration classroom. Avril slunk between the crowds with a practiced grace, her usual braids absent. Instead, silky strands hung all the way to her waist.

"I love your hair," Animo grinned as she led the way towards the Room of Requirement, observing the girl's tightened jaw with a hint of apprehension. "What's wrong?"

"Dumbledore," the Slytherin spat, tucking a lock behind her eye with a fierce flick. "Gave Gryffindor THIRTY points today. THIRTY!" Her amber gaze flashed in indignation, "and I answered at least three questions."

Wincing as they stepped onto the seventh floor, Animo sympathized with the girl's frustrations. "Al—Professor Dumbledore," she caught herself narrowly, "has a terrible bias towards his house. I wouldn't take it personally."

"It just shouldn't be allowed!" Avril's shoulders were tight with annoyance as she paced in front of the expanse of wall, summoning the iron clad door to form from the stone. "Honestly, even the 'greatest' wizards of our world are prejudiced."

Turning the handle, Animo couldn't find much evidence to argue the accusation. Instead, she mulled over her memories of Albus and Gellert, two impassioned teenagers who felt the world at their feet. "Did you know that Grindelwald and Dumbledore knew each other growing up?"

"What?" Avril snapped her head back from the piles of cushions she was organizing on the floor. Her face was drawn with surprise. "How do you know?"

The torches hummed a merry crackle above their heads and Animo set aside her notes for tonight's meeting. "He told me." She tried to word her response as honestly as possible. "I believe they were close." A sigh escaped her lips as she settled against the wall, letting the cold of the stone sink into her aching muscles. "What I'm trying to say is that Dumbledore holds such a disregard of Slytherin because I think he could have very easily been one himself. He's afraid of that sort of power in his hands." She shivered, remembering the day that it had all come undone. When Albus apparated in front of her home soaked and bloody before sending her into the future. "Thus, he distances himself from the temptation of dark magic. However inaccurate, Slytherin does have a reputation for darkness. And if Dumbledore was close to Grindelwald, its only reminds him of what he has lost."

There was a faint rustle as Avril settled beside her, her lips puckered in thought. "So that's why he doesn't challenge Grindelwald's forces. I never could understand that." A wry smile curled her left cheek. "Dumbledore should then understand our pain: do you align yourself with those you share ties with or do you let them go and end up facing the world alone?"

Animo puffed out a breath, reaching over to clasp Avril's hand. "You try to help those you're close to, but if they're going to take you down with them," her eyes darkened, "then you have to cut those ties."

"Are you going to do that with Riddle?" Avril rolled her eyes as Animo's mouth dropped open. "Honestly, it's not difficult to notice that there's something going on between you two."

"Tom is different," Animo replied slowly, memorizing the pattern of cracks in the stones beneath her feet. "There's a deep history there." More like future.

Appearing rather dissatisfied, Animo was thankful when Avril didn't probe further. The girl was very intuitive and knew when to push others' boundaries. "I don't know, Annie." She pushed herself to her feet gingerly, dusting the front of her robes. Of course, there was not a speck of lint on the dark satin. "Sounds a bit hypocritical. If there's anyone that's going to tear you down, it's him." She hugged a cushion to her side halfheartedly. "And he's going to enjoy doing it."

Taken aback at the brutal honesty in the fourth year's tone, Animo turned towards her notes, scanning the narrow handwriting without comprehending a word. Still, she couldn't shake the feel that Tom was different. If he chose to change, the wizarding world would be forever altered.

"How are you and Alphard?" Animo deflected the subject, seeking for a more neutral ground. She wasn't sure if she was ready to face the prospect of giving up on Tom. If she did, what was the point of the last decade? She could help in the war against Gellert, but in the end, Albus was the only one who could reach her brother. Tom was Animo's task.

"Fine," Avril flushed a pretty pink, sending Animo a furtive glance. "We went to Hogsmeade together."

"Hmmm," Animo hummed, raising her brow at the softness lining the girl's expression. "And?"

Several moments passed as Avril's posture deflated and the girl brought her arms closer around her chest. "And my parents are still insistent on finding a fiancé within the year. And don't ask about Alphard," she caught Animo's awkward motion, "my family isn't high enough on the tree for the Blacks to accept the proposal. Besides, an engagement has to initiated by the boy and I would never ask Al to do that." Shaking her head vehemently, Avril pulled her strands back into a sleek ponytail. "He would inevitably grow to resent me."

Animo recalled the fondness between the pair and Alphard's tendency to shield Avril during their dueling sessions, often letting her win against him without much of a fight. "Somehow, I don't think that's true."

Giving a humorless laugh, Avril shook her head at their serious stances. "Romance just isn't in the cards for us, is it?"

A smile burst across Animo's face as she nudged the girl's shoulder with her own. "There are more important things. Like friendship."

Avril's expression glowed with warmth.