You don't own me, Riddle

Chapter 15- Butterbeer and heart-to-heart pt 1

"Ari, wake up" a voice said, while Ari felt her shoulder being lightly shaken. "Ugh, what time is it?" she groaned in response, dragging her cover over her head. "10" the voice told her, which caught her attention.

In one swift movement, she threw the cover away and sat up causing Stella to fumble backward almost falling over. "WHAT" Ari hissed, groggily looking around the room. Neither Helen nor Elizabeth was in the room, and all the beds except for Ari's were neatly made. "Why didn't you wake me earlier? I've slept nearly all day! I missed breakfast!" She rubbed her face in frustration.

Stella giggled. "I think this is the first time I've seen your hair, well not perfect" She teased, and Ari responded with a glare while running her hands through her hair. Stella sat down at the edge of Ari's bed. "You seemed to be so exhausted, I didn't have the heart to wake you, but eventually I, or really Kat, got worried. Are you okay?" Stella asked concerned. "I'm fine, I guess I was just tired" Ari responded and stretched her arms over her head before getting up and heading for the bathroom.

"Are you up for a trip to Hogsmead today?" Stella asked. "Hogsmead? were allowed to go there?" Ari asked back. "Yes, as long as we have permission slips from our paren.. ehm guardians. Did your grandfather sign one?" Ari thought for a second, and sighed. "Probably, I'll have to ask him."

"Ask him? Owls might take a while?" Stella looked confused. Ari got up from her bed and picked up her wand. "Vocatio" She said and the tip of her wand started to glow. She closed her eyes and thought of the message she wanted to send to her grandfather, and eventually, the glow turned into a faint green color.

She grinned at Stella. "That's amazing, I never heard of that spell before" Stella looked at Ari impressed, and she responded with a shruggof her shoulders before proceeding into the bathroom.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, they met up with Kat and Georgia in one of the hallways outside the Ravenclaw common room.

"Ari!" Kat squealed and ran up to her, engulfing her in a hug. "Are you coming with us to Hogsmead?" She asked, looking up with her arms still around her. "Hey, Kat" Ari said with a laugh "Of course" Kat nodded happily and preceded to hug Stella.

Ari got the feeling that someone was watching her and turned to look around her. Tom was leaning against the wall at the end of the corridor, locking his eyes on Ari's and smirking. "I'll meet you guys at the front gate, okay," She told them, not averting her eyes from Tom. The girls giggled and headed for the staircase.

"Hey" She breathed as she got close to him, unsure of how to act. "Hello" he answered and took a step closer to her, picking up a strand of her hair and twirling it between his fingers. "Are you going somewhere?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. Ari's heartbeat increased, and she was sure that he could hear it since his grin widened.

"Hogsmead" She simply stated. Tom hummed in response. "We're meeting tonight" He told her, and she felt as if the air disappeared from her lungs. "We are?" she whispered breathlessly. "We and the others" he continued, and she felt disappointment wash over her. "Oh" she simply said. He lifted his hand, and placed it behind her head, pulling her closer to him. She automatically bit her lip, her eyes falling on his. He leaned over her until his mouth was touching her ear.

"Midnight, usual place. Make sure you're alone" He whispered and backed up a bit. She felt herself wishing that he would lean back in and kiss her before it occurred to her that they were in the middle of a hallway. She turned her head to look around them and found two Ravenclaw girls looking their way, whispering to each other.

Ari took a step backward clearing her throat, Tom raised an eyebrow at her. "People might misunderstand if we're this close" She whispered, and darted her eyes towards the girls. "Misunderstand?" He asked, never looking away from her.

"Think that we are together" She clarified, although she was fairly sure he knew exactly what she meant. "Are we not?" He asked slowly moving towards her. She opened her mouth to say something but no sound escaped her. He leaned in again and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before smirking and walking past her.

She blinked a couple of times and turned around to find herself alone in the corridor, apart from the two other girls who were still watching her. She hurriedly gathered herself and started walking towards the front gate, feeling her cheeks burn under their stare. Stupid boy.

Stella, Kat, and Georgia were sitting on a bench just outside the gate, and quickly got up when they saw Ari approaching. Georgia raised an eyebrow at her, but Ari quickly started to ask questions about the stores at Hogsmead before she had time to ask her about anything.

After roaming around the stores for a while, visiting everything from Zonko's to Honeydukes, the girls entered The Three Broomsticks. As Stella ordered their drinks, the rest of their group chose a table and sat down.

"So.." Georgia started "Are you and Tom Riddle a couple?" Kat finished. "No" Ari responded automatically, biting her lip. "Come on, the guy is really into you" Georgia stated, looking really invested in the matter. Ari shrugged her shoulders.

Stella joined the table and handed each girl a butterbeer, and Ari immediately sipped hers to avoid having to talk. This was a bit more difficult to explain than she wanted to. "Ari, you don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to." Kat told her, placing her small hand on top of hers and gently squeezing it. 

"But you could talk to us you know, if you want" Georgia said absentmindedly, propping her elbow on the table and leaning her head on it, taking a sip of her butterbeer. "It's just that we care about you, we all noticed that something has been on your mind lately. Maybe we can help?" Stella added, placing her hand on Ari's arm, gently stroking it. 

Ari looked around at her friends and felt content. She never really had friends she could trust before, and never really thought she needed them. "It's just" She started, looking down at the table feeling a bit shy. "Even I don't really know what's going on" Ari finished and bit her lip. 

"But you like him?" Stella asked with twinkling eyes. "Of course she does, it's obvious" Georgia said, and Ari nodded shyly in agreement. "The question is, what are you gonna do about it" She continued and Ari met her eyes. "What do you mean?" Ari asked. 

Georgia signed "Did he ask you out?" She said, ignoring Ari's question. Ari thought about it for a second, furrowing her brows while looking to the side thinking. "Not directly" Ari said hesitantly "More like he demanded that I hang out with him" she finished, not sure how she should phrase their interaction. 

"Do you want to go out with him?" Stella asked, and Ari shrugged her shoulders. She had confirmed that she in fact liked him but still was not sure what she wanted their relationship to be like. 

"Do you want to kiss him" Kat flecked in, and Ari immediately lowered her gaze, feeling her cheeks heat up. God, why was she reacting like this just at the mention of kissing him? Of course, she wanted to. "Did he already kiss you?" Georgia followed up, suddenly more involved in the conversation. 

Ari felt the corner of her mouth twitch before she had any time to really react "He did!" Kat exclaimed, and all of them hunched her at the same time. "Sorry" she squeaked, placing one hand over her mouth. "When?" Stella asked, her eyes still sparkling with interest. 

"Slug-club" Ari answered feeling her nervousness about the topic start to fade. Why did she think this would be hard to talk about? 

These girls were on her side after all. Her best friends. 

__________

A/N

So.. The first meeting with the knights of walpurgis is getting closer, and Tom seems to act more confidently in their interactions. 

The conversation between the girls is going to be continued in the next chapter, how much of the truth will Ari tell them? 

Have a nice day!

-Naomi