Into Your Gravity ( Luna Lovegood & Tom Riddle )

Chapter eleven: Loneliness

Am I loud and clear, or am I breaking up?
Am I still your charm, or am I just bad luck?
Are we getting closer, or are we just getting more lost?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours first.
Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse.
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words.
Swing Life Away - Rise Against

•

On Boxing Day, after a great deal of wheedling during breakfast, a happy Luna walked beside a sullen Tom on a walk around the grounds, as Othello the Kneazle rode along in the pocket of her cloak. Their breath frosted in front of their mouths as they walked, their footsteps crunching in the snow.

"What do you want to do when you're done with school, Tom?" Luna asked. "You'll have so many options available, you're the top student at Hogwarts."

"I'm not sure," he muttered.

Glancing sideways at him, Luna knew he was being dishonest. "You must have thought about it, and discussed it with Professor Slughorn when you were deciding which N.E.W.T.s to take."

"Of course I've thought about it. I just haven't decided yet. I may work in the Ministry, I suppose, or even here. I've heard Professor Merrythought is considering retiring soon, which means the Defense Against the Dark Arts post will be available."

"You're interested in teaching?" she asked, brows raised.

"You ask far too many questions," he said with a scowl.

"This is what friends talk about," she said.

"When did we decide we were friends, again? I must've missed it."

"Thomas."

"Don't call me that."

Luna bent down as they walked to scoop up a handful of snow and inspected the individual snowflakes. "Personally, I should like to be a Magizoologist when I graduate."

"Been reading too much Newt Scamander, have you?"

"Ooh, look at this one!" she stopped walking and held out her hand with a bunch of snow in the palm.

Tom leaned over to look at the snow. "Which one? You've got about a thousand just there and they're rather indistinguishable."

"This one!" she said, pointing to one of the snowflakes in particular. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It looks just like all the rest."

"I suspect your sense of wonder has been disabled by Blibbering Humdingers; I've actually been intending to bring it up with you at the appropriate moment," Luna said, feeling a mild level of concern for him as she dusted the snow off her hands.

Tom's eyes rolled towards the sky with scorn, and he started walking again. "There you go, you win, let's talk about our plans for after school. Anything but the bloody Blibbering Humdingers."

"Well, then what is it that you'd like to be?" she asked.

A thoughtful look settled on his face, and Luna was pleased to see he was giving serious consideration to his response. His pale cheeks had faint patches of pink just over his cheekbones from the cold air, and her eyes lingered on them for a moment, this proof of the warm blood inside him under his cool exterior.