Into Your Gravity ( Luna Lovegood & Tom Riddle )

Chapter twenty: Everything I'm not

"Every time I hold you I begin to understand, that everything about you tells me you're my best friend."
-Anonymous
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The next few days leading up to Friday blended together for Tom. Each second was an hour and each day was a minute. Time was a flimsy idea that held no real significance to him any longer.

The other students of Hogwarts all knew within a few hours that Tom had given Luna a necklace, and they all simply assumed that the two were together. There were brief plots by some of the Slytherin girls to knock Luna off, but Tom put an end to those fairly quickly (and threateningly).

Tom still did not hold Luna's hand in public. He rarely kissed her, and he had yet to say that he loved her, yet Luna did not need these things to let her know. She knew in the way the oval stone around her neck was constantly red.

He was not gentle. His words were still biting, sarcastic, and often downright cruel. He was not a lover, nor did he let his care for her show on his face. Only when someone else would attack Luna, be it a mocking remark or an annoyed glare, would anyone have guessed that he gave a damn about her at all.

On Friday, Luna had awoken knowing that it would be a special day. She took special care getting ready that morning. She had tried to do something with her hair, but after Othello repeatedly attacked her hair and destroyed whatever she had done, she gave up. She did, however, wear her favorite blouse and blue skirt, as well as her radish earrings and a pair of teal stockings.

Tom was not a morning person, and therefore did not say much when he saw her before breakfast. Luna mildly thought that Tom would have been better on a nocturnal schedule. During breakfast, Luna's friends, who had been peppering her with questions for the last few days, resumed their interrogation. Luna escaped much of it after breakfast when she headed to Ancient Runes with Cat and Lorraine.

The day breezed by up until Arithmancy. Tom had sufficiently woken up at this point to notice that Luna had gone all out when getting dressed.

"What the hell are you wearing?" he asked as she plopped into the seat beside him.

"Clothing," she replied, furrowing her brow with a look as though she was concerned for his mental health. "Isn't that what people normally wear?"

Tom scowled as the professor walked in to begin the class.

After Arithmancy, the two split up, Tom retreating to his dormitory, and Luna drifting off in the general direction of the library.

She had almost reached the library when she heard a voice calling her name. "Miss Lovegood!"

She turned to see Professor Dumbledore walking up the corridor towards her. She smiled. "Hello, Professor. That was a very interesting lesson, yesterday."

"Thank you, my dear. Now, will you please come with me to my office? I believe I have made progress on the reverse time-turner," he said, peering at her over his half-moon spectacles.

Luna's smile faded. "Oh. Yes, of course."

She followed him up flights of stairs and through corridors until they had reached his office. He immediately began to bustle about to make tea, and Luna found herself once again in the chair on the opposite side of his desk. A strange silver instrument was resting on the polished surface of the desk, and Luna prodded it questioningly.