cold as you ||t. riddle||

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏

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𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖐 𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖊
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30 January 1943

It was almost a month into the second semester, but Elena wasn't herself. She had trouble sleeping, she couldn't risk seeing Grindelwald again. She had started avoiding Transfiguration all together. She didn't talk to anyone, she couldn't ask anyone for help, she couldn't explain what was happening. Orion asked so many questions, all of them stayed unanswered. Where was Rin, what had happened between them? Why wasn't she sleeping? Why was the only person she was comfortable hanging out with was Tom Riddle?

During the past month Tom had made sure their group assignments were turned it. She wasn't talking to him either, but he sat with her in the library and in the common room, didn't ask any questions, didn't make conversation. Elena would occasionally nap with him around, as if he could defend her mind from others. He had questions too, but keeping Elena on his side was more important.

That day, the girl had been missing. She didn't attend any of the classes and nobody saw her during the meals. He didn't care, right? That was why he was searching the whole castle, looking into every classroom and corridor. That is why he had sent Abraxas into the Forbidden Forest and had asked Orion to check the girls dormitory. He didn't care.

At least that is what he told himself until she saw the girl sleeping in one of the empty classrooms that were no longer used. He sighed in relief, quietly opening the door and entering. He shook her gently arm to wake her up. The girl opened her eyes and immediately drew her wand. Upon realising it was Tom she lowered it and sighed.

"Elena you have to tell me what's going on." He knelt down to meet her eyes. "I told you I would help you." The girl shook her head and stood up, trying to walk past Tom. He grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him. Her eyes were glued to the ground still. He sighed in frustration and raised her head, making her face him. "Please, Elena. Talk to me." The girl started tearing up, but nothing was going to make her speak. At that moment, as a last resort, he did something he never thought he would do.

The boy pulled her into a hug, allowing her to cry into his chest. She was weeping, all the words she had kept to herself rolled down her cheeks as tears. The words left her lips as cries, "I can't."

"Tell me what you saw back there, in the forest." Tom sighed, "What did he do to you?"

Elena shook her head, "It's not him..."

"What? Then what happened? Is it about Grindelwald?"

Elena pulled out of the hug, looking at the boy eyes wide open with terror glimmering in them.

"Did you see him in your dream again? Is this why you aren't sleeping?"

"It wasn't a dream." The girl whispered.

"What?"

"It wasn't a dream Tom." The girl looked around almost paranoidly, "You're you, right?"

"Elena, what are you talking about?" Tom was confused.

"I went to Dumbledore... It wasn't him- He... He turned into Grindelwald... I woke up on the floor."

"Is that even possible?"

"I don't know. I can't do this." Elena knew she was weak, but she hadn't thought she'd be crying in the arms of the Tom Riddle. She didn't even know if trusting him was the right call. She had trusted Rin, and where had it gotten her?

"But you can," Tom said. "You have me."

"How do I trust you?"

"We have a deal. I will help you with this, you'll return the favour."