Zealous (Tom Riddle)

Chapter 32

Elizabeth slid herself into her blue dress. It fell at her knees and she smiled in the mirror as she applied light makeup. Leaving her hair in its somewhat naturally wavy state, she left her dorm and headed downstairs.

"Tom," she breathed as she saw him stood at the bottom of the staircase in a tux.

"Elizabeth," he responded. His eyes were full of passion and, like he'd said he had, desire.

They swiftly made their way to the Slug Club party. Tom's blue eyes were permanently attracted to Elizabeth. She was beautiful.

And that meant a lot, considering that Tom should have been emotionless.

"Welcome, welcome!" Slughorn greeted the pair as he saw them enter. He pressed his hand against the small of Elizabeth's back as she walked by.

Tom felt his whole body burn with anger. He snaked an arm around Elizabeth's waist, pulling her close to him. He didn't want anyone else to touch her, ever.

A few of Tom's old friends said hello to them nervously, but as they saw the hatred in Tom's eyes that was still there from Slughorn's uncontrollable action, they backed away and engaged in little conversations amongst themselves. Tom was pleased by this rather than annoyed.

Elizabeth lifted a cupcake from the table, bringing it to her lips. Tom moved his face forward and as Elizabeth's teeth pushed through the cupcake, he did the same on the other side.

This made Elizabeth's cheeks flush. Her chocolate eyes looked up at Tom from underneath her mascara-coated lashes, making her look even more innocent than she already did.

The cupcake was soon devoured by the pair. Tom noticed crumbs on Elizabeth's mouth. He acted on instinct and pulled her behind some of the mesh curtains.

"Tom?" Elizabeth questioned, but her curiousity was soon answered as Tom pressed his mouth against hers. His tongue flicked out and then he pulled away, licking his lips of the crumbs that he'd transferred to his own mouth.

"I love you," Tom blurted out as he hugged Elizabeth suddenly.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. Sure, she'd heard Tom say it before, but she wasn't exactly expecting the three words being spoken to become a routine.

"I love you too," she almost whispered as she felt her heart race. Tom quickly kissed her again.

They appeared again, leaving their cover behind the curtains. Tom and Elizabeth both had overly happy grins on their faces and doubtedly, both of their cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink.

"Ahem!" Slughorn coughed out as he stood at the front of the room, "I would like to thank all of you for being here. Your efforts throughout this year so far have been admirable and I wish you a very good night!"

Some of the students in the room clapped, others turned back to the table full of food. Tom and Elizabeth stood idly on the outskirts of the room.

Tom's fingers were itching to reach out and hold Elizabeth's. There's so many people here, he reminded himself then he remembered that he didn't care what anyone thought of him - apart from the teachers of course.

Tom's hand grasped Elizabeth's and he intertwined their fingers, feeling the most amount of satisfaction he'd ever known. Tom's goals and thirst to be powerful were long gone because Tom had exactly what he wanted - the girl stood beside him.

Tom began to see red as his old friend, Abraxas Malfoy, approached them with a blush. Tom thought his voice sounded so small and pathetic when he said, "Elizabeth, can I talk to you?"

Tom's eyes widened as he tightened his hold on Elizabeth's hand. She turned to him with a gentle smile and told him, "It's okay, Tom. I'll be back."

Elizabeth followed Abraxas to the back of the room where he moved the curtain back in an attempt to be smooth. Tom's blood was boiling. Elizabeth shook her head and said something that Tom lipread as, "No, I don't trust you."

He was instantly relieved.

Abraxas' cheeks were bright red and Tom would've been stupid not to know what was happening. He was confessing to her. Tom was livid and conversations he'd had with Malfoy and Lestrange were running through his head.

Flashback

"Is she not a distraction, my Lord?" Lestrange said, his eyes watching Tom carefully.

"It's no matter," Tom announced, turning towards his band of followers, "If I get closer to her, this group will be disbanded. Do you hear me? Nothing is to be said about this."

"My Lord, why her?" Malfoy asked cautiously as the room cleared of people.

"Excuse me?" Tom responded, his cold eyes giving Malfoy a glare. Malfoy gulped.

He smiled at Tom regardless, "You once despised her, did you not?"

Tom's gaze was still fiery and he was ready to snap at Malfoy any minute. Calming himself down and breathing deeply, he said, "I did not." He turned around, joining his hands behind his back as he looked out of the window, "She hated me."

"Then how has she come to love you?" Malfoy questioned. Tom whisked around, holding his wand to Abraxas' throat.

End of Flashback

Tom understood now. The only reason why Malfoy had interrogated him was because of his ulterior motive to be with Elizabeth. He was never looking out for Tom - he'd just been using him as a source of information about his silly little crush on Elizabeth.

Tom growled. He felt like he was on fire and jealousy was burning throughout him. Just as he was about to storm over to his girlfriend and Malfoy, Elizabeth trotted back to him. She looked lost, confused.

"Tom, what's wrong?" She inquired curiously, "You look like you're about to mu-... Never mind."

Tom seized Elizabeth's hand, pulling her away from the party. Slughorn mumbled something about them leaving early as he dragged her out of the door but both of them ignored the professor's words. Elizabeth felt herself become nervous as Tom led her through the corridors, all the way to a staircase to the seventh floor.

She found herself in front of the Room of Requirement. Tom guided her inside and as soon as the door was shut, he swivelled on his heels to face her. His gaze was heated. That was when Elizabeth took the time to look around. It was a replica of Tom's dorm room; his bed was neatly made and his pillows were perfectly plumped.

"Elizabeth, what did he say to you?" He queried as he directed her to sit on the bed with him. She did as he wanted her to and looked into his blue eyes.

"He said he likes me," Elizabeth told her boyfriend honestly, searching for a sign of anger or sadness in his face. There was nothing. She added, "He asked if I really am dating you."

"What did you tell him?" Tom said, holding Elizabeth's arms tightly. She winced and he instantly let go, looking down as though he were ashamed of himself - he was.

"I told him that I'm with you and that I can't return his feelings," Elizabeth answered tentatively, "You don't mind, do you?"

Tom scoffed, "If anything, I am proud to call you mine."

Elizabeth's cocoa-coloured eyes widened. She smiled at Tom and thanked him. Tom was confused, so he questioned, "Why are you thanking me?"

"You pretend that I'm too good for you," Elizabeth tittered, holding Tom's hand softly.

Tom ignored her lack of acknowledgement to the fact that he, in fact, thought of them as equals, and instead he inspected Elizabeth's body language. She was comfortable with him. Tom sucked in a breath he didn't know he was holding and plucked up the courage to ask, "Will you... be mine, Elizabeth?"

He was inquiring something different to when he'd asked her to be his the first time. It was very different. Elizabeth was shocked. She almost whispered, "You mean... that?" Tom nodded shyly.

That night, Elizabeth and Tom felt like the only people in the world and they became each other's to a more intimate extent than they ever had been.