Tom Marvolo Riddle. The most infamous dark wizard of all time. His legendary rise to power as the Dark Lord will forever strike fear in the hearts of those who hear the tale. Still, little is known of Tom's life before his transformation into Voldem...
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Tom swaggered down the corridor to his first class of the new term: Potions. It had been nearly two weeks since the fateful day he had climbed the spiral staircase to Ellison's room. He had never known so much could change in just twelve days. But had anything changed?
He and Ellison had, of course, kissed Christmas day. And he had expressed feelings for her, though he was still trying to sort out what exactly those feelings were. But other than the physical portion of their relationship, nothing had changed. They had eaten meals together as they always had. They had sat in the common room, Ellison watching him read like she had so many times before.
Nothing seemed any different, yet the weight of the words Tom spoke that day in Ellison's room weighed heavily on him, and they somehow had managed to change everything. He had wondered on multiple occasions over the remainder of their Christmas holiday if Ellison felt it too. She hadn't seemed to have been acting any different, except for the kiss on the cheek or peck on the lips she now greeted him with. Had her mind been replaying the events of that afternoon like his had been?
He was pulled away from his thoughts as a warm hand grasped his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Hey there," Ellison said, beaming up at him as she planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Hey yourself," He said, returning her smile. Her dark curls fell loosely around her face, and her eyes seemed a brighter green that usual. She was absolutely beautiful. They walked hand in hand down the corridor that led from the common room to Professor Slughorn's classroom, Tom resigning himself to his previous thoughts. Questions he had been asking himself for the past twelve days flooded back into his mind. What was she thinking? Was this as strange to her as it was to him? He hated not knowing. He hated being in the dark. For someone who was always so sure of himself, even the thought of being unsure drove him mad.
Tom was pulled away from his thoughts once again, but not by the girl who now stood beside him. No ... as they rounded the corner entering the classroom, Tom's eyes met first Avery's, then Lestrange's. Their eyes, almost instantly, traveled from his, down to the hand he was grasping. The two boys eyed one another, each giving the other a knowing look before their eyes feel back to Tom.
He felt his face grow warm as color flooded his cheeks, and he reflexively let go of Ellison's hand. She hadn't seemed to notice his hasty release of her hand or the bright blush that now showed across his face as they took their seats beside one another. Potions seemed to drag on. Whether it was due to it being the first day of term, or the fact that he could practically feel Avery's and Lestrange's eyes burrowing holes in his back, Tom didn't know.
With Slughorn's dismissal, Tom promptly gathered his things before attempting a quick getaway out the door. He had Defense against the Dark Arts with Ellison next. She would undoubtedly ask about his hasty departure, but he could come up with something in the meantime. It was Avery and Lestrange he had not wanted to deal with. They would have questions. Questions Tom hadn't even managed to sort out for himself. He needed time. Time to think through everything, though he didn't know what he needed to 'think through' either... He had meant what he said that afternoon in Ellison's bedroom, and he didn't regret it. At least he hadn't regretted it.
"Tom! Hey ... Tom, wait!" He heard the pitter patter of footsteps as a voice called from behind him. He quickened his pace but was too late as beefy fingers laced around his arm, halting his escape. Avery had caught up to him with Lestrange not far behind. Composing himself, Tom turned around, jerking his arm from the boy's grasp.
"I have a class to get to if you don't mind," he said flatly, eying the two boys. They shrunk back reflexively, their confidence waning under his intense stare.
"We were just .... Wondering about something," Lestrange spoke up.
"Well? ...What is it," Tom replied, turning down an adjacent corridor, the two boys following.
"The Pennifold girl," Avery spat out. Tom eyed him.
"What about her?"
"You two spent the Christmas holidays together." Lestrange stated matter-of-factly.
"And your point?" Tom retorted impatiently.
"And you two were holding hands this morning when you walked into class," Lestrange continued. Tom said nothing, but kept his gaze firmly on Lestrange, daring him to say the words forming on his lips.
"Are you two a thing now?" Avery asked bluntly, seeming to steal the words right from Lestrange's mouth.
"What do you mean a thing?" Tom asked, his eyes narrowing even further.
"What he means is – " Lestrange began but Avery cut him off.
"What I mean is, is she going to be the downfall of everything we've been working for ... What? That's what everyone's been thinking... and saying behind his back for that matter." Avery added at Lestrange's look of utter shock. Tom glared at him, anger bubbling up inside him.
"What we've been working for? ...I'm sorry, but it seems to me that you're both under the impression that there is a 'we' in this equation. Let me clear things up for you. There is no we. There has never been a we. There is only I, and I can assure you Ellison Pennifold has not, and will never stand in the way of my plans. She's just a phase ... and phases come to an end.
With that, Tom spun on his heal and walked back down the corridor. Turning the corner, his shoulder bumped against someone. He hadn't been watching where he was going in his rush to get to class. Looking up to see who he had bumped in to, Tom's eyes fell on the last person he had wished it to be ... Ellison. She stood before him, her lips pursed into a firm, straight line.
"El-" He began, but she cut him off.
"Don't," she said, her tone ice cold. She shoved past him, shouldering him out of the way as she stormed down the corridor .... What had he done?
GUYS. I am SO SO sorry for taking this long to update. I have literally been slammed the past three weeks. First, we had rush weekend for my sorority. Then, I had to go into full on study mode for our first exam of the semester. THEN, (HUGE LIFE UPDATE AHEAD) I got ENGAGED. (whoop whoop!!) So, as you can imagine, I have been in way over my head! But here's chapter 12, as promised in all of its short, imperfect glory. Please excuse the shortness of this chapter ... I'm still a little short on time at the moment but I wanted to give ya'll *something! I hope you like it... I left it as kind of a cliffhanger ; )
(Ps. I promise I'll do better, so please don't hate me!)
