Tromedlov - A Tom Riddle Love Story

7- Rainy Days (Part 1)

The next day, Tom seemed annoyed after what happened last night, and kept sending Alice unnatural smiles every time she happened to look upon him, which was more unsettling then his glares as he never smiled.

It was in the afternoon that Bane, Alice and I had decided to put a stop to our studying for the day and resorted to playing games in the Common Room, which was packed and loud as heavy rain was pouring outside.

After losing a round of wizard's chess to Bane, I curled up comfortably on an armchair watching Alice and Bane compete, accusing Bane of cheating every now and then.

Alice and I were having a row with Bane for cheating again, when, very loudly, a throat cleared next to us.

We turned to see Tom, on my right, looking down at us. Immediately, the air seemed to drop a few degrees, and he sent Alice another smile, to which Bane interjected,

"Can we help you with something, Riddle?"

I sent Bane a look, but the two seemed to be having some sort of a stare down.

Then, he put on his charming facade and turned to me.

"I was simply wondering if Miss Klane would like to spend the rest of her evening with me, (turning to look back at Bane and mockingly adding), Hartley."

"Of course!" Alice answered over-enthusiastically, possibly hoping to make up for last night.

He turned to look at me and I answered, "Let me get my cloak."

I quickly went to my dormitory and was back in no time, finding Alice and Bane had started playing exploding snap instead, and Tom had taken my spot on the chair, writing something in a small, leather book.

I cleared my throat, and he turned up to look at me, then smirked.

He put his away his journal, and after I'd said my goodbyes, led me out of the Common Room.

We kept walking in silence, him guiding me through various staircases and hallways until we stopped at a painting of a bowl of fruit.

He reached out and tickled the pear, which giggled!

A handle to a doorway appeared instantly. He looked at me and I looked back at him, shifting on my feet.

"Where - what are we doing?"

He pushed the door open and stood to the side. Seeing his eyes, I slowly proceeded forward, feeling him following behind me.

I stepped into a gigantic room, with four long tables, and brass pots and pans lined against the stone wall.

I was too in awe of the room to notice Tom speaking to a number of house elves who greeted us in and guided us to the benches.

We had taken a seat opposite each other on the end of a table, furthest away from the working elves.

"The kitchens..." I said with a smile on my face.

"I never knew..." I looked back at Tom to see him studying my reaction.

My smile dropped as I asked "But what are we doing here?"

He looked away and seemed, almost uncomfortable.

"I noticed you missed dinner again today."

I nodded, surprised, and looked away as well.

Since our... incident, I hadn't been sleeping well, and was skipping dinner in order to avoid Tom over the week, as that was the meal he never missed.

Soon enough we had an array of food in front of us, and started eating in silence.

During dessert I decided to break the tension.

"So...how have you been?"

He stared at me. Then, his lips turned upwards.

I was taken aback by his smile.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

He said still smiling, and I smiled back, until his face turned serious.

"Rana...what you said on Tuesday...about your fear," I looked down at the cup of chocolate mousse in my hand, and heard him sign. 

He didn't say anything for a while.

I felt something slide next to me then turned to meet his face, which he moved closer, so that I could almost see my face reflected in his brown eyes, and whispered,

"Did you mean it? About losing..." he swallowed his throat and looked away.

"Yes." Slowly, I reached out to link our hands, and was surprised that he let me.

"The way I acted...after you found out... I... I'm..."

He looked at me, his face full of sincerity and... sadness.

"I know." I said looking back into his eyes. He squeezed my hand gently. We sat there for a while.

"We should go." I nodded, and we let go of our hands.

I thanked the elves before we left, refusing the food they were trying to give us to take back.