Star Crossed

Chapter Two- He was a Riddle

    Tom was the kind of person that was impossible to get to know. He kept himself completely guarded at all times. I had always wanted to break through to see what he was really thinking, what he was really feeling. 

Something plagued him, this I always knew, he was unsettled, troubled, unhappy...
It was common knowledge that Tom was an orphan and had grown up in a muggle orphanage, he was able to use this to his advantage on many occasions, attracting sympathy and special treatment from the staff at Hogwarts. Yet his past was something that he kept deeply hidden, it hung over him like a dark cloud. It was heavy and all consuming, like a lock and chain that he would never be free of. There was more to his past, I wanted to help him. Little did I know that helping Tom would become my greatest pleasure and my greatest mistake. Although guarded Tom had begun to offer me greater respect towards the end of the previous year, I had seemed to gain some level of reverence from him.

It was a chilly November evening and Tom sat in his usual spot in the corner of the library, nestled between two of the towering bookshelves and a large arched church like window over-looking the school grounds, lake and mountains beyond. Though this evening stands out in my memory as it was the first time that I ever saw a crack in Tom's walls, he sat slumped devoid of his usual impeccable posture; his head dropped within his hands, leaning over an impressive pile of ancient tombs. Tom looked defeated, I was of course captivated, and I wanted to reach to him, to discover him. I had this overwhelming urge to comfort him. I approached him cautiously and sat myself opposite him, my heart beating so uncontrollably I thought if someone was to stare hard enough that they would see it through my robes. Upon feeling my presence he raised his head instantly and resumed his usual posture and pose, for a moment his eyes appeared tired and showed the slightest trace of surprise at seeing me but within seconds they had returned to their unreadable stony gaze. We sat in silence together for what felt like forever, we often sat in silence together, yet it never felt awkward it was peaceful, I felt an odd sense of security in my time spent merely sitting in his presence. I never knew how he felt, but I like to think that he felt the same about these moments as I. 

I decided that the time was right to speak to him, as he had relaxed his gaze and had recently redirected it towards the window.
"What is it that you were looking for?" I asked calmly, following his gaze out of the window. Dusk was settling in, birds flew silhouetted against the burnt orange horizon.
I felt his eyes return to me, calculating, he paused for a moment before answering me.
"Why do you ask McLaggen?" His voice was as soft as a whisper yet it was demanding as it always was.
"You seemed as if you couldn't find what you was looking for. I was wondering if I could be of any assistance to you." I replied, urging for him to tell me more, to let me in but no, as I expected Tom's reply was concise and clear,
"There is nothing you can aid me with McLaggen." His tone was not angry or even irritated it was more drained. He returned his gaze to the books before him, as did I. Hogwarts. Every book was about Hogwarts. I raised an eyebrow, what did he want to know about Hogwarts that he didn't already know...
"You are an Heir. You are the Heir of Slytherin," I whispered, it slipped from my mouth before I could stop it. He looked at me, his eyes unreadable, yet he did not speak so I continued.
"What is it that you are looking to discover about Hogwarts?"
Tom surveyed me for a moment, "You don't know when to drop your loses do you McLaggen," he replied silkily, he smirked slightly. I merely looked at him imploringly, waiting for him to elaborate but he did not. He waved his hand gracefully over the books and they instantly began to float back to their homes among the many other tombs upon the rows and rows of dusty shelves.

"Sometimes McLaggen, you need to accept when you have lost." He said silkily as he stood smartly and took to walk away, his robes swishing lightly.

I bit my lip and looked down towards my interlinked hands,
"Yet you certainly don't Tom." I replied my voice little more than a whisper. Nothing but silence followed, I turned my head slowly and scoffed as I saw that Tom had left as he always did.