Riddle's Plea

Big Questions*

 ~I want to love you~

(Vienna. February 18th, 1944)

     Tom Riddle was actively and not-subtly ignoring me. The Potions class on Monday was when he suddenly decided to pretend I didn't exist and he's kept up his act all week. It was bothering me more than it probably should. "Vienna?" A hand waving in front of me takes me out of my thoughts. I glance around the nearly empty library. It was Friday night, most students choosing to wait until Sunday to finish next week's assignment and choosing instead to socialize in their dorms. I focus my gaze on Olivia, whose looking at me worriedly and causing me to roll my eyes. "I'm fine, just thinking. What was the question?" She huffs at my eye roll and glances at Abraxas who had stopped his essay writing to focus his attention on our conversation. "Have you spoken to Tom lately?" I was the one to huff now, setting my quill down and leaning back in my chair. "No. He's not speaking to me." Olivia and Abraxas give each other a look before focusing back on me. "I don't think he's ignoring you Vienna," Abraxas speaks up and I scoff with his words. "Really? Then why is he avoiding me?" My irritation grows when they share a look again and I tap my knuckles on the table to gain their attention. "What is going on? Why are you two keeping secrets?" I give Abraxas a pointed look and his face grows red with my words. Beside me, Olivia shuffles in her seat uncomfortably and I focus my questioning gaze onto her. "Well...we think...." She stops in her explanation and snaps her mouth shut. "You think what?" I put my hand on her arm but she ignores it, her eyes trained behind me. 

    "Good evening." I find myself spinning in my seat at the sound of the deep voice and my irritation grows. Tom is giving the table a smirk, his school uniform immaculate and his hair slightly tussled. "Hello, Tom." Olivia's cheerful voice perks up behind me and I roll my eyes once again. Traitor. "I was wondering if I may have a word Vienna?" His brown eyes meet mine and I find myself gulping at his heavy gaze. I nod my head and stand from the table, giving Abraxas and Olivia a confused look as I follow Tom out of the library. We stop just outside of the library and I cast a glance out the window before looking at Tom. "Everything alright?" He smirks at my question but drops his gaze from me. "Everything is alright." My irritation flares up again with his words and I find myself mimicking Olivia by waving my hand in front of his face. "Then why are you ignoring me?" His eyes focus on mine again and he lets out a long breath, looking suspiciously guilty. 

"What did you do Tom?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Then why do you look like you did something you weren't supposed to do?"

"I don't look like that."

"Yes, you do. Please tell me you didn't do anything illegal."

"What?"

"You heard me, Tom. You look like you did something illegal."

"I do not look like that."

    "Yes, you do. Please tell me..." I find myself taking in a breath and panic fills my veins. "Tom you didn't go back to see your father did you?" Tom's eyes widen with my words and he's shaking his head quickly. "NO. No, I didn't do that." I let out a breath of relief and study him carefully. "Good. Now tell me what is wrong with you." He chuckles at my demand and breaks eye contact again. "Tom?" He lets out a short laugh while running a hand through his hair and biting his bottom lip. Merlin help me now. "I wanted to ask you something." I wait for him to continue and find my heart rate increasing. "Do you..." He lets out a sigh and rubs his hand against his trousers, almost like he's nervous. "Do I?" He lets out another sigh and runs his hand through his hair again before meeting my gaze. He is nervous. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" The breath catches in my throat with his question and I find myself just staring at him for a few moments. "I'm sorry. What?" He rolls his eyes and takes a step towards me. "Do you..." He points a finger at me, his voice going lower with his words, "want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" He points a finger at himself. "A-are you asking me out?" The disbelief flows out of me and I point a finger at myself. "Like on a date? Just the two of us?" He rolls his eyes and huffs with my questions. "Calm down Vienna. It's not like I'm asking you to marry me." Marry?! 

    I open my mouth to respond but close it shut once again as I regard the boy before me. Tom Riddle was asking me out on a date. This was not part of the plan. I was supposed to be showing him friendship and gaining his trust, not going to Hogsmeade with him on a date. Right? I eye him up and down in front of me, my mouth slightly open and my mind confused. Tom was definitely good-looking. He was smart, charismatic and was sometimes friendly. We had just now started being civil with each other and now this? Bloody hell, he had even been ignoring me all week and now he was asking me out. "Tom..." I was going to say no, but I stop suddenly. It seemed so long ago that I had kissed Tom Riddle. It seemed even longer since I lost Fred. Was I ready? Why was I acting like this date was going to be a lifetime commitment? The brutal truth hits me all of a sudden and I suck in a breath. Fred was gone. He's 50 years in the future and there is no way I can go back. This is just one date. One date with Tom Riddle and whatever happens happens. I have been focusing so much time and energy on trying to change the future, that I had been forgetting to live my life. Albus did warn you of that. I take a deep breath and meet Tom's expectant gaze again. "Alright. I'll go with you." He lets out a shaky breath and gives me a breathtaking smile. Damn.  "Alright. We'll go after breakfast?" He asks me with a perfect eyebrow-raising in the air. I nod my head and return his smile. "Alright then. Goodnight Vienna." He turns on his heel and walks down the corridor, leaving me to my thoughts. It's just one date. 

    I walk back into the library in a haze, settling into my chair once again and not meeting Abraxas or Olivia's questioning looks. This is just one date. It couldn't possibly turn into anything because that's not part of the plan. I wouldn't even know how to be in a relationship with Tom Riddle. It just seemed like a very bad idea to fall for the boy. Could I love him?  I wanted to maybe. Maybe love him as a close friend? How do you go about loving someone who you remember as a monster? "What did he want Vienna?" Olivia breaks me from my thoughts and I slump in my chair. "He asked me out on a date..." I run a hand through my hair and take a deep breath. "I said yes." It's just one date...right? 

~But I don't know how~