TORMENT (Harry Potter Sequel)

Chapter Twenty Three

"So... how did it go?"

Tom looked over to Alannah," How did what go?"

"The thing," she yawned as she spoke, "Last night I saw you leaving the common room to go to it."

The whole school was currently in the Great Hall eating dinner at the large tables. Although Tom certainly stood out a lot more now he was... bigger in size, he still sat apart from everyone else and nobody gave him a second glance. Just how he liked it.

"Went badly," Tom responded in a mutter, picking up a few potatoes with his fork and funneling it into his mouth. Alannah repulsed as he did so.

"Do you have to eat like that?" she inquired before carefully cutting her own potatoes and eating them politely. Tom gave her a withering look.

"Not everyone is from a royal family or whatever," he said, "And besides, you've never mentioned how I eat before.

"It didn't bother me as much before. But now you're like... fully grown or something. I dunno. Maybe I'm just saying it because its still weird for me to see you like this," Alannah cut up another potato.

"I have to eat a lot to keep looking like this," Tom said as he stuffed his mouth with a piece of meat. Alannah winced.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" she chided, "Didn't anyone ever teach you any manners."
"Nobody ever even taught me how to read," Tom said, taking another bite and Alannah gave a humourless laugh. Then she looked at Tom's face and saw that he was completely serious.

"Wait, for real?" Tom nodded. Alannah's eyes widened in shock, "Huh? How? You know now right?"

Tom shrugged, "I know a few words. But readings never helped me before so I don't see how it would help me now."

"What?!" Alannah almost jumped up out of her chair, "You're not joking, right?"

Tom shook his head blankly, "No. Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? How do you not see how important reading is? How are you not even taught that?" Alannah was in a state of shock. She still wasn't even convinced but Tom had never lied to her before... why would he now.

"This is- what?- my fourth year in this school, and it hasn't made anything worse yet," Tom said lazily.

"So was that what the thing last night was? Reading classes?"

Tom almost winced at the idea alone, "Eugh," he said, disgust clear in his tone. Alannah laughed.

"To be honest, I still can't tell if you're being serious," she said, changing back to the serious topic, "Does anyone else know you can't read?"

"I don't think they care," he turned to look toward the teacher's table. They were all eating happily, talking to each other. Professor Potter noticed where he was looking, smiled at him and raised a glass. Tom quickly turned away.

"Hey," Alannah knew now that he was being serious. She gave him a concerned look and put a hand out on the table, "That's not true. I'm sure they would."

Tom continued giving her a blank stare. Alannah kept giving him a concerned one. Tom eventually conceded and broke eye contact. He sighed. Maybe she was right. Or maybe she wasn't.

"Do you know why they wouldn't care?"

Alannah shrugged, "Why?"

Tom looked up, "It's because to them," he pointed toward the teacher's table, "To them I'm just a 'freak' and a 'Slytherin'."