I was extremely annoyed to see that someone had copied this story and already published it on fanfiction. It's been taken down, and I'm putting it up... Mostly so no one will try to claim it as their own again.

I hope you enjoy! It's an older story of mine... Written just after the 6th book, when I didn't really understand what a horcrux was and how it is used... for references to later chapters. But I 3 Tom, so there you go.

Elodie watched him from behind her book in the library nearly every single day of her life.

Tom Riddle would come in, followed by his usual group of 'friends', sit down, and work on his homework, nibbling on the end of his quill every so often. His friends, her housemates, would talk thunderously, until Madame Truvat, the librarian, threatened to dock points from Slytherin. Tom would merely glance up, smile his charming smile, and go back to reading, probably not listening as his group grumbled under their breath about the old woman.
No one paid Elodie any attention. She was the small, mousy seventh year, Mudblood Slytherin; the joke of her house. Salazar would turn in his grave, had he known she was apart of his house.

Elodie was incredibly smart, and wished the Sorting Hat had placed her in Ravenclaw, where she no doubt belonged. Her messy brown hair and wide hazel eyes did not fit in amongst the sea of pale blondes and redheads in her Slytherin house. Only she and Tom had brown hair in her year, which was a little startling when she first noticed.

But somehow, she felt that brought her even closer to him.

The library door burst open, and Adrian Malfoy held it for Tom, smirking slightly as Tom strode in, sauntering to his usual table. Elodie was close, but not too close. She could just watch him without being noticed.

"Did you see Slughorn tell off those pathetic Gryffindors?" Julian Nott inquired, snorting loudly as he threw his book bag onto the table, "I thought Weasley was going to burst into tears."
"Weasley..." Adrian spat, rolling his eyes and sneering, "Is a horrible excuse for a Pureblood... Did you see the filth he hangs around with?"

A gaggle of girls following the three boys instantly began agreeing, bashing all the Gryffindor names they knew. Elodie smirked; none of the girls actually knew who they were talking about, they were just prattling off names.
She placed her book up in front of her, Potente Potions, and opened a page on brewing sleeping draughts. Gingerly, she glanced up from the book, watching Tom.
He was leaning back on the two legs of his chair, casually resting a small book on his lap, his hands knotted behind his head. Elodie wondered how he could keep his balance and not go crashing to the floor, as she usually did when she leaned back in her chair.

"Tom," one of the girls whispered, "That Mudblood is watching you."
"She's probably just wondering what it's like to have friends," another sneered, shooting Elodie a glare. Tom's eyes wandered over in her direction, and she hastily looked away, then began packing up her things at lightning speed.
If she moved fast enough, she'd be back in her dorm room sooner, and she could lay down and pretend her was smiling at her, instead of just looking.
She nearly tripped over her own feet hurrying through the long bookshelves in the dimly lit library that evening, and she heard the girls shriek loudly when she bumped into one of the trolleys that had been left out.
Tears pricked her eyes at the pain in her knee, which had slammed into the metal trolley, but also from the sheer humiliation of it all.
She only slowed down when she was out in the hallway, inhaling the cool air deeply. It was a fall evening, and with all the windows open, the air was always crisp as it circulated through the castle.

"Hey!" a baritone voice sounded from behind, and Elodie looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening; Tom!
Oh, he was so handsome. Dark brown hair that curled ever so slightly, and eyes that she could stare into forever...
"He isn't talking to you," Elodie reminded herself quickly, turning away and continuing down the hall, "Why would he talk to you?"
"Wait!" he called, his footsteps vibrating, it seemed, off the cold walls in the empty hall. Elodie stopped again, then felt stupid, and hurried on.
A hand suddenly grasped her shoulders, rather roughly, and turned her around, causing her to drop her books in shock. Her eyes immediately fell away from the handsome ones of Tom Riddle, and she dropped to her knees, ready to mutter an apology.

"I'm sorry."

To her surprise, it was Tom who had said it, and he knelt down, beating her to the last book, then standing, reading the back of it with mild interest.
"I didn't mean to scare you," he admitted finally, handing her the third of the three books she had been clutching. She swallowed; she had to find her voice! She had one, somewhere...
"It's fine," she murmured after a moment of silence, "I-I... frighten easily."
She groaned inwardly, noting she must have sounded so foolish, and turned to leave.
"It's rude to leave when people are talking to you," he said bluntly, folding his arms and grinning, "What's the matter? Don't you want to talk to me?"
How desperately she just wanted to shout out her longing desire to have just one conversation with him. Instead, she bit her lip slightly and shrugged, "I... I..."
"Why did you leave the library?" Tom asked, suddenly changing the subject. Elodie swallowed thickly and began to shift her weight from foot to foot, "I... I just didn't think the other girls wanted me there."
"It's the school library," he chuckled, "Who made them queens?"
His voice was so... hypnotizing. She found herself lost in a symphony of delicate tones, and she had no intention of making her way back out.
"You aren't much of a talker, are you?" he laughed as she continued to stare up at him. Finally, she shook her head, "I'm just... tired."

"Care for an escort back to the Common Room then?" he inquired, holding out his arm in an almost chivalries manor. Elodie nearly dropped her books all over again, and she forced a weak, timid smile, "Why would you want to walk me back?"
"I assume we're in the same house," he stated, nodding to the Slytherin badge on her cloak, "And I want to go back, you want to go back... I think it's the only gentleman thing to do."
"Oh."

She moved her books around in her hands, trying to make it so that one hand could hold them all, and she suddenly froze as he reached down and smoothed her hair off her face, tucking half of it behind her ears.
She always wore her hair down. Less people would look at her if they couldn't see her face.

"Sorry," he mused, "You usually have your hair in front ... I've never gotten a real look at you."
Her cheeks burned and she wished the halls weren't so well lit. Tom smirked and grabbed her hand, weaving it around her arm, then began walking towards the Slytherin Common Room. Elodie wished her feet would co-operate with what her brain was telling them to do, since she was having a rather difficult time moving.
"You're smart, aren't you?" Tom questioned as the pair began their descent to the lower level of the castle. She shrugged, "Not really."
"Don't lie," he hissed, causing her to flinch at his sudden sharp tone. He cleared his throat, and his charming disposition returned, "I mean... I helped Dumbledore do some correcting... You had the highest marks in our year."
"Yes, but Transfiguration isn't really that hard," she said quickly. Tom frowned, "Why are you trying to hide your intelligence?"
Because people laugh. People poke fun at her. That was why.
"I... I don't know," she replied softly, "Most people don't like me being smart."
"Most people are idiots," he snapped, rolling his eyes. The pair stopped at the large snake mural in the wall, and Tom whispered the password. The snake's eyes glowed a dim purple, and after a moment, a hole in the wall appeared, granting them both access to the Slytherin Common Room.

A few students stopped talking when they noticed Elodie hanging off of Tom Riddle's arm, and she quickly tried to detangle herself from him. She didn't need any more horrible jabs that day, and at the moment, she just wanted to get up to her room.
Tom, however, placed his free hand on hers whilst it struggled to get away, and sent the rest of the students a vile look. They instantly turned back to what they were doing, some talking a little louder then usual.

"Contrary to what you may think," Tom murmured, leading Elodie to the staircase of the girls dormitories, "I am not an idiot, and I'd prefer your intelligence out in the open."
"I don't think you're an idiot," she mumbled, her cheeks flaming red again. He grinned and removed her hand from his arm, then drew it up to his lips, giving it a brief peck, "I'm pleased to hear."
She worried her complexion would change to red forever, and she squeaked a quick good night before rushing past him and up to her dorm.
That night, her dreams were filled with Tom.

Tom watched her hurry up the stairs, and waited until her heard her door shut softly.
His housemates watched with peculiar curiosity, and he glared back at them, "And what, exactly, is so damn interesting about me?!"

Once again they turned back to what they had been doing, their voices raised, as if they were trying to pretend nothing had ever happened.
Fine. Let them pretend. Tom knew.
With one final sneer, he made his way to his own private dormitory, one reserved for the Head Boy. He had chosen for it to be in the Slytherin Common Room for several purposes.

For loyalty to his house.
To remain intact with Salazar's legacy.
And for her.

She was just a common Mudblood, Tom knew, but she was an important Mudblood. Prized by all her teachers, yet shunned by all her peers; she was perfect.
And by Gods did she ever fancy him. He knew she watched him, and she had been watching him for nearly seven years. Only when he caught a look at her grades did he realize this could be quite the advantage. Not only for the present, but for his future.
But tonight was only the beginning for dear little Elodie. Soon, she would be in so much more, but Tom knew she could handle it. He would make her.