Chapter 3: Quidditch Match

It was November and Eira had invited Tom to accompany her to the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. He knew that she would be cheering for Schultz the whole time, which made him feel agitated, but he had no idea why.

Over the past few weeks since Eira's birthday he had been included in a lot more of the activities with her friends. Although he still planned on finding out what Eira's flaw was that had landed her in Slytherin, she never seemed to catch on to this. Tom assumed that she had either learned to "turn off" her aura-seeing powers or he had somehow managed to keep his true intentions hidden.

'Maybe there is still too much darkness in my aura for her to notice,' he thought as he left his Transfiguration class, heading to his dormitory. It was Friday, so the match would be the following day after breakfast. Tom had decided to get as much of his studying out of the way before going to the Slug Club meeting that night. He had been given homework from all of his professors accept Slughorn, who wanted to make sure everyone in the Slug Club could attend.

Tom appreciated being one of Slughorn's favorite students and he did somewhat enjoy the parties Slughorn held. He never brought dates to any of Slughorn's parties though because he did not care for any of the girls in Hogwarts. Slughorn had always asked him why he never had a date and Tom would always answer, "There isn't anyone I am interested in and I have no female friends to ask to accompany me." Slughorn would always chuckle and introduce him to people he had invited from outside of Hogwarts.

As soon as he had finished his homework he left the Slytherin dormitory for professor Slughorn's office. Tom knocked on the door and waited for Slughorn to answer. To his great surprise, Eira answered. She was dressed very sweetly, a red hair ribbon from the set Paige had given her was in her dark hair, and she wore a red dress with a black bow at the waist, and her usual white tights and black Mary Jane's. Eira smiled at him, making her cheeks a rosy pink.

"Hi Tom," she greeted. Tom felt his stomach do a somersault. Normally, he hated when people called him Tom because it was such a common name, but when she said his name it sounded unique. This was also the first time she had actually called him "Tom" rather than "Mr. Riddle."

"Hello," he said finally, trying to sound normal. "What are you doing here, Miss Schlosser?" Eira giggled and held the door open so he could walk in.

"I'm in the Slug Club now," she explained. "I lost my temper with that fourth year, Craven. He called me a Mudblood, so I hexed him. Professor Slughorn saw it, and I thought I was going to be in a lot of trouble, but he was so impressed by how well I had performed the hex (and because it was such a complicated hex for a first year to perform) that he invited me to be a part of the club.

"Can you believe it?" Eira was very excited now. "I am the only first year to ever be a part of the Slug Club!" Tom couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"Tom!" boomed a hearty voice from the corner of the room. Tom looked up to see Slughorn. Slughorn clapped him on the back and directed him into the extension of his office for his parties. The various fourth, fifth, and sixth years sat around the oblong table, chatting amongst themselves. Eira stood beside him, looking both excited and nervous. She grabbed his hand, sending a warm tingling feeling throughout his entire body from his head to his toes. He squeezed her hand gently and led her to some empty chairs at the end of the table right next to Slughorn (Slughorn had insisted that Eira sit beside him).

As they ate high class dishes of food and desserts, drinking water and Butter Beer, Slughorn asked Eira dozens of questions about herself, her family, how growing up abroad in the Muggle world had affected her; he wanted to know absolutely everything he could about the young Muggle-born. Tom tried to listen, but he was too busy trying to figure out his feelings.

'Why did I feel so happy to hear her call me "Tom" and why did I feel that tingling sensation when she grabbed my hand?' he thought in aggravation. 'What is happening to me?!'

At the end of the meeting, Eira stayed behind to talk with Slughorn some more. Tom had stayed behind as well, wanting to walk Eira back to the dormitory, especially if Slughorn kept them out after hours.

"Now, your parents' names were Natalie and Henry?" Slughorn asked Eira. Eira giggled and shook her head.

"Nadia and Hector," she corrected. "My sister's name is Gersemi; I call her 'Semi'."

"And how old is your sister again?"

"She is six." Slughorn nodded.

"You seem to have lived a fascinating life, even for a witch."

"Thank you."

"Now, you said you have a unique power?" Tom felt his stomach grow cold.

"Yes." Eira did not seem worried in the least. "I can see people's auras. I was wondering if other witches or wizards have been known to have this power. Tom said that he had never heard of a witch or wizard having this power." Slughorn seemed very excited at this news.

"I have never heard of such a thing!" he cried enthusiastically. "How does it work?"

"I look at someone and I see colored light radiating from them," Eira explained. "The light is different colors and it tells me special abilities a person has, strengths and weaknesses, and their feelings. I can show you if you'd like." Slughorn seemed so enthralled he could hardly sit still. Eira took his hand, just as she had done for Tom only a month before, and had him close his eyes. Tom watched Eira intently. She stared hard at Slughorn. A white glow was emitting from her body and traveling to her hand that was clasped in Slughorn's, looking tiny and delicate. The white glow spread from Eira to Slughorn in a matter of seconds. The glow disappeared as soon as she let go of the professor's hand. Slughorn opened his eyes and stared, his mouth agape, at Eira.

"Merlin's beard," he said breathlessly. "This is exquisite!" Eira explained the colors he named before taking his hand again, removing Slughorn's brief moment of viewing auras.

"How long have you had this power?" Slughorn demanded. Eira shrugged. "Does anyone in your family happen to have this power?" She shook her head. "It is extraordinary! Can you see your own aura?" Eira nodded.

"Only when I look in a mirror, but I have to be feeling strong emotions of something," she admitted. "If I just look at my hands or some other part of me, I can't see it."

"Amazing," Slughorn muttered under his breath.

"Sir?" Tom said, speaking up for the first time all night. This caused Slughorn to jump.

"My dear boy, I forgot you were standing there, Tom," said Slughorn, a hand over his heart as he seemed to be calming his nerves. "Forgive me; is it after hours already?"

"Yes, sir," Tom answered. "I believe Miss Schlosser and I should be getting back to our dormitory."

"Yes, I believe you are right. Goodnight you two and get back safely. If you are stopped by any professors, tell them you came from my little party and you shouldn't have any trouble." He shook hands with Tom and Eira and saw them to the door. Once they were a ways away from Slughorn's office, Tom grabbed Eira by the shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"Why did you show him your power?" he demanded, feeling anger coursing through him as he spoke, fighting the urge to shake her.

"What do you mean?" Eira asked, looking frightened. Tom's anger lessened, but he was still keeping a firm grip on her shoulders.

"Why did you show him your power?" he repeated.

"I knew he could be trusted."

"Because his aura said so?" Eira narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Why are you so angry? It's not like I told him your power!" He could tell she was upset. Her face was turning red and tears were welling in her dark eyes. Tom sighed, loosening his grip on her shoulders.

"I am just not sure that you should make a gift like yours known. There are people who would use it to their advantage."

"Is that what you want to do?" Tom was surprised by the venom in her voice. Her face was no longer red and there were no more tears in her eyes. They didn't even look like her eyes. She was different, but he couldn't explain what it was. Her eyes were so dark; so full of hate.

"Eira?" he asked softly. Eira shook her head vigorously and gasped, rubbing her eyes. The little first year looked up at him, looking normal, but her eyes were terrified.

"What did I do?" she asked in a hoarse whisper. Tom gave her a quizzical look.

"Nothing," he answered. Tears rolled down Eira's cheeks and she lowered her head, collapsing on her knees on the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said, crying softly. "I'm so sorry." Tom knelt down so he was on the same level as her. He placed a hand on her trembling shoulder. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. Tom, feeling that it was the appropriate thing to do, held her tightly, stroking her hair. He spoke softly to her, trying to calm her down. He was still unsure of what had happened and why she was so upset, but he was, secretly, enjoying the fact that he was getting to hold her.

After a while Eira had stopped crying and stood up (with Tom's help), dusting off her tights and dress. She took his hand, smiling sheepishly, her eyes red and puffy from how hard she had been crying, and the two of them started walking back to the dormitory in silence.

It was the morning of Schultz's match. Tom was eating with Eira, who chatted excitedly about seeing Schultz's first Quidditch match of the year. He felt annoyed that she was talking about Quidditch after what had happened last night. She had promised him before going to bed that she would explain to him why she had been so upset, but so far she had not said a word about it. Eira, along with her friends, didn't seem to notice his attitude being less than supportive.

"Good luck today, Ulrick!" Veda Swanson called after Schultz had finished eating. Schultz grinned at her before turning his attention to Eira.

"Hey, Eira?" Eira looked up from her plate and directed her attention at Ulrick Schultz. "Meet me after the match by the Grounds Keeper's place, okay?" Eira nodded. Tom couldn't help feeling suspicious of Schultz's true intentions.

"Oooh!" crooned Jayden Paige, her green eyes glinting with excitement. "I bet he's going to ask you to be his girl!"

"That's ridiculous," said Eira, brushing it aside. "Ulrick and I are just friends. You know that."

"The two of you sure do flirt a lot," Balthazar Finn commented before shoveling a spoon full of scrambled eggs into his mouth. Eira looked flabbergasted.

"We do not flirt! We play around! We're like brother and sister!"

"That's a load of crap!" Finn turned to Tom. "You think that what they're doing is flirting too, right?" Tom tried to keep his true feelings hidden.

"I do believe that what he is doing is flirting," Tom admitted, avoiding Eira's gaze. "You may just be playing with him, and that may have been how things started out with him in the beginning, but I believe that his intentions are as Miss Paige described." He knew Eira would be mad at him for agreeing with her friends, but she would not argue.

After breakfast, the five of them headed for the stands. They sat in the Ravenclaw section, but close to the Gryffindors as well so Finn and Swanson could cheer for both teams without feeling ashamed. Tom sat between Paige and Eira, watching the Quidditch players flying about on their broomsticks. Tom had to admit that Schultz was good and he could understand why Eira admired him so much, yet it still angered him, for what reasons he did not know.

He did not notice much of the game, only cheering when others around him did so (he never actually cheered; he just stood up and/or clapped). At the end of the match, Eira excused herself and headed out of the stands and towards the Grounds Keeper's place. Tom made sure she was a far enough distance in front of him for him to follow without her noticing.

Schultz arrived at his meeting place with Eira a few minutes after she had. Tom was hiding on the other side of the hut. He could see everything without them seeing him, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. He hated the fact that they were whispering. Schultz was looking very uneasy, shifting his weight from foot to foot, not making direct eye contact with Eira while Eira stared right at him, and seemed to be listening intently. A grin spread across the first year's face and she threw her arms around the third year, kissing him on the cheek. Tom had never felt so angry in his entire life from as far back as he could remember! How dare that boy ask her on a date! How dare she agree to it! She was too young for such things and they should both know better!

Eira had not seemed to notice Tom's presence and had taken Schultz by the hand, Schultz looking more confident, and the two of them walked back towards the castle. Tom had to fight the urge to chase after them and to take out his wand and curse the third year Quidditch Player. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his temper. Even though he no longer felt the urge to kill the boy, he still couldn't help but feel angry. What was wrong with him? Why was he so mad about the obvious possibility that Schultz asked Eira on a date? Why should he care what happened between them? Why should he even care about a Mudblood like Eira, even if she did have a unique power? Why was he so livid with anger? Why was he so…jealous?