He'd forgotten how long he had sat in the common room waiting for her. Alphard was hoping to catch Veronica on the odd chance that she left the sanctity of her dormitory but oddly enough that proved more difficult than it sounded. He couldn't work out why he was suddenly so overwhelmed to protect Veronica. Perhaps it was to uphold the honour within the family? He had never thought of her more than family, she was always like a sister to him, a little ray of sunshine that always held a huge smile whenever they spent any time together. But right now all he could think of was why he felt so differently towards her. Perhaps what his parents had arranged for him stirred something inside of him that had been lain dormant. Maybe it wasn't wrong, after all most of his family had married their cousins, blood related or not and it didn't seem too unusual.
"You need to get out there mate. Whoever has got you wrapped round their finger aren't worth it." Alphard who had been staring at the door leading to the girls' dormitory continuously for the past hour suddenly looked up to find Frances Whitehouse smirking down at him.
Alphard pulled a lopsided smile as one of his oldest friend's took a seat beside him.
"What do you mean wrapped round their finger?" Alphard asked trying very hard to sound casual but gave a very poor attempt at sounding convincing.
"Aw come off it Alph. You've been acting like a love sick puppy since we came back. Enlighten me, who's the lucky lady?" Frances sneered as he caught Alphard looking oddly uncomfortable.
"How do I look like a love sick puppy?" Alphard joked. He forced his voice to sound arrogant to throw his friend off the scent of the truth but so far, Frances was unconvinced.
"Well for one, you've been sat staring at the Girl's Dormitory for the past hour and secondly, it's not like you to be without a girl on your arm for longer than a day so out with it, who's the lucky girl?" Alphard had to hand it to Frances that he had a point and all of which, one he couldn't think of a good excuse to get out of. Feeling like his own probing questions weren't going to elicit the truth from Alphard, Frances continued with, "All right you don't have to tell me. But if you want my advice, I'd say whoever's managed to lure the biggest lady killer in Hogwarts without so much as giving him anything, then I'd say she's either worth waiting for or she's enjoying seeing you sweat. You're too young for that shit mate, there's plenty more fish in the sea." He patted Alphard reassuringly on the back.
"I was only waiting for Ronnie, I just needed to ask her about something." Alphard said truthfully.
"Well talk to her later. Right now me and you need to let off some steam. How about a drink at the Hogs Head? It'll take your mind off things." Frances was already aware that something was happening in Alphard's home life but it was only ever regarded as 'family problems'. He didn't feel comfortable discussing the supposed marriage to his bloodline cousin with any of his friends no matter how close they were.
"Fine, but only if you get some other people out with us too, it's never fun if it's just me and you, no offence."
"None taken and don't worry about it, leave it all to me Alphie." Frances grinned before turning his attention to a girl with long black hair and a heart shaped face who was sat nearby, scribbling something down what looked like Astronomy homework on a piece of parchment. "Oi! Audrey!"
The brunette flicked her hazel eyes up at Frances and gave him a smile.
"Hogs Head tonight?" He mimicked taking a sip of an imaginary glass of Butterbeer. "Invite a few of your friends; we'll meet in here at 8 o'clock."
The girl gave a thumbs up in agreement before returning to her homework. Frances stared perhaps a little longer at Audrey before turning back to Alphard. "See that wasn't hard was it? But I'll tell you something, if you don't try and get with her tonight then I'm seriously going to put out the word that you've turned soft on me." He joked.
Alphard laughed at his friend's playful teasing but it didn't deteriorate his need to check in with Veronica to make sure she was all right. He'd have to try again tomorrow.
Tom had been waiting for Veronica at the bottom of the Astronomy tower. Veronica, who's stomach was churning with unwelcome anxiety, was shifting slowly towards Tom who had thought she'd come through the portrait of the Shrieking Banshee, was now stood in the opposite direction to her oblivious to her arrival.
Veronica had avoided him intensely for a couple of days since the night on the fifth floor and she was somewhat proud of herself and her progress until now. She would now be forced to spend her night wandering the halls alone with him and who was to say he wouldn't attack her again? People like Tom Riddle needn't need reasons to be provoked. A voice in the back of her head told her all of this could have been avoided if she had spoken out to someone about what he had done to her but whether she cared to admit it or not, she and Tom both shared the same skeletons in the closet. If she broke her silence, so would he and right now, the thought of returning home after being expelled from Hogwarts would cause the situation with her parents to escalate even more.
Upon hearing her footsteps Tom had spun to face her. Her blood ran cold as she caught sight of eyes, both unnerving and void of human emotion. She planted herself a little less than a foot away from Tom, avoiding his eyes as she focused more intensely on his shiny Prefect badge.
"You're late." He simply stated as they began to walk. Tom walked a little in front where as Veronica tried to purposely trail behind.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think I was on a schedule." She said sarcastically. Regardless of the fact she definitely felt fear before him; she had to at least show an ounce of respect for herself other than seeming like some pathetic weakling. She had to keep up the pretence that he hadn't succeeded in breaking her down completely. Tom wanted to smirk, the little spitfire had returned to her usual self. He thought she obviously had more nerve than the rest of the vermin that roamed the school halls and that was something to be admired as much as he hated to admit it. "Anyway, "She said swiftly changing the subject "what were you and your friends doing the other night?"
"What night?" Tom asked in a faux tone of innocence as though fuelling her anger.
"You know what night Tom." She said monotonously. "The night where you used an unforgivable on me, remember?" She patronized. "Tell me, was it because you truly wanted to keep me quiet or did you take great delight in hearing me scream?" Tom had since stopped walking a head and had paused briefly to look back at Veronica.
That was when Tom did smirk. They looked into each other's faces for a split second; his full of sheer enjoyment whilst hers held a look of pure revulsion. "Why would I forget that? I deem you a worthy practice dummy." He completely dismissed the question she had asked all together.
Veronica flared her nostrils. Her hand held tightly onto the end of her wand in the pocket of her robe. Her fiery temper would forever be her downfall. Tom was the school champion duellist, he was fast and agile and not to mention powerful. But those facts a side, all she wanted was to get her revenge on Tom the same way he had done with her because he so clearly deserved it.
Although being prepared would be her downfall, Tom, being highly skilled in Legilimency took very little effort to peer into what her mind held seeing that her face seemed unreadable and bound with unspoken words.
...Be ready to attack. Any sign of him reaching for his wand and just stun him. Let him have a taste of his own medicine...
He didn't need a wand to hurt her. He laughed cruelly before an unseen force knocked the wind right out of Veronica's lungs as she felt herself being flung carelessly in the opposite direction to the corridoor. Falling against the stone floor, she laid there a couple of seconds like a neglected rag doll before as she tried to even her breathing. She struggled furiously to stand, she was adamant she wouldn't let Tom beat her again. She needed to be strong, she needed to use any ounce of fear she had and turn it into strength.
As she pushed herself up from the ground, she felt her body instantly drain from energy. She used to the wall beside her as leverage as she pulled herself up again from the stone floor. Her legs were giving way from under the strain as she began to slowly slide downwards again.
Not again. She thought as she reached into her pocket. Before she had even pointed the wand at Tom she had called "Expelliamus!"
Tom, who was stood a foot away from Veronica, was too busy gloating in a callous glee and marvelling at his own handy work to care that she had withdrawn her wand. A weird thought tickled the back of his mind and he wanted to see just what Veronica was capable of. The attack only just managed to hit Tom on his thigh sending him flying in the opposite direction to her.
Tom was far too quick for Veronica, before she had the chance to perform a full-body binding spell on him he had cast another stun at her. Tom had given her an open shot and he might have been somewhat impressed if the accuracy hadn't been so sloppy, but now this was his time to show her the error to her mistake, maybe then she'd learn. She fell onto her knees spluttering for breath as Tom got back to his feet and strode towards her, keeping a cautiously close watch on her wand.
It was now the time to really put into practice non-verbal spells. She thought furiously in her head 'Crucio'. She raised her head just in time to see him return to the floor, body twisting and turning in agony. She had heard somewhere that for an unforgivable curse to really work, you had to mean it. Right now she did. She hated him with every fibre in her being for what he had done to her that night. She felt dizzy and light headed. The feeling of electricity that flowed and circulated from her wand felt alien. Was it normal to feel this when performing an unforgivable curse? Or was it depending on who you cast the spell upon? If this was the case; casting the spell upon Tom Riddle had a drastic effect upon her. She had felt power that was far beyond her reach.
"What's wrong Tom? Don't you like the taste of your own medicine?" She sneered. Showing the same sadistic expression he had held that on the fifth floor. Tom jerked his head up shakily at her. His eyes searing with rage and excruciating pain affecting his entire body, this was something he didn't expect from her and he didn't like to be surprised. "Don't you like it when people stand up to you?" She was really pressing all the buttons that she knew would make him bubble into an uncontrollable rage. "You're a bully Tom, a big nasty bully and you won't hurt me again, not while I can help it." Right now she didn't care that she had performed an illegal curse, if she ended up being expelled from Hogwarts; at least she can say it was well worth it.
Tom was still holding his wand in one of his hands that were shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were glaring as best as they could at the arrogant girl before him. He was desperately trying to concentrate on a spell but the pain proved to be too intense to even think. Before he had time to notice, he felt the weight of the spell lift from him. She had lost concentration.
Veronica heard a noise, a low muttering emanating nearby. Snapping her head in the direction of the noise, she saw a small shadowy hunched figure grow larger in the distance. A few things crossed her mind; either someone important like Headmaster Dippet was coming their way or the more obvious choice was that it was Braxe. Judging by the slight limp in the oncoming stature it was the last option, Henry Braxe; the Hogwarts Caretaker.
A harsh tug on her arm brought her out of her trance. She hadn't realized she had become rooted to the spot until she was forcefully pulled along the corridor and into a nearby disused classroom. It was dark, almost rendering her blind if it had not been for the moon's glow spilling from the tall windows. Things were happening far too quickly for her mind to keep up. Tom had dragged her harshly to the back of the classroom to a blind spot where they'd be covered from prying eyes by large dusty bookcases
"Get off of me!" Veronica snapped trying to bat away his vice like grip on her arm. His grip was actually causing her a great deal of pain.
"Shh!" He hissed and she swore it was almost serpent like as he pulled her into him closing any space that was made between the two bodies. Her spine collided with Tom's toned chest and his hand, now removed from her arm, took refuge against her lips. His wand was pointing up against the underside of her chin so harshly she could barely swallow.
Veronica felt magnetized to his body, like given enough time, they could somehow meld into one being. With only having control of her eyes, all she could do was stare around the room in silence as he cautiously watched the door to classroom.
The only noise that was audible was being shared by them breathing until Tom broke the silence and muttered against the shell of Veronica's ear, sending a deep chill down her spine and chaos of waves to radiate from her belly, "I will not lose my place here at Hogwarts because of you." And then another shot of pain shot through Veronica as he jabbed his wand further into her flesh.
To say Tom had been under the Cruciatus curse, he gave nothing away that he had been. The pain he had felt in his limps and muscles would have driven any other person mad with pain. They were throbbing violently and they urged him to convulse and give into the pain but Tom was proud and he bit back the pain as much as he could. He couldn't let anyone, especially Veronica Bennett see him in pain.
All the pain a side, this had been the first time Tom had ever been in such close proximity of anyone. He had never shared a loving embrace with another or touched the soft skin of a girl. Females; were merely sirens in his mind. They would lure the weak into lust and passion and for a hefty price; they would fall under their spell and succumb to tedious emotions. Emotions he would never be able to experience regardless of whether he ever wanted to or not. He would never stoop so low as to fall into the awful cycle of love. What is love? He thought bitterly. Love was like a myth; always talked about with the greatest of respect when in reality it was a lie to keep those weak enough to believe in it from doing wrong. A world without love was a world Tom Riddle longed to live in.
Nobody, not even Veronica herself would have ever believed that she was now stood in the arms of Tom Riddle. Just like they would never believe that they had duelling just a moment before and she had used the Cruciatus curse on him. People often speculated Tom's sexuality as him being something of a homosexual; Always with his devoted followers, never seen embracing a girl. Veronica was too, a believer of the circulated rumours but now she wasn't too sure any more. It wasn't the way he was holding her that had told her different because even that was cold and volatile. But it was the little things that they had shared that shoved away the doubting thoughts. She had seen the way Tom could be with his rivals and the 'Mudbloods' he loathed so much. But when they duelled tonight, he gave her somewhat an advantage. That was something she had never in a million years thought would ever become a reality. Yes going back to that night on the fifth floor, Tom had gone too far but he didn't go as far as to putting her in the hospital wing (though she thought it was to be considered in the future and enticing him like she had done earlier was not going to help her either). She knew he was a highly skilled dueller; he had beaten the existing champion by a mile stone yet he allowed her to take full aim on him tonight. He wasn't a foolish person; he wouldn't have miscalculated anything wrongly. He had wanted her to hurt him. He had given her the chance to prove herself.
The door of the classroom creaked open slowly and a small orange glow appeared into the deserted classroom. Veronica had caught sight of Braxe's extended grubby arm holding the lantern when she felt Tom slink further against the stone bricks pulling her even more tightly against him.
"Come out kiddies or I'll be forced to stun you. Don't think I won't because I will!" Braxe warned. His attempt of sounding threatening was to be taken lightly; everyone in the school knew Braxe was a squib as they had seen him on his breaks reading books titled 'Magic for the Magic-less '.
Veronica was being held so tightly against Tom that she could feel his cool breath against the flesh of her neck and oddly enough that caused another nauseous wave of butterflies to invade her stomach. She was also aware, whether she liked it or not, of his distinctive scent; a mixture between faint musk and fresh parchment. "Little bastards." Braxe's voice had now drowned out into the usual grumble as he huffed out of the room feeling defeated. The warm glow of his lantern dispersing with every limp Braxe took.
When Tom was sure the footsteps were at a safe distance away he then relinquished his grip on Veronica. She slipped un-expectantly from his grasp when he abruptly pushed past her to leave the room; he needed to get as far away from the siren as possible, he needed to be alone, to think about how out of hand things had gotten.
"Some wizard you are." She suddenly piped up. Tom had reached the second to last row of desks when he turned his head to her, a blanket of confusion covering his face. One that Veronica was so rarely used to seeing. Feeling the need to elaborate, she continued. "It's alright for the infamous Tom Riddle to curse and attack innocent people but when the time is near to confess your actions you flee like some frightened child."
Tom didn't say anything, he didn't need to. Why should he explain his reasons when she was being her usual argumentative self? Plus he had more important things on his mind than being spurred into a petty argument. He just needed to leave the room; to cool down the fiery blaze in his stomach and regain his thoughts.
"You're nothing but a coward Riddle." She seethed. Her usually pale blue eyes looked eerily white in the darkness as she stalked towards him. Noticing his refusal to retaliate she carried on goading him. "What's wrong Tom? You of all people usually have something to say or you going to let your wand do all the talking for you again?"
Tom's nostrils began to flare. His teeth were close to being ground into dust from the strain. Veronica shoved his chest harshly, as if attempting to knock a response from him but it had failed, his restraint had slipped. Grabbing her forearms violently, it was then she saw the sheer ferocity in his face. She whimpered as she felt his finger tips grip her soft flesh as he through her against one of the desks behind them. Her legs buckled and she lost balance, although luckily she was able to land upon the desk rather than the floor.
"Get o-"Silence; He could finally relax in the silence but for what price? He could feel her trying to retract away from him with protest full moans against his mouth. All he wanted was for her to shut up and renounce the fiery sensation that was pulsating in his veins and so far it had worked but for all the wrong reasons.
Seconds ticked by and it seemed evident that she was rejecting him. It wasn't till she was able to manoeuvre her lips away from his mouth in a swift motion that accompanied another hard shove in his chest that she was able to break free. Looking at Tom in silence, she felt her face had become numb. Her eyes were looking deeply into his which were equally as wide; as if he had seen something just as disturbing as she had.
She took no time trying to crack the encrypted message behind the kiss in his expression; she too needed to be on her own for fear that his lips would find hers again. Quickly getting to her feet, she avoided looking into his eyes once more before pushing past him and hurriedly leaving the room.
It wasn't till he could hear the door close behind her he could actually piece together what he had done. Touching a finger to his lips; it was then he noticed they were tingling. His actions would no doubt leave damage behind but that wasn't the main thing he was disgusted by. It was the fact he was trying to split his soul; not leave it intact for some girl, some girl who didn't mean anything to him. He was sure now it was the time to attempt to make his first Horcrux before he had time to succumb to the animalistic urges that were plaguing him.