Sorry it takes a bit of time to update. I usually write short chapters for my stories but I'm trying to train myself not to do that anymore.

I doubt it'll work, but hey, at least I can say I'm making an effort.

Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.

"You're going to do what?" Elizabeth asks me, raising an eyebrow.

"Make a truce with Tom Riddle," I say, adjusting my robes. I can't believe I'm going to do this; I've officially lost my mind. It's all for Emily. That's all I have to remember. I'm only doing this for her. If I keep that in mind maybe trying to get Tom Riddle to date me won't be that bad. No, it'll always be bad.

"But you hate him," Serene says, staring at me like I've grown two extra heads. Maybe I have, maybe that's why I decided to do it.

"Well, it's a new term, isn't it?" I say. "I have to mature at some point, don't I?"

"Yes," Elizabeth says slowly. "But last year you literally got sick at the thought of becoming his friend."

"Then it's time to change that," I say. I thought about telling them what my real plan is, but they'd only think I was mad. I am mad, but I don't want everybody to think that. No, this is strictly between me and David, no one else. Besides, if I told them they might tell someone else until it gets back to Tom. I can't let that happen, it'll ruin everything.

"Alright, if you think it'll make you a calmer person," Serene says, shrugging.

I grin. "I have to go meet David," I say. "See you later."

"Bye!" They say simultaneously as I walk out of the room.

I walk quickly down the hall, picking up my pace as I pass Emily's room. I don't want to talk to her right now, I'm certain I'll explode on her. I walk out to the Common Room and I see David standing by the fireplace. He's right on time. I adjust my bag on my shoulder and walk over to him, tapping him on the shoulder as I reach him.

"Hey," I say as he turns around.

"Hey," He replies. His eyes scan the crowded Common Room for a moment before he grabs my arm. "Let's, uh, let's chat in private, shall we?"

I look around the Common Room. He's right, there are too many people. Plus, I can see a few of Tom's minions in the far right corner. We especially can't have them hearing us; they're a straight link to Tom. I nod and follow him as he walks out of the Common Room at a quick pace.

"Alright," He says as we step out into the hall. "I was awake all night making up a game plan."

"Which is?" I ask, walking briskly to keep up with his fast pace.

"You need to get closer to Riddle."

"What do you mean by that?"

He adjusts his bag over his shoulder as he walks. "What I mean is that you can't sit a mile away from him during classes and meals. Try to sit closer to him, strike up some conversations, and not ones that involve insulting him or letting him know that you don't trust him!"

I roll my eyes. "That's asking quite a bit, isn't it?"

"Don't be sarcastic, this is serious," He says. "Remember if this plan fails you might be nursing Emily's crushed heart in just a year's time."

"Me? What about you?" I ask, stopping at the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Please," David scoffs. "Nursing broken hearts is your job; my job is to beat the snot out of the man who did it."

"David," I say, sending him a sharp look. As much as I would love to see him give Tom Riddle a good beating, I don't want to see my brother in Azkaban.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," He assures me, looking around the Great Hall. After a few moments of letting his eyes scan the crowded room, he points towards the Slytherin table. "There he is."

I know who he's talking about, and I sigh as I look to where he's pointing. Sure enough, there's Tom sitting alone and eating his breakfast. It's too late to turn back now; I've already promised David I'd go through with whatever he thinks of. What was I thinking?

"Okay," David says, leaning down to my level as he adjusts his bag on his shoulder. "You have to get a couple words into him before his friends get here."

"Minions," I correct.

"Whatever, just do it."

"How do you know so much about talking to boys?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's amazing what your girlfriend's friends will tell you when you got a few galleons in your pocket," He replies. "Now, go talk to him."

He pushes me forward lightly and I send him a glare as I walk towards the table. I turn my gaze to Tom. He hasn't noticed me yet; maybe it's not too late to run. I'll just explain to David that this plan is going to kill me, and I'm not exaggerating about that. You're doing this for Emily. Damn, there it is; my conscience. You promised David. Not all promises can be kept. Think of Emily with a broken heart. You don't want that, do you? No, I don't want that, I have to do this. Merlin, I hate myself.

I swallow as I sit beside Tom, purposely leaving enough room for someone to sit down between us. He hears me sit down and his eyes shoot away from his dinner plate and onto me. I'm mentally coaching myself. Don't frown, don't glare, keep your cool, keep calm.

"Morning," I say, flashing a soft smile that only lasts on my face for half a second.

He raises an eyebrow and stares at me in disbelief. I don't blame him though; if I were him I'd be doing the exact same thing. He probably thinks I've lost my mind, whereas I know I have.

"Bit close today aren't we, Yarrow?" He asks. "Some would think that's dangerous."

Don't snap back, just ignore it. I refrain from frowning as I look back at him. "Just thought a change would be nice, that's all."

He raises his eyebrow at me again. He expects me to retaliate, that's why he drops passively snide comments that only I'll be able to get offended by. But, shockingly enough to the both of us, I'm not freaking out. I'm mad, yes, but I'm not freaking out. Maybe I can do this.

"What?" He asks.

"I said I thought that a change would be nice," I reply. "I don't have to sit with my friends all the time."

"Did they finally grow tired of you after six years?" He asks in a mocking tone.

No, I can't do this. I bite my tongue. That is it! I can't go through with this. I tried, I really tried, but I can't do this, I can't.

"No," I hiss. "And you know, I'd like to be able to just sit where I please without any questions."

He smirks. He knows he's got to me. "Well then," He says, moving to stand up. "I'll let you 'sit where you please' in peace. It seems you need it." He sends me another smirk as he walks away, leaving me to fume.

"Git," I hiss under my breath.

I rest my chin in my hand as I glare at the table. Well damn, there goes that plan. I knew this wasn't going to work, I only agreed to do it when I had no more hope. Maybe I shouldn't trust David with the plan making, maybe I should just think of a plan myself that doesn't involve me talking to Tom. Yes, I think that would work out quite nicely. Well, it'll work out better than this plan, that's for sure.

"What was that?" A familiar male voice asks. My eyes shoot up from the table and I'm greeted with the sight of a shocked David. "What did you say to him?" He asks.

"Nothing!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up.

"Hogwash," He says, rolling his eyes. "He dropped a comment, you got offended."

"How did you know that?"

He points a few seats down the table and I look at what he's pointing at. I immediately recognize Keller sitting far enough away that I won't notice him, but close enough that he can listen to whatever I'm saying clearly. That little rat!

"You had Keller spying on me?" I ask angrily.

"And apparently for good reason," David says. "You completely blew that one."

"Well, Keller didn't tell you the whole context of my conversation with Riddle," I say.

"It doesn't matter," He says. "All that matters is that you lost your temper and provided a setback for yourself. That can't happen again."

I sigh. "Is it too late to think of a new plan?"

"Yes," He says. "Now, you have Transfiguration with Riddle-"

"How the hell do you know that? Wait; did you have Keller sneak a peek at my timetable?"

"That's irrelevant to the point. The point is you have to try to get on Riddle's good side during that class and all the classes you have with him afterward."

I sigh. He's not going to let me out of this.

"Fine."

Okay Valerie, remain calm, don't freak out on him. Just pretend he's Serene or Elizabeth, that will make things easier.

I've taken up the habit of coaching myself, but as I've proven once before, it's probably not going to work. He'll set me off and I'll explode, I know it.

My fingers absent-mindedly tap the strap of my bag as I walk into the Transfiguration room. I look around the room and see Tom sitting in the second row of the class, and seat beside him is empty. I have to get to that seat before one of his minions get to it first. I failed at breakfast, but I am determined to make sure that I don't fail now. Merlin, help me.

I adjust my bag over my shoulder and walk over to Tom's desk, my head held high. If Tom's aware of me standing there, he's doing a good job of hiding it. I don't wait for him to look up before I sit down; I just sit and send him a sideways glance. I clear my throat and he looks up at me, a vague look of shock crossing his face. He probably expected one of his minions to be sitting here, instead he got me.

"Yarrow," He says, eying me. "What are you doing?" His tone strikes a nerve with me, but I try my best not to freak out.

"Getting ready for class," I say, pulling my book out of my bag.

"And you're sitting here?"

"Yes," I say, nodding. He sends me a look that strikes another nerve, and I bite my tongue. "Is that a problem?" I snap, the words coming out of my mouth so fast I can't stop them. He raises an eyebrow at me and smirks. He knows he's got to me once again. Great, I blew it again.

"You seem much more on edge than usual, Yarrow," He points out, turning back to his book. "Prefect duties proving to be too much of a stress for you? I'm sure Headmaster Dippet or Professor Slughorn would give you a break or even replace you if you asked."

Now he's just being an ass. Sure, it sounds like a helpful suggestion, but in reality, where I seem like the only inhabitant, he's basically saying that I can't handle being a prefect. He knows I wouldn't like that sort of comment; he knows that I would loathe it and immediately snap. I am snapping, I can feel my blood boiling and steam flying out of my ears. I'm not doing too well on this plan.

"I don't need a break, Riddle," I sneer. "And has it ever crossed your mind that maybe I'm more on edge than usual because I don't like you?"

"Well, if you despise me so much then why are you sitting with me?"

"That's none of your business!"

"I'm merely curious, Yarrow. Usually when one loathes another they try to stay as far away from them as possible, yet seem to bet getting closer. Why is that?"

I scowl at him. "As I've said before, it's none of your business."

"Alright then," He says. "Then I suppose you don't mind moving to another seat."

I glare at him. "No, I don't." I immediately stand up, grabbing my book off the desk. I scowl at him once more before turning on my heel and moving to the available seat that's farthest from him. I plop onto the chair and slam my book down on my desk angrily, causing the person sitting beside me to jump.

"What's the matter with you?" They ask.

I turn my head to look at them. It's Elizabeth, staring at me with wide, grey eyes.

"The usual," I mutter, opening my book.

She shakes her head as she turns to her book. "This is why Serene and I thought that making a truce with Tom Riddle was a bad idea."

"I thought you wanted me to learn to get along with people"

"Well, yes. But we've given up hope for you and Tom," She explains, flipping to a page in her book. "The first thing I thought when you said 'truce' and 'Tom Riddle' together in a sentence was train wreck."

"Well, you thought wrong," I say. "That was worse than a train wreck."

"Okay, do you get it now?" I ask.

Serene presses her lips into a thin line as she stares at her Transfiguration book. "I think so...Actually, no, can you explain it to me again?"

I sigh and point to her page with the end of my quill. "Alright, so-"

"Hey, Val?" Elizabeth asks as she enters the room.

"Yeah?"

"David's looking for you, says it's important."

I grimace. I don't want to talk to David, I really don't. I failed trying to get on good terms with Tom. After Transfiguration things just kept on going downhill, I either got mad at him or one of Tom's minions beat me to sitting beside him. Lunch was no different, in fact, Tom wasn't even in the Great Hall for lunch, and I honestly didn't think it was worth going to look for him. But I can't just tell David that I failed again and gave up, besides Keller's probably already told him the things he witnessed when he was in the same class as me and Tom. Whatever he said, it's probably more than enough for David to berate me about.

"I'm busy helping Serene," I say, gesturing to her. There, I have an excuse and it's valid.

"I'm fine," She says, shrugging. "I think I've got it now."

"But a minute ago you didn't," I say, desperately clinging on to what petty attempt of an excuse I have.

"I thought about a bit more," She replies. "After you finish talking with David you can tell me if I'm right or not."

I look back up at Elizabeth, who moves away from the door to make room for me. "Get to it."

I sigh and stand up, hesitantly walking out the door. David's going to give me such a hard time; I can already see it now. I step out into the Common Room and see David sitting in a chair with his back to me. I should just turn around and pretend to Serene and Elizabeth that I talked to him when I didn't. If they, or he, finds out, I'll deal with the consequences later. Just as I go to turn around, David turns around in his chair and stands up when he sees me. Well that's just great, isn't it?

"Hey," He says. "How did today go?"

"Uh," I start. "Decently." I don't mean for it to come out like a question, but it does.

He raises an eyebrow at me. "That sounds...uncertain. Val, what really happened?"

I sigh. "I blew it again, alright? I couldn't stop getting mad at him! He knows me well enough to know what kind of things to say to make me angry."

He sighs in exasperation. "Val, you have to learn to control your temper!"

"I was trying!"

"I know! I know! Look, you just have to finds some ways to keep calm when you're talking to him."

"And how do you suggest I do that?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"I haven't thought of it yet," He says. "I'll think of something, in the meantime you mentally coach yourself until I can think of something."

"That's what I've been trying," I exclaim, throwing my hands up.

"Well, try harder," He says. "Look, I've got to go meet Marie. I'll see you later."

With that he walks out leaving me alone in the Common Room.

I sigh.

"Great."

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