llwild1992

2010-

Sick Compulsions

Chapter Ten

"They're watching us." Alice snickered. "Want to give them something to gawk at?"

Tom's brows rose in amusement, "what has gotten into you?"

"Oh," Alice reached out and wrapped her arms around Tom's shoulders, drawing him closer, when she felt his hands go to her waist she leaned in closer to his ear, "I'm feeling very audacious at the moment." She almost didn't recognize her voice, she sounded so completely different. As she leaned back to look down into his eyes she could also see everyone as still at statues. "Kissme?"

Tom did not hesitate; smirking inwardly he could help but chuckle, it was all working out in his favor. With a tilt of his head he placed his lips against Alice's; her hand quickly gripped his jaw tightly to hold him there. His own hand tightened at the tempo of the kiss. There was nothing sweat in this kiss, this was a passionate, demanding kiss, one others would use to claim the one they desired in front of a rival. At that moment every person in the common room was someone to disprove.

Mulciber jabbed Avery in the side with his elbow, the two exchanged a hopeful smirk and silently applauded Tom's newest accomplishment. Since Tom revealed that Alice somehow knew something to do with the chamber of secrets and the murder of the Mudblood they've all known about his underlying conquest of Alice. He wanted her to be on their side, but they all also sensed that Tom wanted her for a very different reason, and it wasn't hard to guess. He could have blackmailed her, hexed her, or even brainwashed her. But he decided to play a game with the girl's mind, slowly but surely making her believe that she chose Tom all on her own accord.

As the two smirked at one another, everyone else in the room watched in shock as Alice Hornboght and Tom Riddle kissed in public.

"I shall ask you this again Nott, please stop following me!" Alice groaned as she walked around a bookshelf of the library and placed her fingers across the spines, inwardly reading off the names as she searched for a book on Muggle traditions and beliefs.

Nott followed her, placing his hip against the solid wood of the shelf and crossed his arms, his dark blue eyes intensely watching her. "You can stop playing coy with me, I know you Alice, better than anyone else in this castle. You have no idea of the depth of trouble you've bitten into." He watched as Alice reached up on tiptoes to a book she would never reach, he snickered at her before effortlessly reaching up and pulling it down for her.

"Thank you," she reached for it, but Nott pulled it out of her way and held it behind his back, "NOTT!"

"Tell me what you know and I'll give it back."

"Honestly I know not of what you speak, I need that book."

"What do you know about Tom? What he does when you're not around him, who he is with, or what he plans for the future. Tell me."

Green eyes locked with dark blue. Alice looked up at him and shivered at the cold exterior he was letting out. He was angry, Nott was never an angry person; he is always aloof, spontaneous, and rebellious. He was never like this. Shaking her head Alice dropped her hand and stood across from him, mirroring his comfortable pose against the shelving.

"I know that he disappears quite often when we are not together, and as of right now that is quite rare, like now. Most often or not he is with Abraxas, what they do I do not know. We never speak about him, his past, the present, and not the future. Actually we don't really speak at all, we spend our time studying or snogging—"

"—I get the picture." Nott interjected, "you know nothing about him. Alice, bloody-hell, what are you doing with him, this is not like you at all?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you; I answered your questions, my book if you please?"

"You best not go further into this, Alice; you'll live to regret it."

"Like you regret befriending Tom?" she reached out for the book.

"I am not a companion, I am a disciple. If you stay you shall learn what that truly means."

Alice looked down to take the book from him, but something else caught her eye. Nott's right wrist was visible because his sleeves were roll up to his elbows, they were black. Not a purple colored burse, but black as night. "What is that?" she asked.

"Nothing, take your book." He shoved the book into her hand and pulled the sleeve down. "I won't bother you from now on."

"Gawain," Alice dropped the book onto the table and reached out for his wrist, "Gawain, show it to me?" with her resistance, she managed to back Nott into the sister shelving unit across from them. He hunched over, almost in shame, as she took his wrist into her hand and rolled the fabric up. "Merlin's beard!" Alice gasped as she looked at the blackened wrist. From his wrist to the crook of his elbow his flat skin was marred with blackness, as she touched in the blackness moved under the skin, she tested it by pressing down with her thumb, it left a white print for a moment then the back would rush back under that part of the skin. As she looked she noticed the slightly healing hole in his skin near the elbow, when she touched it Nott whimpered as a drop of the blackness dripped out and onto her finger.

"It's not that bad." Nott said.

"It's enchanted ink, its infecting your skin; it's going to make you sick!" Alice wanted to groan, Nott was in so much pain and will end up getting very ill, no matter how much they fight or annoy one another, Nott was once her best friend, and it would always bother her if something ever hurt him. "Who would do this? Why didn't you go to the hospital the second it happened! How long has it been there, Nott you are so stupid I could kill you!"

"It's my punishment," Nott blurted out, "forget that, I will be fine."

"I have to get that out!" before Nott could reject it Alice hand her wand in her hand and placed against the circular wound and whispering a spell to draw out the ink.

"Bloody-Hell!" Nott bent his head as he felt a burning sensation move the ink under his skin and up to the wound. His eyes closed as he felt the drops of ink bubble out of his skin and rushed to Alice's wand, creating an ink bubble as she slowly pulled the liquid out.

When all of it was out Alice held the bubble of black ink in the air, Nott looked to see her walk across half of the room and open a window to throw out the ink. She then returned to him, he had yet to move. She didn't say a word as she took the wrist and whisper a healing spell for the wound. Nott watched as she worked diligently, her long auburn blond hair was in a low ponytail, her face clear of the gunk other girls painted the faces with. Her eyes were framed by natural dark lashes.

His first memory of Alice as a child, they were five, and she was an ugly little thing, thin as a rail, a boy hair cut because she refused to allow anyone to run a brush through it, so her mother had all of it chopped off, and her knees were always covered in bandages from her constant falling off trees and scraping them on rocks. She was a spitfire, tackled him to the ground and sat on his chest when he refused to play with an ugly little girl. As they got older, he looked forward to the summers with the Hornboghts, he wanted to play with her, and she was so unlike anyone else he knew at that time. Sure they hurt each other's feelings all the time, but they had fun racing though the gardens and throwing each other into the ponds. Childhood was the kingdom where no one knew anything different than games. Life was a game now for him, a game where you win or you die. Alice would never survive it, as long as she was near Tom, the game would get darker until it took her life.

She was not meant for this.

He wouldn't stand in the background and watch this, she is an innocent little girl, and Tom has a plan for her, one that she will not survive.

Reaching out, Nott surprised her when he took hold of her pony tail at the base of her neck. "Remember when I cut your hair off when we were eight?" he didn't tug her hair, he just held it.

"Yes, I punched you square in the face, and then your nanny gave you fifteen lashes for it. I finally got to have my hair grow long and you cut it all off! My one true beauty, gone in a second." She finished healing the wound, his skin was returning to its normal color. She got a glimpse of a tattooed skull on his forearm, but he pulled away before she could look at it.

He released her hair and places both hands behind him on the wooden case. He looked down at her, "I never apologized for that did I?"

"You don't have to now, hair grows back." She back up a bit to lean against the other bookcase and looked up at him, "what did you mean, your punishment?"

"Alice, there are things going on behind closed doors that need not concern you. Dark and dangerous things, head my warning; don't stick your nose into them, you'll get hurt."

"And who hurt you?"

"I think you know the answer to that?"

"…why would he hurt you?"

"Because of you, remember the match?"

"You almost took off my head."

"Tom did not like my conduct towards you that was my punishment. He's not as good and polite as he lets on."

"I know that."

"Then why are you with him?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why did you care about my arm?"

"Why are you trying to protect me?" Alice braced both of her hands upon her hips, looking up at Nott with a challenging twinkle in her eye. "We're to dislike one another, remember?"

"I don't dislike you, Alice." Nott said back, looking down at her, a smirk reaching his lips. "It's because that I don't dislike you that I feel as if I have to protect you, from him."

"He won't hurt me."

"He will." Taking her shoulders into his hands Nott brought her closer to him, his eyes intensifying with emotion as he held her gaze, "listen to me for once in your life. When we graduate distance yourself from him, do not go anywhere with him alone, do not allow yourself to be captured by him. It's too late for me, I am bound for life, but you—you are too good, too pure to be caught up into this. You are nothing like the rest of us, that's why he wants you. You do not follow blindly. You do not uphold the same institution as our parents do. He controls all of us; he seeks to have you under his influence. Get out before you make the worst mistake of your life."

"Gawain, I am not making a mistake." Alice smiled, "I feel like myself with him. I don't have to be all prim and proper around him. I can truly be just me. I don't know if we're going to remain together when graduation comes, or even next week, or even six years from now. But what I want from Tom is nothing. I am an independent person, with a will to act on my own; so I won't fall into line, like you think I will. But I'll stay out of whatever you're doing. If that pleases you." She watched as Nott's shoulders fell in defeat, his face relaxed and a helpless expression dawned upon his face. "If you like me so much, why have you never said?"

Chuckling Nott released her shoulders and leaned back, "I wanted to like you for you, not because my mother kept insisting that I call on you because she wished for us to marry. But now I see the error of my ways." His eyes softened as he reached down to take her chin into his hand, lifting her face to look down upon her, "I should have acted years ago. Now I am forbidden to continue to like you. He has claimed you."

"I am not property."

"You believe so. But to a man so selfish, to someone who has never had anything of his own to possess; you are."

Alice raised her eyebrow at his tone of voice. "Are you saying goodbye?"

"This is the last time I will speak to you as thought I am at liberty to be so familiar." Gently, almost as soft as a whisper Nott kissed her cheek before releasing her. "But do know this, if you ever need a real knight to come and save you, all you need is send an owl."

"I'll keep that in mind." With another kiss to the cheek Nott left her.

With a heavy heart Nott walked out of the library and down the corridor. His robes a black like smoke behind him as his heart raced and his fear crept up the side of his neck. He had known that tom would have sent a spy to make sure he had done it, but he had never thought to think that Tom himself would be the one to shadow him.

"'A real knight to come and save her', eh Nott, that's what you tell her?" Tom laughed darkly at Nott's childish confession as he appeared at Nott's side, draping an arm over his shoulder and pulling him in closer. "That made me sick!" Tom hissed into his ear. "I told you to end it, nothing more."

"Forgive me, Tom that confession was for me and not her. I was being selfish one last time. She is now yours. I give up my feelings for her."

"I will not pretend to under you, Nott. Your infatuation with her has angered me enough, and now this, kissing my girlfriend—twice."

"I apologize," Nott answered, defeat in his voice, but Tom also picked up on something hidden.

"I'm I to take it, as if you mean that sincerely?" Tom scoffed.

As they continued to walk down the hall, Tom's hand discreetly reached Nott's neck, his long fingers coiling around the other boy's skin, pressure slowly built. "You are a bastard, Nott, given everything on a platter. Believing that you deserve everything your beady little eyes set themselves on." Like a snake, Tom held Nott down, painfully holding him, taking charge and leading him down an empty corridor and pushing him up against a wall. "Alice is not yours." Venom threatened to drip down Tom's lips as he glared into Nott's eyes.

"I know that,"

"She will never be yours."

"I believe that."

"She has made her decision to be with me. How many more times do I have to spell this out for you?"

"Clearly two more times, Tom, I am a thickheaded bastard." Nott looked over Tom's shoulder and noticed that Abraxas and Avery had walked into the hall, their wands held at their sides, appearing to look non-threatening, but as Nott had witnessed earlier in the week, they were far from it. "I have made my peace with her; I will no longer act with privy towards her person." Dropping his head in defeat he looked down at the stone floor, watching as Tom's foot tapped the floor impatiently.

"I above all others have fidelity towards you, Tom, no others will come into my vision again, and no one shall deter me from our philosophy." Nott flinched as a cold hand was pressed against his cheek. He dare not look up and into Tom's cold gaze.

Leaning in until his forehead was pressed against Nott's Tom whispered, "You still haven't leaned your lesson, Gawain." Pressing his head into Nott's for a moment, Tom moved away and dropped his hand before turning and walked away. "I fear you will never learn." He said as he walked passed Abraxas and turned down another hall.

Tom walked as if nothing had happened, he had no fear that they would be caught; Abraxas was too smooth of a spell caster to leave even a sound. Nott's little performance in the Library had ticked him off, even as he had gotten his way his fingers itched to reach for his wand and go back to the corridor.

When he had reached the library he silently strode into the back, where Alice always sat in her little corner. She was slouching, holding a book in her lap as she ran her fingers over the pages, casually giggling at something she found intriguing. He leaned his body into a bookcase, watching her for what seemed to be hours. Just that morning that had been enjoying breakfast together, holding hands under the table, smiling at one another, and bantering about her stealing the scone off his plate, as if he didn't notice it? His followers had surrounded them the entire time, but no one dare interrupt them. It was almost as if none of them were there and it was just him and Alice.

Alice took it well, being the center of attention, and unknowingly commanding it at all times. Every move she made, they all followed as if she was ordering them to do so. She fit in so well at his side, and she didn't even know it.

"There you are." Tom finally said, startling Alice, she jumped like a little mouse.

Her eyes widened for a second as she whirled her head around to look at his direction, her lips caught between her teeth as a nervous twitch. When she registered who had called her name her entire being softened. Her green gaze looked into his, with fascination. Releasing her lips she smiled a rosebud beam. She relaxed back into her chair, her hands still tightly gripping the leather bound book on the table.

Nearly four months ago she was issuing threats towards him, she had somehow figured out his whole mastermind plan. At any given moment she could have brought her evidence to the Ministry or even her precious Dumbledore, but she didn't. She was curious about him, plain and simple. She couldn't be easily manipulated like the rest of the idiots in their house. But look at her now! Under his thumb, right where he wanted her to be, his in all sense of the word. Alice Hornboght was the absolute perfect accessory at his side. Every distinguished man needs a desirable woman at his side. Her name would bring him hundreds of followers to his cause in the coming years. She would be too valuable to let escape him.

At that thought Tom smiled as he pushed off of the bookshelf and made his way to her side at sat down. His arm draped across the back of her chair and she leaned down. The pressure from her body was welcoming. Silently they sat there together, she became immersed in her reading once more and he simply sat, enjoying the silence of her company. She intrigued him to no end. He watched as she processed information, mouthing words as she placed them to memory.

She was more than valuable.

He wanted to keep her for himself and not his philosophy. She fit into every plan he had for the impending years, and then also fit into something he never had envisioned before.

"Did you know that Muggles once used earth gods to explain why environmental phenomena happened? But when the Caucasian Raiders from the Eastern Caucus Mountain invaded the Mediterranean they forced their ideology of Sky Gods onto the barbarian peoples?" Alice said with enthusiasm as she peered over at him.

"You don't say?" Tom answered.

"It's the same across the ancient world, even when Christianity became the dominate religion, the Sky Gods were replaced with a monotheistic Heavenly God."

"I see you're getting back into your Muggle Studies?"

"I forgot how fascinating their history could be. I'm applying for a Ministry conducted Study Group for the summer, hopefully that will keep me from home so my mother won't force me out into society with her again. I sent my owl last week; the deadline was a few days ago, I hope they'll consider me even though I was almost late with the application?" she mused by biting her lower lip again.

"With your last name, they'll take you." She bit her lip again, and this time he couldn't resist not kissing her.

"Tom!" she mumbled as he pressed into her lips.

Releasing a giggle she gave herself into it and kissed him back before pulling away, "I have to research this paper." She pulled her hair away from her neck and set back into place.

"Aren't you going to question me about Nott?" He asked, feeling her go ridged in her shoulders. Gooseflesh appeared against her neck, too tempting; he leaned in and kissed her skin until the bumps had been replaced by a light flush.

"It's your business." She answered, shaking her shoulders and the tension away.

"Good answer." He rubbed his nose against her jaw before leaning back into his own chair.

They sat for a few moments longer before a young student walked up to them. He looked flustered as if he had run there.

"Miss Hornboght?" He asked with a weak voice. "I'm a messenger for the Headmaster."

"Yes?" Alice looked up with concern.

"The Headmaster would like you to visit his offices, your owl returned, and she's…well you remember what happened last time?" the student fought back a laugh, but Tom's pensive stair pinned him.

"I thought the winter break would have rested her well? Oh poor girl!" Alice bookmarked her section and gathered her things while the boy ran away. "I'll see you at dinner." She turned and ran her hand over his head, something he secretly enjoyed, the feeling of his hair being mused by her soft hands.

"I have a meeting with the other prefects, save me some desert." He said smirking, holding her gaze with his eyes.

"Ha, ha," she leaned down and kissed him softly. "Why do you always want my piece of cake?"

"You always manage to snag the last piece, it's very good cake." He leaned up and stole another kiss before she retreated.

He remained there for a while longer, enjoying the silence of the library, musing at his plans, and missing her vanilla scent and cranberry lips.

Alice had made her way to the headmaster's office, but he had to run out on an emergency, but would be back faster than broomstick could sweep a room, so she was told to make herself comfortable. She walked through the lavish rooms of the suits, looking at the portraits of the sleeping former head masters. All the books were old and large. She ached to run her fingers over the spines.

"Should you be in here girly?" A rough and grouchy voice from the ceiling said.

"Excuse me?" Alice looked up until she saw something familiar, "oh it's just you." She laughed up at the old weather beat Sorting-Hat. "The Headmaster will be back shortly; he said to just wait for him."

"The old bat!" it said.

"Don't be like that; he's only…one hundred years young!"

"One hundred and seventy two old."

"As malicious as ever, Sorting-Hat, don't you every wonder why you are only brought out once a year with an attitude like that?"

"I will never change; it's my destiny to be grouchy."

"Speaking of Destiny….Sorting-Hat?" Alice looked up at the longstanding hat, "why did you sort me into Slytherin? That's been bothering me since it happened; I thought you sorted on who you are, where you come from, and what you could be?"

"You are right, Hornboght. You are a powerful witch from the Ravenclaw lineage. But just because your family is legend does not overpower who you will become. I do not take back for placing you in Slytherin, destiny placed you there. Destiny can never be fought, it is the driving force behind the greatest witches and wizards of the world, and this time around the house of Slytherin has a density for all to meet."

"And what is Tom Riddle's destiny? You placed us here; all the wizards in Slytherin are purebloods. If what you say is true, all of us have a destiny that overpowers everything else. If there is a destiny to be reached, and all the purebloods in Slytherin have a hand in it, what role will Tom play in it?"

"I am merely a tool of destiny not a reader of it. I see the potential in every young one's future. To see the future unfold, you must live it."

Words: 4392

10 Pages

To the reason why I haven't updated in a while is because right after my second semester of my freshman year ended my Nana passed. I lived with her for twenty years and to say that I was depressed is an understatement. I'm just now starting to feel normal again, getting back to my original writings and to these fan fictions. Hopefully as I return to what will now be my "normal" life I can feel inspired to write again? I just haven't been feeling that spark I use to get when I opened Word and touched my keyboard. I will return to you my readers, I promise, I just need a little more time. My nana was my favorite and most important person, she helped raise me from birth and made me the woman I am today, and she even helped me decide to major in Medieval History. When a person that closes to you passes you feel displaced and out of step. Life doesn't seem normal, but you have to realize that life indeed goes on