Author's Note: [This chapter is in desperate need of some editing, but I haven't gotten to it yet...]
Upfront warning—this chapter gets more suggestive than the rest so far. Not to an M rating, but, as the last line of chapter seven said "...he fully intended to sleep with her the night of Valentine's Day.", there is obviously going to be some (at least marginally) more mature content. You may read it and think any kind of warning was unnecessary, but I don't know what people expect, so.
On Valentine's Day, the Hogwarts staff, usually strict in this regard, seemed to turn a blind eye to the romantic goings-on around them (at least to some extent—those of the nature that Charlotte and Tom had the intention of carrying out were likely not so permissible regardless of the day, but of course if things went according to plan, no one would ever know). It was a Sunday, so there weren't even any classes to otherwise engage the students who were amorously inclined; thus entering an "empty" classroom became twice as likely, if not more, to lead to embarrassment on somebody's part.
At breakfast she sat across from Tom. "I have something to take care of after this, but will you wait for me by the lake?" he asked while buttering some toast. Charlotte, smiling, nodded. Then she nearly knocked over her pumpkin juice as she reached distractedly for a hard-boiled egg. Nerves were getting to her. In fact she did knock the goblet over, but a spill was prevented by Tom's quick reflexes and non-verbal magic; this did not help her feel less anxious about the day.
...
She stood there, staring out over the lake, when, unexpectedly from behind, arms wrapped around her waist and lips kissed her cheek. Immediately knowing that it was Tom, she twisted around in his embrace to face him, then putting her arms around his neck, kissed him. He angled them towards a tree that was behind her and pressed forward until she was tightly between himself and tree trunk. He broke away from her and looked in her eyes intently. She hoped he could find whatever he was looking for in them, because she was quite sure she had lost the ability to verbally communicate. Shaking her head minutely back and forth, a moment passed as she searched for the words, finally managing to say, "Don't stop." He acquiesced with a smile.
Sudden shouts from what seemed like a short distance away interrupted. Charlotte turned her head rapidly in the direction of the castle, where the sound had originated. Tom followed suit slowly, raising his head from the space by her neck. All they could see was a group of boys up on the hill. "It doesn't concern us," he said, turning her face towards him again, his palm around her chin, long fingers framing her face. She drew her hand down his chest, watching her movement rather than looking directly at him. "What are you thinking?" he asked softly.
"I'm thinking…" She looked up, moved towards him slightly, leaving his hand midair where her face had been cradled in it. "Yes."
"Yes?" he repeated in a questioning tone, but, she imagined, knowing what she meant.
She nodded. He had told her to be absolutely certain; she felt that she was. She knew he wanted to be with her, and she wanted to be with him. What reason did she have to say no?
With a mischievous smile, Tom said, "I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to tonight."
Tom lay awake beside a sleeping Charlotte, who was lying on her side facing away from him. His confidence in his ability to seduce her had not been a misjudgment. With his alibi now in place—the lie others would believe was the one that they most suspected—he had greater matters to attend to. But he couldn't stop thinking about… He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. That was a mistake. It only brought to mind what he was trying to push away; Charlotte pressed against him, his inhalation that filled his lungs with the scent of her, his lips on her skin.
He ran both hands through his hair. That too was a mistake. Her finger's had done the same thing while he had concentrated on moving the bed mentally. It surprised him a little that he had been able to do this,—kissing Charlotte at the same time so passionately having been more engaging than he had anticipated—but he had managed to turn the entire bedframe, mattress, and all, onto its side so that when he and Charlotte were in the right spot he could put it back in place on the floor with them on it. Here was another way in which wizards were superior to muggles. Tom smirked at this thought.
He closed his eyes. His third mistake in a row. In his mind's eye he saw them again. His eyelids flew open as he clenched his fists in frustration. Now he made another mistake, this time knowing it was one before acting; he looked at Charlotte. Instantly he felt the return of that longing, brought on by his gaze travelling along the slopes of her body—or how he pictured them anyway; the blanket was so thick, not much of her figure was discernable underneath it.
"What the hell," he muttered, giving in. He turned over to face her, moving so he was lying right against her back, and placed one hand lightly on her hip. He wanted to touch her more, but he feared waking her. There was still the rest of his plan for the night, the more important part, to carry out. He twisted away from her, onto is back again—a bit too forcefully it seemed, as she stirred slightly. Her voice met his ears and his great displeasure at having complicated matters.
"Are you alright?" she asked in a half-asleep voice, turning over.
"Fine," he replied. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"It's alright," she answered, propping herself up on her elbow next to him. "But I'm wondering now… truly nothing's bothering you? Do you regret tonight?" she asked slowly.
He wasn't sure. Knowing he was cloaked by the darkness and she couldn't see him clearly, he gritted his teeth in irritation. But he answered positively. "No, I don't regret it," he said as quickly as he could, concluding it was the answer that was best for her to receive. "Do you?"
He could just make out the shape of her head moving from side to side. In an effort to reassure her, or distract her,—whatever worked—he reached out to take her hand. Twining his fingers around hers, he pulled her forward, closer to him, like a puppeteer made his marionettes move to his wishes. "You're cold," he said, feeling goose bumps on her skin when it touched him. "There's a nightdress—over there," he pointed to a partial mannequin, like a dress form. With the flick of his fingers, it came drifting towards the bed.
Charlotte, now sitting upright, took the nightgown from over his arm where it had draped itself. "What a remarkable room," she said musingly as she slipped the dress over her shoulders. Then she looked curiously at him and asked, "Am I the first girl you've brought here?" It was half said as a joke, he could tell.
"This room… I didn't put these things here; they just…appear." He spoke carefully, not wanting to reveal too much; it was his secret and if it had not been such a perfect location for them to meet he would not have shared it with her at all. "But yes, you are the only one," he answered seriously. "The first," he said with meaning, implying she was the first he had ever done such things with.
"Really? You don't have some summer flame back at the orphanage?" she said teasingly.
"Don't mention that place." He tensed at the thought of it, and it made him angry that she would bring it up; although he was glad she hadn't made any more inquiries about the room. And to make certain she did not, he once again thought it best to preoccupy her. "Are you still cold?" he asked. Not waiting for a reply, he leaned toward her and said, "I think we can warm you up again." He lowered his voice to a seductive whisper, "You'll be sweating in no time."
"But I just got dressed," she replied a little coyly.
"A vanishing spell would take care of that." He slid his hand down the satin material of her skirt and, reaching the bottom, grasped it, raising the hemline. "But it's not necessary." She laughed and leaned in to kiss him again.
...
He left as soon as she was asleep once more.
...
Briskly heading for the stairs, he focused on what needed to be done, pleased to find it was easier now that he was away from Charlotte. He went downstairs one floor.
"Massster…" The voice came to him from within the wall. "Let me kill…"
He smiled and seemed to expand with it, feeling the rush that command of such a beast gave him. "The girl down the hall, around the corner," he answered it. He understood the hiss that followed to be one of wicked glee, which he too felt. The basilisk having been set its task, he returned to the Room of Requirement.
Charlotte's wand lay on the table beside the bed, like a wizard alarm clock, it was set to wake them early enough that their absence in the night would go unnoticed, returning to Slytherin common room before anyone woke up. He lay down beside her, but he was too excited to sleep, thinking about the events he had just set into motion—the first attack. It would take time, but he would purge the school of those who did not deserve to be there. Mudbloods. The word conjured contempt in him, but he felt much more strongly about the fact that it was Salazar Slytherin's mission he was continuing. He, the Heir of Slytherin, had such great importance. To get any rest, he had to swallow a sleeping potion. In the morning, he would see the result of his work. The only thing he didn't look forward to was having to hide his achievement.
Charlotte awoke at the prodding of her wand. "Ugh." She grabbed it and sat up. "Sometimes this thing has a mind of its own—like I want to wake up to being jabbed in the side with a stick."
Tom stretched, an amused smile on his face. "You aren't always so irritated in the morning, I hope," he said with a yawn.
"If I say yes will you still want to spend nights with me sometimes?"
He laughed and drew her arm up to his mouth, kissing the inside of her wrist. "Of course I would." They dressed themselves in their school clothes and started for the dungeons.
"I hope we don't run into Peeves," Charlotte said. Tom looked at her with laughing eyes and a sort of crafty, sly smile. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"I've diverted Peeves. At the cost of whoever has Charms first and Professor Runewood's peace of mind, but at least he'll stay out of our way."
"You really do think of everything," replied Charlotte. He bowed his head in agreement combined with gratitude for the compliment. But then she thought of something she very much hoped he had also been as prepared for. She would have stopped in her tracks at the thought if they had not been in such a hurry. "Contraceptif," she murmured, never having needed to learn the word in English.
"What?" Tom asked, confused at first, but the word was similar enough he realized what she meant. "Oh. I've taken care of that too." She breathed a sigh of relief.
"That must have been in a book in the restricted section." She gave a nervous sort of laugh.
"Yes, where all the best information is," he joked, but she thought she saw a look of distress, maybe regret, flash across his face after he said it, as he looked away.
...
At the time when curfew normally would be lifted, an announcement echoed through the castle in Professor Dippet's voice. "All students will remain in their houses until further notice."
Author's Note: Woohoo, new plot—the Chamber of Secrets has been opened! Although none of the characters, aside from Riddle obviously, know that. So look forward to the next chapter starting off with some lighthearted Valeria moments (fangirling, teasing, etc.) before things get serious. Because she is just fun to write.
I feel like I could have done a better job with Tom's "I shouldn't have said that" moment at the end, when he talks about the restricted section. (Just in case it it wasn't clear, that's all it was; he didn't lie about the contraceptive, which, I assume, can be done magically in the wizarding world.) What's implied there is that he regrets giving Charlotte any hint about how much time he spends in that part of the library, which might make her privy to his many secrets.
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with how this chapter turned out, given that initially I felt quite reluctant to attempt any remotely suggestive scenes. I'd be happy to hear what any readers thought of this chapter, or anything so far~