Greeting and Salutations!
I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter up. This week has been a nightmare at work and I have had very little time to do much of anything. The one day I did have time, Moon sent me a link to a story that just grabbed me before I had time to know what was going on and kept my attention the entire 67 chapters. I lost sleep on that one too which is never good since I enjoy my sleep lol.
Any and all mistakes are mine of course. The world is JKR's and I am just sunning myself here on one of the magically warm rocks. Can't blame a snake for taking a pause in such a warm and wonderful world.
I am working on 'Storm'and though I had planned to update it first, I got stuck on which part I wanted to do next so I figured I would update this one while I decide in which direction I want to address first in the other drama I have stirred!
Hope you all enjoy this little filler of Tomione fun and I will see you all next week!
Always
~Tempest
"Hello Tom. How was your first day at Hogwarts?"
She looked different in some way. He could not quite put his finger on it at first and then he realized it was her hair. This time it was not wild and busy and untamed but had been pulled back into a tight braid and only a few tendrils were escaping to wisp around her face.
Distracted by that he answered with the first thing that came to mind.
"It has been not very welcoming so far but I will handle that in due time…what did you do to your hair? I don't like it. Take it down!"
Reaching forward without really thinking about it, Tom pulled the tie that was holding her hair in place off and threw it over his shoulder to land forgotten somewhere behind him.
Huffing at him as she tried to snatch the tie back, HG glared and wrapped her hand around the braid to keep it in place.
"You know it is considered rude to just go around pulling out the tie in a girl's hair and telling her how to wear it. I happen to like my hair tied back and out of my face Tom!"
Flicking her wrist another tie appears and she reaches back to secure the end of the braid again. Before she can, he reaches forward and yanks the tie away from her and throws it too.
"Damn it Tom…stop that!"
"No."
Sliding up to his knees until his smaller frame is towering over her he reaches behind her as she freezes with wide eyes and slaps her hand away from her hair. With a gentleness he was not even aware he had, Tom undoes the braid layer by layer until her hair falls in wild curls around her face again.
Sitting back he takes in her pale cheeks and her wide eyes and the way her uneven breaths are causing the hair near her mouth to flutter and gives her a charming smile.
"You have avoided a face to face with me for months. I wanted to see the beautiful witch I first met with the untamed hair…not some facsimile of her with perfect hair. I am already surrounded by girls who look perfect from head to toe and they are all stuck up bitches. I will not have you look like one of them and give me reason to form a comparison between you and them."
Watching her eyes slide closed before opening again with curiosity and a hint of annoyance, Tom frowns at her and gestures in her direction.
"I don't know who you let fix your hair and make it look that way but in here I want you to look like this. You said you were my secret…my savior…and if you are then you should look the part as I see it."
Blinking a few times, HG seemed to be regarding him in contemplation before she gives a slight nod of acquiesce.
"There is no point arguing something so trivial. If you wish for me to come here with awful hair then I will. I can't say that I understand but it isn't like that is a hard request to grant. Though calling me beautiful is putting it on a bit thick Tom. Now why was it so unwelcoming today?"
Her eyebrows drawing down in worry and confusion, HG leans back on one of the posts at the end of his bed and stretches out her feet in his direction.
"We will address that comment later Hg. It would seem that my muggle last name has made me beneath the notice or care of my house. The few who introduced themselves to me sneered or looked like they had smelled something rotten when I told them who I was. They say half-blood like it is some kind of incurable disease. What is a half-blood exactly?"
Watching the anger play out across her face, Tom sits back and mimics her position on the opposite post, letting his shorter legs rest against hers.
"It is one of the many issues the wizarding world has both in your time and in mine. Families that are made up of all wizarding folk, also known as purebloods, think they are superior to everyone else because they have no muggle ancestry in their bloodlines. The purebloods have to have like 300 years of no mixing of blood to be considered pure or something. I am not sure how it all works or the real rules to who is pure or not because I am not one and not privy to that information."
Rolling her eyes she crosses her arms, the annoyance is plain in her voice and on her face and Tom wonders if she knows how much her emotions give away…not that he will tell her that. It is one advantage he can have in this game they play.
"A half-blood is just that…half magic and half not. It means one of your parents was a witch or wizard and one was not. A muggleborn is a witch or wizard who has non-magical parents. The purebloods hate them the most. They have this stupid theory that a muggleborn, or mudblood as they call them, is a witch or wizard who at birth stole the magic from a pureblood and rendered that pureblood a squib. If they took any time to really research it at all instead of just making something up so they can have their prejudices, they would see how idiotic they sound. But….that is a conversation for later on if you decide it matters at all."
Running her hand through her hair and grimacing as she pulls on a tangle, HG huffs and rolls her eyes again before giving up and laying her head back against the post.
"I take it since you don't know all the rules to it that you are either a half-blood like me or a muggleborn then?"
Her eyes meet his for a moment before she sighs and closes her eyes.
"My luck…this is going to set any progress I make with you back in a few years but I swore I wouldn't lie to you and to not answer seems asinine. I am a muggleborn. Both of my parents are muggles and as far as I have found there is no written history in my family about magic for the last 5 generations. Some of the theories I have heard is that we come from squibs that leave the magical world and marry muggles. The magic is dormant in them and eventually can manifest in their lineage later."
"Another theory is that magic is a more sentient force then say gravity or the weather. So when bloodlines start to get too tangled up, magic selects new blood and gives it magic so that new bloodlines can be introduced into the world."
Shrugging she picks at his comforter as she bites on her bottom lip.
"If they were from squibs, wouldn't there be a magical history to follow?"
Sitting up in interest, Tom crosses his legs and leans his elbows on his knees so he can rest his chin on his hands.
"Most likely not. Squibs are considered a disgrace on any family they are born to. Most are killed at birth to hide the defect…or at least used to be. I am honestly not sure if that is still a practice or not."
Looking pale and horrified at the thought, HG rubs her hands down her pants legs before continuing her explanation.
"Those that are not killed are disowned and given to orphanages as unwanted children. Others lose their name and have to take on a new one but are raised in the house as servants. The ones who leave the wizarding world are not allowed to tell anyone where they come from or their history and are not allowed to claim the wizarding family they are from. So any information gets lost as the squib leaves the magical world. It's sad really because it's possible I am related to one of the pureblood families distantly and I would never know nor would they count it."
"Is this a big issue in the magical world then?"
Watching an overwhelming sadness bleed into her eyes and along her face before she takes a breath and shakes off her melancholy, Tom wonders to himself exactly how bad it has to have been for her to look so upset about it. There was no way he would ever allow any of his pathetic dorm mates to treat him badly enough to cause that kind of sorrow in a normal person. He would put an end to this prejudice against his blood…very….soon.
"It is one of the major issues of the wizarding world. All others stem from that and move outward. Magical creatures that are intelligent are treated as servants and sub-human. Witches and wizards who are not from the proper families are looked down on no matter how smart or powerful they truly are. It is a waste of time and of talent to ostracize people that way and the war in your time is going to prove that in the muggle world. But prejudices are alive and will always be there. When one is solved, another rises. It is the nature of the beast…or humans rather. Animals are surprisingly much more tolerant even in their violent kingdoms."
Sitting back again, Tom let this all settle in as he contemplated how he was going to deal with his new 'friends' and their little issue with his heritage. It would not do to allow them to see him as weak from the start. They would be a lot harder to control later on it he did not set the ground rules now for who he was and what he was capable of doing. Glancing back up, he meets HG's eyes as she was obviously watching him lost in thought.
"You had a very dangerous frown there Tom. Want to share your thoughts or should I guess?"
Deciding to see how much bravado she truly had, Tom moves his body so that there is space beside him and looks back up at her. Gesturing with his hand he motions for her to move so that she is sitting next to him instead at the other end of the bed.
Raising her eyebrow at him, her lips turn up in a smirk as she sighs and moves around until she is sitting shoulder to shoulder with him, legs stretched out along the bed and their bodies touching along one entire side.
Turning his head to look at her, he really studies her eyes and her breathing. Other than seeing an almost challenging glint in her eyes, he finds not one hint of discord.
"You really and truly are not afraid of me are you?"
Taking her time to answer that question, HG reaches over and takes his hand and starts to trace the lines on his palm with her finger.
"No Tom I am not at all afraid of you. In this book…in my magical creation…I control everything. From the magic and the environment, to when the session starts and ends, I control every little detail that you see and hear and feel. In here I have no reason to be afraid of you." Looking down and examining his hand, he watches something haunting cross her eyes.
"What about outside of here? If we were to meet on the streets, would you be afraid of me then?"
Turning his body to face her fully, Tom takes her hand into his and turns it over to trace the same lines as she did.
"Do you truly want me to answer that Tom? I promised I would not lie to you and so I won't. Be sure when you ask a question that you truly wish to have the answer. I will not be responsible for your temper when you don't like what I have to say."
Pulling her hand free, HG turns as well to face him more, tucking her legs beneath her.
"Yes…I truly want to know." Holding his breath to try to keep his temper in check he waits to see what she will say.
"If we met on the streets…right this very moment or at this very moment in my time…I would either try to escape the vicinity or I would try to kill you."
"You wouldn't even try talking to me first?" His brows drawing down in the beginnings of anger, he clenches his hands to try to alleviate some of the anger he feels building.
"If I were to meet the future you that I know in my time then no I would not attempt to talk at all. There is no point to try to talk to him…you…now. If I met this you that I am staring at right now…I don't know…honestly. By nature I am not a violent person but you are not a nice person in the future…and that is putting it very lightly. You are not a nice person now at the young age of eleven but you only grow worse as you grow older."
"So what are you are saying, that I am so powerful and scary in your time that people would rather run screaming from me or try to kill me instead of talking out the issue?"
Looking up to meet his eyes, HG licks her dry lips before answering and Tom finds himself fascinated with the movement.
"Yes Tom…that is what I'm saying. In my time you are a monster and everyone including those near you, are terrified of you."
Giving her a very dark smile, Tom leans back with his own hands behind his head and his feet crossed at the ankles.
"Good…it means I will have these idiots in line sometime in the near future and won't have to worry about their idiocy anymore. Thanks for that HG."
Hearing her scoff at him, he turns his eyes to look at her. She has leaned back against the headboard and tilted her head back with her eyes closed.
"That is not the way to go about helping me help you be saved you little shit! That is the exact thought process that is going to be your downfall…"
Sitting up and yanking her to face him, his eyes burn with buried rage as he puts himself nose to nose with her.
"What do you mean my downfall?"
Knowing he is losing his control but unable to stop it, Tom grips harder on her arms and watches her wince before her face smooths over again.
Smirking at him and making him feel almost like he is looking into a mirror at one of his own expressions, HG flicks her fingers in his direction and Tom is suddenly falling out of his own bed and onto the floor with a thud. Just as he hits, his eyes fly open and he sits up in bed, his rage doubling as he realizes she kicked him out again.
Snatching the journal from under his pillow, Tom opens it to the next available page and there in her beautiful script is a new message forming right before his eyes.
Tom,
To say I'm disappointed in what just happened would be too contrived at this point. Knowing who you are and how you react, I guess I expected deep down some sort of violent reaction at every turn and I even knew that it would probably turn physical in some way at some point. I guess I just pushed it so far back that it surprised me for a moment.
I am starting to think that face to face is just not the way to interact with you at this time. You are known for your unending control but it seems that is not something you have developed yet. I may be in charge of the magic in the journal dreams but that comes with a price and its one I am not willing to let you get away with exploiting.
So for now I will only converse with you in written word again. The last few months have been a surprisingly enjoyable time for me. You have a very brilliant mind and I find myself drawn to our debates on magical theory and practices. I was looking forward to having those talks face to face as well. Maybe in a few years we can get to that point. What little trust I had put in your ability to be civil even if it was a cold civil was broken tonight.
I will warn you in this Tom. I am not some beaten or easily cowed female. I will not allow you to put your hands on me or hurt me in any way. If you persist in grabbing me or causing pain in the future, our association stops…completely.
I will not be treated like some possession you can do with as you please. I know that is how you will start to see me since you have very little time for anything that doesn't 'belong' to you but that will not happen. If you cannot treat me like a person and respect me as one then this is all for nothing and I will fade back to blank pages and the silence you had grown used to at the orphanage.
You decide Tom and you let me know where you stand. The next time it will be you who returns with bruises forming…not me!
HG
With a growl of displeasure, Tom slams the journal closed and pulls his arm back to throw it as hard as he can before catching himself and setting it firmly down on his night table. It would not do to damage the one piece of magic he has that may help him control the future. He really was going to have to get this famous control she seems to think he has. If he can't keep her close, he is never going to be able to charm her into giving him what he wants.
Vowing to start looking up magical ways to control his emotions, he slides the book back under his pillow just in case she changes her mind and settles himself in for the night. Tomorrow was a new day and it was time to start finding this powerful and controlled wizard that HG was talking about. It would not do for him to not become the powerful entity she seemed to fear. It did settle nicely with his future plans to be feared as much as respected. How else were you to rule the sheep beneath you?