Tom wakes up to the most incredible feeling, better than anything he's ever felt before - it's like his skin has a live current running underneath it, making sure he's wide awake in an instant. When he tries to sit up, he discovers the source of that incredible feeling - because the arms wrapped around his waist tighten at his movement, and he looks down to see a head of dark hair resting on his chest like it belongs there. And then everything comes back to Tom - finding Evelynn, heading back up to his room after dinner to find her out cold, climbing in next to her without a second's hesitation - and he shifts to lay back down, completely content to stay like this forever.

Merlin, he loves this girl - he figures, if he'd rather wake up each morning exactly like this than anything else, he's in love. Not something he ever thought he'd find, and yet somehow he has.

The very thought makes warmth flood him, and then Evelynn starts to stir in his arms. She sucks in a small breath, her eyes blinking a few times as she wakes up, and Tom can't resist the urge to make her blush. Quickly deciding how he's going to make that happen, he says "Morning, Sleeping Beauty." As expected, her face turns red from the compliment at once. Tom grins, burying his nose in her hair, then says "You know, they're expecting me to have a friend over."

Evelynn's face whips over to him incredulously, nearly smacking him in the cheek with her nose, as she asks "What? Come again?"

Tom nods, grin turning to a smug smirk as he says "I posed the question of having a friend from school over for a little bit at dinner. They said that it'd be good for me to have some company my own age while they're busy in Greater Hangleton. As long as your parents agree, they see no problem with it."

Evelynn's expression goes perfectly blank for a minute, right up until she asks "You asked them?" Tom nods, and she incredulously repeats "You asked them?!" She's having a little trouble wrapping her head around the idea of Tom Riddle asking anyone for anything.

Tom shrugs, and says "Easy way to keep Dumbledore from trying anything, if they already know I've got a friend over and he asks if you're here."

And the world is right again, Tom manipulating his grandparents under the guise of being polite. Evelynn nods, then smirks at him and teasingly asks "Have they grown on you, Tom?"

Tom sighs, then says "They're not…terrible. I get three full meals a day, have full access to their library, and can do as I please so long as no trouble is made. As far as living with Muggles go…it could be worse." A lot worse.

Evelynn hums, shifting so she's sitting up, then says "Guess I should go make myself presentable for your grandparents, then. See you in…thirty minutes?"

Tom nods, and says "Breakfast is in ten, Mary will be up soon to see if I'm awake."

Evelynn grins, then says "See you soon, Tom." She leaves him with a kiss on his cheek, and the sudden knowledge that he's freezing cold after she's off the bed - that's it, they're going to have to figure this out today. And then his grandmother knocks on the door, calling his name and pulling him from his thoughts. "One moment, Grandmother, I'll be right out!"

Thomas glances up at his wife and grandson with a greeting, and immediately notices something's different about Tom. Mary shoots him a familiar smile, and he waits for the two of them to get seated. Mary shoots him a second look he's all too familiar with after so long married to the woman, then waits for Tom to have just put a forkful of scrambled egg in his mouth before saying "Someone got some good news, Thomas."

Tom promptly chokes on his mouthful of breakfast - you'd think he'd learn, by now, to be more wary of his grandmother's secret sense of mischief. Because she loves to do things like this - like a shark to blood, she has a nose for ways to mess with people.

Thomas raises an eyebrow at his struggling grandson, and asks "Got a response, then?"

Tom quickly nods, managing to swallow his food before saying "Yes, Evelynn said she'd be here soon."

Mary casually asks "Evelynn? That's your friend's name?"

Tom takes one look at his grandmother's expression and starts hurriedly trying to recall whether he's said her name before - um…oops, he hasn't. And, knowing his grandmother…he's just given her some ammunition to use. Turns out he got his habit of throwing everyone for a loop naturally - and from his father's side of the family, to boot. He's willing to bet he inherited it straight from Mary, if he's being perfectly honest.

"You know," Mary starts, a grin on her face that spells trouble, "your father had a friend named Cecilia, years ago."

Tom's never been so thankful for Evelynn's sense of timing as right now, when they hear the sounds of the knocker being used on the door. He does not want to hear about his father and Cecilia. Thankfully, Mary goes to get the door - leaving Tom with his grandfather, who's got a knowing look on his face even as he drinks his coffee. Right, now he remembers why he was so careful about not letting on about the more specific details about Evelynn - either they'll have Frank Bryce be their chaperone, or they'll insist on one of them staying behind to do so.

Evelynn's voice carries through, saying "Hello, ma'am. Are you Mrs. Riddle? I've got a friend from school, Tom, he said he's living here with you?" Evelynn comes in wearing an outfit similar to what she had to wear at Wool's, bar the detail that this skirt is only down to her knees instead of her ankles, and her hair is miraculously in a braid that highlights her high cheekbones and jawline instead of hiding them. How she managed that, when he's seen her very real struggle to keep her hair up and out of the way during Potions class is a mystery to him - it's so soft it slips out of everything, even with Dorea and Walburga attempting to help one time, hence why she prefers to keep it down. He gets the feeling the Sticking Charm was used quite a bit, honestly.

Tom figures the silence from his grandfather's end means he approves, and a glance over tells him all he needs to know - he's completely frozen in place, a look of shock painting itself over his face as he takes in the sight of Evelynn. Tom glances at her again, even as his Grandmother walks over, and notices she's grown a few inches since he last saw her - she's starting to get some long legs, a willowy figure now that she's hit another growth spurt, and her jawline is getting more defined. He didn't think it was possible for her to be more beautiful, but it seems she proved him wrong once more - or maybe it's the detail that he'd been with her for the better part of two years, and hadn't quite noticed just how beautiful she'd grown until he had to spend two months away from her.

After a minute, Mary says "So, this is the mysterious Evelynn…I must say, my dear, Tom hadn't said you were such a vision."

Evelynn blushes brightly, ducking her head and saying "Thank you, Ma'am. I'm nothing special when it comes to looks, though." Tom decides he's found a very specific reason to torture Petunia Dursley, exactly how long did that horse-faced woman spend making sure her niece had no confidence in how she looked? The answer, he decides, is far too long.

Thomas finally manages to snap himself out of his frozen state, and says "Humble to, quite the combination. So, Miss…?"

Evelynn clears her throat, saying "Peverell, Sir. Evelynn Peverell."

Thomas nods, saying "Of course. Miss Peverell, what do you like to do?"

Upon hearing that Evelynn knows how to play piano, Mary grins delightedly and offers to show her the Grand Piano in the mansion. And then, somehow or other, Evelynn's saying she can play Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

Thomas practically chokes when he gasps, and Mary asks "Really? That's a rather difficult piece."

Evelynn just shrugs, saying "I had time, Ma'am. I spent a lot of time at school in the music room, learning to play. And the library had a section with sheets of music. I found Vivaldi's Four Seasons…and liked the challenge. Though, I do prefer Spring the best." And then, somehow…she ends up playing the piano version of it all, much to Thomas and Mary's delight.

After the two adults finally leave, getting a promise out of the two teens to be responsible and not get up to anything, Evelynn lets herself collapse onto the piano bench. Tom sits down next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close, and she asks "You think they liked me?" It may seem kind of silly, chasing after the approval of two adults that she's never met before, but the last time she was welcomed into a family it had been Arthur and Molly Weasley. And Molly Weasley had been in on the entire plan, helping to brew the love potions Ron was feeding her, along with some of the Obedience Potions - it certainly explained her behavior before her fifth year, preventing Sirius from telling her anything important. Call her crazy, or a sap, but she's never had anyone genuinely accept her into their family for her.

Tom pulls her from her thoughts by wrapping his arms around her shoulders, saying "They adored you, Evelynn. I'm fairly certain Mary's already planning a wedding." He didn't even need to hear her thoughts, his grandmother is a closet romanticist. Her nightstand is filled with sappy, trashy romance novels, a discovery he did not need and dearly regrets, and she once told him all about how the two of them met and he's pretty sure he's traumatized from it.

Dear Merlin, didn't Evelynn say the entire town thought these two were snooty?!

They end up in the library, mapping out the town and how far they should Ward into the surrounding area. Nagini and Hedwig join them, having them extend the Wards well into the forest a few miles past the Gaunt Shack in case they end up with a Werewolf among them and so they can hunt.

Once that's done, hidden deep in the closest trunk for good measure, the two teens end up sitting together on a comfy armchair that's not quite big enough for the both of them with a book each, Hedwig curled up in her Kneazle form on Evelynn's lap and Nagini wrapped loosely around the two teens. Luckily, the books are from the library…because they end up falling asleep, Evelynn's eyes blinking slower and slower until she's drifted off and Tom following suit shortly after.

Nagini carefully slides out from under the two, even as Hedwig leaps off and to the floor, and hisses "So adorable like this…"

Hedwig changes to her dragon form, and lets out a smoking chuckle while saying "My Eve-chick never had the chance to relax like this before."

Nagini eyes the two sleeping teens, then hisses "Do explain to me exactly why nobody can tell them what's so obviously happening, please? It's as adorable like this as it is painful to watch them wonder what's going on."

Hedwig jerks her head towards the window, then both Familiars freeze when they hear the door open - shoot, the Riddles are back. Hedwig quickly turns into her Phoenix Form and gets herself and Nagini out of the building and into the massive garden they've been hiding and hunting in. The magic-less Muggles don't know about them, and would certainly freak out about a fifteen-foot-long python being casually wrapped around the two teens, after all.

Mary and Thomas get into the library, looking for their grandson and his friend - and Mary intent on questioning both of them about every little detail - but stop dead upon seeing them…dead to the world, completely out cold together. Evelynn curled up into Tom's side, head resting in the crook of Tom's neck, and Tom's nose buried in her dark hair and one arm going over her shoulders.

It's such an adorable scene that they don't have the heart to wake the sleeping teens, instead quietly exiting the room after putting the books they were reading on the nearby table. Given the detail that they're fully clothed, and that Frank didn't hear anything as he was gardening after they left, it's a fairly safe bet nothing particularly scandalous happened.

And, as Mary cooed and pointed out, the two of them are adorable. Tom's the spitting image of his father, and Evelynn Peverell is quite a sight herself. The greenest eyes he's ever seen, high cheekbones, a pale complexion, and midnight black hair that seemed to make her natural paleness and intense green eyes stand out even more.

AN: Hey, everyone! Sorry about the wait, but things have been a bit hectic lately. At least I got the update out, though! Hope you like the chapter!