Tom went to the Common Room after class and sat at a table under the
pretense of doing homework. In reality, he was doodling and getting
increasingly nervous. Finally, dinnertime came.
Tom walked to the Great Hall, and sat down at his normal seat at the Slytherin table. He dished himself some food and ate it slowly, looking around for Courtney as he did so. About half-way through his dinner, he found her. She was walking into the Great Hall, by herself. Tom caught her eye and motioned her over. With a confused face, she headed towards him.
"Hey Tom. What's up?" Courtney said, taking a seat next to him. She was hoping that this had nothing to do with her quick kiss earlier.
Tom could tell that she thought that this was about earlier, so he started talking. "Hey Courtney. Umm...err...well, you see, I think there is some stuff you should know about me. Earlier...you basically said you like me, so I think you should know some stuff about me before you decide k?
"First of all, I like you. I like you a lot. I always have." He looked deep in her eyes, sighed, and continued.
"I am the last remained heir of Salazar Slytherin. My father was a Muggle and my mom was a witch, so I got it from her.
"My mom died giving birth to me, and my father didn't want me, so I grew up in a Muggle orphanage, and that is where I spend my summer holidays. I absolutely hate it.
"My father...I tracked him down, and I, well...Anyway, my father and both of his parents died this summer. I am not and was not saddened; after all, I did not know them. Besides that..." Tom hesitated, not sure he wanted to tell her. Her eyes, however, showed she was hungry to know more, so he told her. "Well...I killed them. I murdered the lot of them. I did it because my dad didn't love me...he deserved to die. Same as his parents. I didn't know what else to do, so I broke into their mansion and preformed the Killing Curse on them."
Tom stopped now, and looked away. He took a deep breath and turned back to her. Looking in her eyes, he saw no horror, no repulsion, or anything like that. Again, he saw the sorrow, and an understanding. He closed his eyes to continue.
"Remember a couple years ago, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened? I opened it. I opened it when I learned about it. Then, I had the fool, Hagrid, framed for it. He had been raising a giant spider, so I turned him in and said that he had been the one to open it. Dippet believed me and expelled him.
"Earlier, you asked me about my lack of friends. Here is why. I bully the other kids. I always have. Nobody wants to be friends with a bully." Tom finally opened his eyes. "The thing is, Courtney, I don't feel ashamed about anything I have done. The fact is, I enjoyed it, all of it. I hope you still like me, but I won't blame you if you never talk to me again. I told you all of that, because I like you. I more than like you. I love you." Tom turned back to his dinner, hoping she would forgive him, and realized that he really did care if she did or didn't.
Courtney was silent for a few minutes. Finally, she broke the silence. "Tom, I understand why you did all of that. I don't blame you; I probably would have done the same thing were our places switched. I like you too, Tom. I really and seriously do. And, I appreciate you telling me."
Tom looked up at her, taken completely by surprise, though he tried to hide it. "Courtney? Do you think it weird that I want to be a well-known powerful wizard?" He looked at her sheepishly, half expecting her to say that yes, in fact, she did. But she surprised him yet again.
"I knew it! I caught a glance at the cover of your book...The Dark Lords of the Century...that just gave me a hint. But tell me, does that book tell you what makes them Dark Lords? Like...what did they do to earn that title?"
Tom hesitated, pondering his answer. "Er...I guess all they did was destroy stuff. It seems as though they all worked towards a common goal; immortality." Tom warmed up to the subject. "You see, none of these wizards accomplished their goal. One or two came close...but they were always destroyed before they had completed it. You see, I am reading up on this because-"Tom was cut off by the bell ringing, signaling the end of the meal. With an apologetic look, Courtney moved towards her friends. Tom got up and followed them to the Slytherin Common Room.
Later that evening, while in the Owlery, Tom looked down one last time at the note he had written to Courtney. It read:
Dear Courtney,
I just want to finish the conversation we were having during dinner. I was saying that I am reading this stuff because I want to be immortal. And, I got a question...want to help me?
One more thing...will you go out with me? There is a Hogsmeade trip in 2 weeks...are you interested?
Love,
Tom
Nodding to himself, Tom tied the letter to an owl then went back to the Slytherin Common Room.
About a week later, Courtney came and talked to Tom again at lunch.
"Hey." She greeted with a smile. Tom noticed that she was playing with her hands in a nervous fashion.
"Hey. What's up? You look nervous."
"Er, I just wanted to apologize. I have been avoiding you since I got your letter...I wanted to time to think everything through before I talked to you again." She was still messing with her hands, but less nervously now.
Tom looked at her expectantly. "What did you decide?"
"I guess I should probably tell you that, eh?" She smiled faintly, "I decided that I will most definitely help you become immortal. I think it very interesting that you are interested in that, therefore, I am going to help.
"And, about the other part...that is what I wanted to give some thought to before confronting you." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I decided that I find you very nice...I have told you that already, I believe, and I want to get to know you better. So, my final decision is this: I will be more than happy to go with you on the Hogsmeade trip...so long as we go as friends. I think we should get to know each other better before going into a relationship. You never know, you might not like me anymore when you really know me." She quit fiddling with her hands and placed them in her lap. "I hope you are not upset with me because of my decision. Are you?"
Tom shook his head. "No, I am not upset. I just hope you decide you will go out with me before long." Courtney nodded her head a couple of times then got up and joined her friends.
Tom walked to the Great Hall, and sat down at his normal seat at the Slytherin table. He dished himself some food and ate it slowly, looking around for Courtney as he did so. About half-way through his dinner, he found her. She was walking into the Great Hall, by herself. Tom caught her eye and motioned her over. With a confused face, she headed towards him.
"Hey Tom. What's up?" Courtney said, taking a seat next to him. She was hoping that this had nothing to do with her quick kiss earlier.
Tom could tell that she thought that this was about earlier, so he started talking. "Hey Courtney. Umm...err...well, you see, I think there is some stuff you should know about me. Earlier...you basically said you like me, so I think you should know some stuff about me before you decide k?
"First of all, I like you. I like you a lot. I always have." He looked deep in her eyes, sighed, and continued.
"I am the last remained heir of Salazar Slytherin. My father was a Muggle and my mom was a witch, so I got it from her.
"My mom died giving birth to me, and my father didn't want me, so I grew up in a Muggle orphanage, and that is where I spend my summer holidays. I absolutely hate it.
"My father...I tracked him down, and I, well...Anyway, my father and both of his parents died this summer. I am not and was not saddened; after all, I did not know them. Besides that..." Tom hesitated, not sure he wanted to tell her. Her eyes, however, showed she was hungry to know more, so he told her. "Well...I killed them. I murdered the lot of them. I did it because my dad didn't love me...he deserved to die. Same as his parents. I didn't know what else to do, so I broke into their mansion and preformed the Killing Curse on them."
Tom stopped now, and looked away. He took a deep breath and turned back to her. Looking in her eyes, he saw no horror, no repulsion, or anything like that. Again, he saw the sorrow, and an understanding. He closed his eyes to continue.
"Remember a couple years ago, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened? I opened it. I opened it when I learned about it. Then, I had the fool, Hagrid, framed for it. He had been raising a giant spider, so I turned him in and said that he had been the one to open it. Dippet believed me and expelled him.
"Earlier, you asked me about my lack of friends. Here is why. I bully the other kids. I always have. Nobody wants to be friends with a bully." Tom finally opened his eyes. "The thing is, Courtney, I don't feel ashamed about anything I have done. The fact is, I enjoyed it, all of it. I hope you still like me, but I won't blame you if you never talk to me again. I told you all of that, because I like you. I more than like you. I love you." Tom turned back to his dinner, hoping she would forgive him, and realized that he really did care if she did or didn't.
Courtney was silent for a few minutes. Finally, she broke the silence. "Tom, I understand why you did all of that. I don't blame you; I probably would have done the same thing were our places switched. I like you too, Tom. I really and seriously do. And, I appreciate you telling me."
Tom looked up at her, taken completely by surprise, though he tried to hide it. "Courtney? Do you think it weird that I want to be a well-known powerful wizard?" He looked at her sheepishly, half expecting her to say that yes, in fact, she did. But she surprised him yet again.
"I knew it! I caught a glance at the cover of your book...The Dark Lords of the Century...that just gave me a hint. But tell me, does that book tell you what makes them Dark Lords? Like...what did they do to earn that title?"
Tom hesitated, pondering his answer. "Er...I guess all they did was destroy stuff. It seems as though they all worked towards a common goal; immortality." Tom warmed up to the subject. "You see, none of these wizards accomplished their goal. One or two came close...but they were always destroyed before they had completed it. You see, I am reading up on this because-"Tom was cut off by the bell ringing, signaling the end of the meal. With an apologetic look, Courtney moved towards her friends. Tom got up and followed them to the Slytherin Common Room.
Later that evening, while in the Owlery, Tom looked down one last time at the note he had written to Courtney. It read:
Dear Courtney,
I just want to finish the conversation we were having during dinner. I was saying that I am reading this stuff because I want to be immortal. And, I got a question...want to help me?
One more thing...will you go out with me? There is a Hogsmeade trip in 2 weeks...are you interested?
Love,
Tom
Nodding to himself, Tom tied the letter to an owl then went back to the Slytherin Common Room.
About a week later, Courtney came and talked to Tom again at lunch.
"Hey." She greeted with a smile. Tom noticed that she was playing with her hands in a nervous fashion.
"Hey. What's up? You look nervous."
"Er, I just wanted to apologize. I have been avoiding you since I got your letter...I wanted to time to think everything through before I talked to you again." She was still messing with her hands, but less nervously now.
Tom looked at her expectantly. "What did you decide?"
"I guess I should probably tell you that, eh?" She smiled faintly, "I decided that I will most definitely help you become immortal. I think it very interesting that you are interested in that, therefore, I am going to help.
"And, about the other part...that is what I wanted to give some thought to before confronting you." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I decided that I find you very nice...I have told you that already, I believe, and I want to get to know you better. So, my final decision is this: I will be more than happy to go with you on the Hogsmeade trip...so long as we go as friends. I think we should get to know each other better before going into a relationship. You never know, you might not like me anymore when you really know me." She quit fiddling with her hands and placed them in her lap. "I hope you are not upset with me because of my decision. Are you?"
Tom shook his head. "No, I am not upset. I just hope you decide you will go out with me before long." Courtney nodded her head a couple of times then got up and joined her friends.