Blinded By The Past, Ignored In The Future

Chapter 30

THIRTY: Christmas Is Nearer

Response To Reviews:

DeadlyFate: Wasn't it so sweet? *And Benji does not sound like he didn't hit puberty! So don't talk about my sister's man!*

uNeArThLy eYeS: Tom jumped Hermione cause she was trying to be nice and he was sick of people pretending that they care.

Marauder1prongs: HI!!! *looks around moronically*

kikidaparrot: "He jumped her" means that he attacked her with no good intention.

Liz: I thought I should let someone understand Tom and who better than Remus, right?

TiarellaCordifolia: I too feel sorry for him but also give him much empathy.

JanCarpeDiem: By interaction you mean what exactly? Cause I many people telling me that they want Hermione and Tom to get together sometime. And don't worry. Tom's reason for jumping Hermione's will be explained when we go back to her POV.  

inu lover: Thank you for checking out my other story! It means a lot to me but I might not update that one for a while. Actually I have over 25 chapters done for that story but I need to go back and re-write a bit of them.

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Previous Chapter: Remus walked forward and knocked the injection out of Snape's hand and soon after he forced everyone to let Tom up. Remus grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace. The confused orphan jumped up and shrank back at Remus's gentle gesture. It took a while for Tom to realize but he finally understood that Remus was hugging him. Unsure of what to do he relaxed and allowed his emotions to claim him.

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The room fell silent as Remus calmed Tom down. As soon as Tom clamed down dome Remus took him by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes; his turquoise eyes held within them years of emotional and physical torture. "Take a deep breath and clam down. Can you do that?" Tom nodded furiously and did as he was asked. "Now I want you to ignore all the people around us and tell me if you want to talk about what happened with Miss Granger."

"I want to talk," Tom said, taking a quick glace at Dumbledore and then Harry.

"Tom," Remus said and the future Dark Lord looked back to Remus. "Don't pay any attention to them. Only me. Now what happened? I doubt you "jumped", as Harry put it, Miss Granger for no reason."

"I didn't!" defended Tom. "I was angry that you didn't trust me enough to leave my door unlocked and I-well-I decided that my room didn't look right clean so I messed it up. Herm-I mean Granger came in while I was umm…I-" he trailed off and not for the first time Remus felt his stomach drop. He turned around to where Hermione stood and gave her a questioning look.

"He was cutting up his arm!" she exclaimed. "When I came in her was sitting on the floor by his bed and he was cutting his arm with something but I couldn't tell what it was."

Remus looked at Tom and the teen actually had the never to grin sheepishly. "Let me see your arms," the werewolf commanded. Tom reluctantly pulled up his sleeves and showed Remus who was about ready to slap some reality into him. Almost exactly where he had fist slit his wrists so long ago were many smaller but just as deep slice marks. As a matter of fact all the cuts had one thing in common; they were all perfectly cut, not ridged. Everyone was shocked to hear Remus's next question, "Where's the knife?"

Tom met Hermione's eyes as he handed the sliver-serpent knife to Remus, blade facing down. "Now I fear I must ask, how did you get it after the Headmaster took it from you?" Tom shrugged as if he didn't care what was happening.

Finally the orphan replied, "I had Draco get it for me because I told him how much it meant to me."

"Could someone please retrieve Mr. Malfoy from his room?" Remus called over his shoulder, not looking away from Tom. "Tell me, Tom, what do I have to do to get you to understand that the people in this room are trying to help even if they have a weird way of showing it?"

"I don't like needles!" Tom snapped out of nowhere.

"Why?"

"I just don't!"

"Then you should have taken the drink," Remus said as he took out his wand and tapped it against Tom's arm. "Ferula." Bandages rapped themselves around Tom's arm and just as he made to thank Remus he was silenced by a glare. "I'm not sure if you realize this Tom but I can't trust you anymore."

"So?" Tom said, raising an eyebrow.

"So should I strap you into bed?"

"No!" exclaimed Tom.

"Then what?"

"Buy me a snake."

The Order and even the Headmaster looked at Tom, trying very hard to hide their smiles. Remus coughed to get rid of the laughing feeling before he asked, "You want a snake?"

"Is that so wrong?" Tom asked with puppy dog eyes. "Well actually I had a snake but I guess she was Voldemort's cause I haven't seen her in a while."

"Voldemort's snake?" Remus inquired. "Why was it here?"

"Dunno," Tom responded.

"Well continue with what happened, Tom," instructed Remus. "So Miss Granger caught you and then?"

"And then she tried to make me stop but I wouldn't. When she tried to take it from me, I jumped at her," Tom recalled. "And I'm really sorry, sir. I wasn't thinking straight."

"Well with the work you have done on your arms I'd say you're probably right about not thinking straight," Remus commented. Without thinking he reached out and ruffled Tom's hair so part of it fell into his eyes. Tom gave Remus a half smile and the werewolf helped him to his feet.

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For Tom's own safety Remus convinced Harry (calling him Potter really wasn't a good idea when there were way more people who liked him way more than Tom), Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George to watch after Tom and Draco. The Malfoy heir was in, surprisingly, not very expensive pajamas while Tom was in his robes. They were purposely staying up and playing cards in the corner just to annoy the Gryfindors.

On the bed, Harry was throwing around a small round object that he had found on the floor while Hermione was reading a book (no shock there). The Weasleys were all taking turns playing chess on the floor near the opposite corner where Tom and Draco sat.

"Got any twos?" Draco yawned.

"Go fish," Tom replied, catching the yawn.

Draco slammed his fist down on the pile of cards between them and out of nowhere Ron jumped up. "What? I wasn't asleep," he said and he too yawned.

"Got any twos?" Tom asked Draco.

"No," responded Draco, pointing to the pile of cards. Tom took one and Draco asked, "Have any twos?"

Before Tom could answer Harry sighed loudly and said, "NO! Neither if you have any twos! Stop asking each other!"

"OK, Potter, do you have any twos?" Draco inquired.

 Harry left out a sound of sheer frustration and shouted, "I'm not even playing!"

"Well if you wanted to, you should have asked, "Tom said, mishearing what Harry had said. Tom handed him six cards and Harry grabbed them in defeat.

"Go," said Draco in a hypnotic tone.

"Malfoy, got any threes?" Harry asked.

"Damn you," replied Draco, throwing the card at him. Tom snorted and he saw Hermione leave the room out of the corner of his eye. Making sure that Draco and Harry didn't see him, he set the cards down and followed her.

*****

"You should go to sleep, Remus," Tonks said, walking into his room and having to step over many items throw about the floor to get to where he sat at his desk.

"I know but I just wanted to fix tom's portable CD player for him. I know he likes this thing a lot," explained Remus.

"Is that his Christmas present?" joked Tonks.

"Well actually I got him a few CD's too," said Remus as he handed her a plastic bag holing three of the CD cases and within them were CD's. "Dumb, huh?"

"I think he'll love them," Tonks said.

"I hope," agreed Remus, a smile appearing on his face.

*****

Tom followed Hermione outside and to the corner of the street that the house was built on. She was only warring a nightgown, which didn't help her to keep warm from the cold. When she just stood there for a few minutes Tom approached her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied.

"It's kinda cold out here," stared Tom.

"Just a bit," Hermione lied, wrapping her arms around herself. "But you know...I've been meaning to ask you something…"

"Yeah?" Tom asked. "What?"

"Well do you remember that night that Draco came by?"

Tom thought back to that night and he swore he could feel the wind in his face from the broom ride. "Yeah, why?"

"Do you remember what happened before he came?"

Tom realized where this was going and he grinned. "Yeah."

"Why did you-you know?" asked Hermione.

"Dunno...maybe it was the moment…"

"But-" Hermione was cut off when she was grabbed around the wait and mouth by a tall man. As Tom made to go at her attacker he felt someone pin him to the freezing ground and tie his arms behind his back.  

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A/N: You guys get to pick the CD's that tom gets only three though. List the name of the album, one or two songs you want played, and the artist it's by. I'll try to update within the week! Promise!

~Moony~

P.S. Sorry for any mistakes.