At first their love was secret

Then their love was rumoured

Lies were spread around

Truths were spread about

And now everyone knows

Romeo and Juliet

It was after school. Tom and Romulus were walking down a large, dark corridor, conversing together.

"I know you don't like it when I keep mentioning the subject of your girlfriend but-"

"That's right. I don't," Tom snarled. "Can't you leave her alone? What has she done to you?"

"I wasn't about to say anything bad about her, Tom. I was just saying that Hawks made fun of her."

"Hawks? As in Marius Hawks?"

"Yes, who else?"

Marius Hawks was a bully who belonged to the Slytherin House. He had a gang of friends, all of whom were two times smaller than he was.

Just then, Tom and Romulus stopped in their tracks to see a gang, no doubt Marius's gang. The gang seemed to crowd around someone or some people, and the members of the gang were taunting the people in the center. Tom and Romulus went up to them to see what was going on. At the sight, Tom felt furious and sad at the same time. In the middle, were Lily, her two best friends, and a coward, all of whom were from Gryffindor.

"What is this?!" Tom thundered.

The gang didn't even realize that Tom was standing right behind them so they jumped and quickly turned around, startled at the fact that Tom, the boy who could do great things, was right there, and that his girlfriend was their victim.
The four people in the center looked afraid and it was also seen that they had been pushed around for some time now.

"Uh...Tom, we didn't know you were here," one of Marius's friends spluttered, shaking with fear.

Tom withdrew his wand from his pocket, raised it high above his head, and ominously pointed it at the gang. The only person who didn't seem to be afraid of Tom at the moment was none other than Marius himself, the leader. Maybe it was because he was as tall as Tom was yet twice as wide. So evidently, he was bigger.

"What do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?" Tom said slowly, still aiming his wand with much threat.

"So," Marius began, nodding his head in understanding, "it's true. You really are dating that redheaded Lily girl."

"Yes."

"There were rumours about that going on and most people believed it to be true. Now it is confirmed."

"Just answer my question. What do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?"

"My friends and I are pushing her and her own friends around."

"What for?" Tom said with much restrained anger and the urge to kill Marius with a flick of his wand.

"Because," Marius sneered, "they deserve it. We're showing them the consequences of being involved with a Slytherin."

"And let me show you the consequence of bothering my girlfriend! Ava-" Tom was just about to spit out a death spell (Ava Kedavra) until his arm was disrupted by Romulus. There was a quick moment of dead silence. Then Marius broke out in laughter, and not much afterwards, his little friends were laughing too. Lily, her three Gryffindor friends, Tom, and Romulus were watching them in disgust. Marius and his friends left heartily, their cold laughter still ringing in the corridor.

"Why did you do that?" Tom snarled, glaring his menacing eyes at Romulus, who himself had a plain look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tom, but I can't let you kill Marius like that."

"You're with HIM, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes! You were the one who told him, weren't you? You were the one who spread rumours about me and Lily! Am I mistaken?"

"Yes, you are, Tom! I never told anyone, I swear!"

Tom pointed his wand at his own friend. Romulus eyed it suspiciously and carefully, and with much fear. He looked at nothing else while drops of sweat were dripping down his face.

"Give me one reason to believe you."

"No really, I didn't. I told you I wouldn't."

"Tom, stop, please," Lily begged.

Tom was so surprised at the sound of her voice. He had forgotten that she was right there, behind him, along with her three friends. He lowered his wand and slowly placed it back in his pocket. Romulus heaved a sigh of relief as Tom turned around to face Lily.

"If he's told someone, then-"

"If he says it wasn't him, then it most probably wasn't." Lily straightened up and avoided her lover's gaze by staring down at the floor. "I think it was me."

His eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I only told Ruth and Imogen, noone else." Ruth and Imogen were her two close friends who stood by her at the moment.

"And how did it happen that everyone knew, and no longer only Ruth and Imogen?"

"I just found out today that they didn't keep this secret like I asked them to." Lily gave a look at her two quiet friends who were too afraid and too shy to speak. "I'm sorry."

Tom looked at her sadly. If anyone should be sorry, it should very well be him. He badly wanted to say to her, "No, I'm the one who's sorry," but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, especially in front of all these people.

"I'll see you later," he said gruffly.

He walked away in silence. Romulus decided to follow him to the common room.

"I believe you owe me an apology," said Romulus with a nasty smirk on his face.

Tom turned to face his friend with much anger. "I don't owe you anything!"

They reached the common room and entered it after stating the password. They settled down on a couch together when a whole bunch of Slytherins went up to them.

"So is it true, Riddle? Are you really dating that redhead?" one asked.

"Of course it's true. Hawks just confirmed it," another said.

"Why, Tom, why? Don't you know that what you're doing is stupid and dangerous?" another cried out.

"Leave him alone," Romulus grunted bravely.

"Hey, we weren't talking to you, Malfoy," some boy with blond hair and chestnut eyes stated quite rudely.

"I don't care who you were talking to. Leave him alone."

The boy shut up and walked away. A close friend of Tom and Romulus, Jeremi Delaware, also went up to them.

"Is it true, Tom? Please don't tell me it's true."

"What difference does it make?" Tom demanded.

Jeremi looked down at the floor in shame, figuring the whole rumour was true. "I thought you knew better, Tom. Don't you know? You're sleeping with the enemy."

At that moment, Tom felt the sudden urge to repeatedly ram Jeremi against the wall. What enemy? Just because Slytherin and Gryffindor were different houses, it did not mean that people of both houses shouldn't befriend each other, that they shouldn't be involved somehow. Ever since he fell in love with Lily, he was against that kind of segregation. Narrowing things down like that avoided possibilities. Possibilities of love, possibilities of friendships, possibilities of business, possibilities of power.

He stood up and stomped off to his dorm room, ignoring everyone's nosy questions and rude comments. Before he could violently slam the door behind him, Romulus quickly slipped in to talk to him. Tom sat on his bed and remained quiet for a moment or to.

Then, he spoke, "Romulus."

"Yes?"

"Can you answer me?"

"Yes?"

"What difference does it make? What difference does it make if I'm having a relationship with Lily, if I love her. Tell me, Romulus."

Romulus was standing by the door. "Uh...I don't know, Tom. I guess there is none, now that I think about it."

Tom nodded in satisfaction and agreement. "Exactly. There is no difference."

Author's Note: I know it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere but it will soon. Trust me.