Summary: The story of Eleanora Prince, Tom Riddle's first girlfriend. Surprise ending. Enjoy, and please review.
xxx
"Stop it Tom, honestly," said Nora as Tom nibbled her ear.
"Come on Nora," he said laughing.
"Please Tom, I already told you no," she said as she pushed him away.
"Nora, I admire your sense of dignity," Tom said straightening his robes and looking around the prefect's meeting room.
"Really Tom someone could come in and find us," she said patting down her disheveled red hair.
"No they won't Nora, and if they do, they'd never tell," he turned around, "I would make sure of that." Nora shivered and began straightening her robes.
"Tom, I don't see why we have to keep this a secret anymore," she said as she moved a piece of Tom's hair out of his face.
"We don't Nora," he said and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. She giggled and leaned into him breathing in his scent. He smelled slightly of crushed roses and potion ingredients, among that she smelled water and coldness. Nora pushed his hands away.
"You've been down there again Tom!" she said as she clasped his hands between hers, "Haven't you?" He looked away in an answer. She dropped his hands and walked toward a desk and sat on it. "You promised me after that poor Hufflepuff girl was killed that you wouldn't go down there again! Tom you promised me!" she said her breathing heavy. Tom always did this to her, he never kept his promises.
"Nora, you don't understand! It has to be talked too," he said coming towards her.
"Why can't I understand Tom?" she asked jumping off of the desk to elude his grasp.
"Don't be like that Nora," he said leaning against her departed desk.
"No Tom, you always lie to me!" she tried not to look at him, he always pulled her back and she always gave in.
"But you always know when I'm telling the truth, don't you Nora?" he said and pulled her close again.
"Nora, you have to stop going off with him," scolded Polly.
"You worry too much Polly," said Nora dismissively brushing red curls out of her face.
"That's because you don't worry enough," Polly muttered. Nora spun around glaring at Polly who evaded her gaze.
"Tom isn't dangerous Polly! He wouldn't hurt me," she said trying to catch Polly's gaze and failing.
"We all know what he does Nora!" she yelled sitting up on her bed.
"You don't know anything about what he does!" Nora yelled back.
"We all know he did it!" Polly yelled back.
An awkward silence stretched out in which Polly sighed and lay back on her bed, and Nora flung her brush on the dresser and stared angrily back at her reflection. The other girls in their year continued sleeping quietly. After a while Nora decided to break the silence.
"Tom wouldn't hurt me, you know," she murmured.
Polly made a snort of derision and played with a light blonde curl dangling out of her ponytail and into her face.
"He wouldn't Polly," she said turning around to stare at her.
"At least one of us is sure," she said and turned out the lamp and pulled her covers over her head. After a few minutes she could hear Polly snoring lightly along with the rest of the girls in their year.
Nora looked back at her dark reflection, staring back at her own dark green eyes. "He wouldn't," she murmured and looked out of the window where rain lashed against the glass. Lightning flashed and thunder crackled. "Would he?" she murmured even quieter than before.
xxx
Nora couldn't sleep, she tossed and turned for half of the night dreaming about Tom. But it wasn't Tom, well it was. A much older Tom… she thought to herself as she opened the door too the sixth year girls dorm and went down the stairs into the Ravenclaw common room.
She slipped out of the portrait hole. "What are you doing out of bed so late again Miss Prince?" said the portrait hole guardian Lavern the Inquisitive. (a scraggly looking witch in a patched blue Victorian dress sitting on a throne made out of books)
"None of your concern Lavern," she said. It always shut up the curious (if not annoying) Lavern.
"Humph," said Lavern as Nora walked down the hallway.
Nora didn't know where she was going. She seemed to be walking around in circles until she stopped in front of a door.
He was in there. She looked up and down the corridor and pushed open the door.
"Hello Nora," came Tom's voice.
"Tom, where are you?" she asked as she stepped through the open door and heard it close behind her. She looked around but could see nothing in the dark.
"I'm right here Nora," Tom suddenly appeared in front of her. Candles sprang into light behind them, illuminating a bed.
"Tom… what is this?" she said taking a step back. She had already told Tom no once, she didn't know if she could do it again. He grasped her wrist in his hand and pressed his thumb over where her pulse was.
"I have to tell you something Nora," he said and led her over to the bed where he sat down, and she sat down beside him.
"Okay," said Nora looking at him.
"I'm not coming to Hogwarts next year, as you know," he said.
"I know Tom, you're graduating," she said knowing what this was leading up to.
"Why don't you marry me Eleanora Prince?" he said. Nora stared at him. Did she want to marry Tom? Of course he was talented, and even good looking, but she didn't want to marry him. At least not yet, she hadn't even graduated school.
"I…" she seemed at a lost for words and settled on just saying his name. "Tom, I haven't even graduated." She winced even as her words came out.
"I know Nora, but I love you!" he said moving his hand over her face.
"I know Tom I love you too, I just don't want to get married yet," she said beginning to regret her words. Why didn't she want to marry Tom? She loved him, that was for sure and she loved being around him. He said he loved her…
"I love you Nora," he said looking into her eyes. Nora noticed he was in his pajamas. She blushed and looked at the bed spread. That definitely didn't help.
"You don't mean it Tom," she said and tore her gaze back too the door.
"Yes I do," he said and kissed her on the lips pushing her backward on the bed.
For a while Nora just lay there trying not to respond. But Tom was everywhere, the smell of crushed roses and potion ingredients was almost overpowering.
"Tom stop," she said as he began to lift up the hem of her night gown.
"Nora, I love you," he said and did not stop.
"Tom if you love me you will stop," she said as she sat up.
Tom's hands froze on her shin and he looked at her.
"What?" he said. She could see his face registering the information.
"Please stop," she said, tears were slipping down her face. Tom was silent for a moment, and then she felt his fingers on her wrist sliding down to her hand.
"Let me show you something," he said.
Nora blushed and turned her head away. "I don't-"
"No," he said laughing. It was an almost cold laugh that sent chills down her spine. He pulled her to her feet and walked out of the door.
xxx
Tom led her down so many deserted corridors that she lost track of where they were going.
"Tom where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll see," he said grinning down at her. She gritted her teeth and allowed Tom to lead her down another deserted corridor. They stopped at a door, he listened at it for a moment and then opened it, Nora stepped in after him after he dropped her hand.
"Tom… this is the girls bathroom," she said feeling a shiver going down her spine. It had been off limits too everyone for weeks. Since the girl's body was found. It all looked so familiar even for her not setting foot in there for so long.
"So it would seem," he said grinning down at her.
"Tom-" she began.
"Shhh," he said pressing a finger to her lips. Nora looked at the floor. The girl's ghost had went home with her parents. It was all very sad actually… and it had in a way been Tom's fault. She just couldn't stay mad at him. Ever.
Tom began to walk towards the sink. He glanced at her in a sly way and hissed. She shivered, she hated it when he did that around her. It was scary, and she had always hated snakes. There was a grating noise and the sink moved out of the way to reveal a large hole in the bathroom wall.
"T-tom what is this?" she said glancing over her shoulder.
"I'm about to show you," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled them both into the tunnel. There was a rushing of air and she felt the tunnel sliding beneath her. Tom was beside her, looking down at her with his dark clouded eyes.
"TOM!" she yelled as she grabbed him around the shoulders for security. He laughed as they rocketed down the tunnel. At the same time being the most fun thing she had ever done, it was also the most frightening. After a few moments of silent sliding, Nora began to wonder what was so far under the school that they had to go down this far.
It then came to her as a surprise that she and Tom went shooting out of the end of the tunnel and both landed with a crunch on several pointy brittle things. "Ouch," she murmured picking a pointy thing out of her leg. It shown in a ghostly light as the rib of some rodent or another. Tom brushed himself off immediately and helped her up, looking around.
"This way," he said as he started off towards a pillared dome. At least it looked like what once could have been a pillared dome. The remains of it had been long smashed from something large coming in between them. Pieces of broken rock lay scattered on the ground. She caught her breath and hurried after him.
When she caught up with him he was standing in front of a large wall, in the middle was a large stone emblem. Large stone snakes with emerald eyes lay in the grooves made out for them. Nora realized with not too much of a start that it was Slytherin's emblem. Tom was beginning to be too unpredictable for her to be surprised anymore.
He hissed again, and the snakes began to move in their grooves around the emblem and she could hear large locks undoing in the door and walls. The door swung open and a large chamber presented itself to her view. Tom looked back at her and motioned for her to follow him in.
Inside was a larger chamber than the great hall, its ceiling lost in darkness. Large stone snake heads lay with mouths open and fangs exposed in columns down the corridor. A large pool was up ahead, and behind it was a large extravagant carved face with a flowing beard and mustache.
"Salazar Slytherin," she murmured in wonder as they loomed closer. Tom looked down at her and laughed.
"How did you know?" he asked eyeing her.
"Well Slytherin's seal Tom, and it's not like it could be anyone else," she said taking her chance to laugh at Tom's expense for once. Sometimes he acted as though surprised she knew so much. It was often annoying but she never called him on it.
He laughed. "I want to show you something, I often forget that you are as intrigued as much as I by magical beasts," he said. She wouldn't say intrigued by magical beasts for Tom's part, more proper to use the word deadly.
"Alright," she said and stood back as he advanced toward the giant stone carving of Slytherin's head. He lifted his arms and hissed again, although now it had a sort of croon to it. Nora wrapped her arms around her in the sudden cold and studied the floor. Water was forming everywhere. She jumped at the sound of moving stone. The mouth of Salazar Slytherin slowly opened and exposed a long tunnel.
"Close your eyes," Tom commanded. "And don't open them until I say it's safe."
Nora nodded and closed her eyes, she also covered them with her hands as she heard a large hissing sound. It wasn't Tom's voice. A large splash and slithering sound. More hissing that seemed to go on forever. Some of it was in Tom's voice. She was beginning to quiver, but kept her eyes shut tight with her fingernails digging into her forehead.
"You can open your eyes," he finally said. Nora was afraid to see what was in front of her. She slowly opened her eyes and lowered her hands. The first thing she saw in front of her was Tom standing next to the enormous coils of a basilisk. The basilisk's head was wrapped in cloth around the eyes. She whimpered as it hissed to Tom. Tom smirked and hissed back.
"Tom, is this… a- what did…" she couldn't form a sentence. That was funny, she could hardly ever form sentences when Tom was around… in fact she was usually very talkative. Why would Tom bring her all the way down here just to see this? She hated snakes, why did he keep showing her snakes?
"Tom-" she stopped, why did she always have to address him as Tom even when they were alone. Who did she think he would think that she was talking to? The snake? She was suddenly angry… Why did she all of a sudden love Tom? She tried to remember Tom before she had come to him. Why did she come to him?
Nora looked up at him, he was looking at her with a dawning expression of comprehension. "So you are fighting Nora," he said grinning. She looked at him in hatred. Memories fueled into her brain… memories of hating Tom. Everyone liked him though.
She decided not to say anything, it was all beginning to make sense now. Tom hadn't wanted people too know about them because that would be suspicious. She had always hated Tom. Her last memory that wasn't botched with her 'love' for him was discovering him in a bathroom with his wand out and a tail slithering back into a hole. He had raised his wand and said something in a hissing voice. Everything locked together for the first time in a while. Tom had put her under the Parsel Imperius curse, and forced her not to tell anyone, without things becoming suspicious. Anger came with her new found comprehension.
"You bastard," she hissed as she reached for the wand that was usually in her front pocket. Tom smiled, showing his teeth.
"I knew it couldn't last, Nora. Even under a Parsel Curse. You are too strong for me to do it again, now that it has failed and you already know too much for me to let you go," he said as he played with his wand. She began to feel fear edging in on her anger.
"What do you mean let me go? We are in the school Polly will go too Professor Dippet if I don't come back in the morning," she said.
"You'll be there in the morning Nora, but I don't think that you will be able to stay," he said as he stopped playing with his wand and looked at her. "It's a shame really, we could have been wonderful together. Although I knew the curse was failing when you refused me in the Room of Requirement," he said.
"You're disgusting," she said. "If you can't get someone to have sex with you with a spell then I don't know what you'll do!" she said hoping to score a point against him while she still had a chance. Tom's eyes flamed. He slapped her hard in the face, she felt her lip bust with the impact of the hit and fell backwards. Feeling cold water seep through her night dress she lifted herself up on her elbows.
"Like I told Macnair you always had fire," he said as he bent down on one knee next too her face. His cold dark blue eyes were glittering. Nora couldn't resist this chance, it may be the last thing she did as she saw the basilisk in the background shift. She brought her knee up as hard as she could. It connected with his groin with a thump and he fell gasping over on his side. She scrambled up and ran toward the exit.
"Slicenior!" she heard Tom yell from the ground behind her. Nora felt something collide with her leg and a searing pain as she felt blood gush down from a wound in the back of her calf. It stained the bottom her white dress scarlet. She fought to keep running even as every time she tried to move her wounded leg she fell. She fell on the cold stone floor of the chamber, she rolled over on her back and lifted herself up on her hands as blood still gushed from the cut in her leg.
"I wonder," said Tom as he got up slightly wincing with his wand at his hip. "How were you planning on getting out, and would you have cried when you realized that you couldn't?" he said. Nora saw the basilisk's huge form follow Tom. He smiled and gazed down at her. He raised his wand, "Accio blindfold!" he said. The blindfold left the basilisk's head and she saw two great yellow eyes staring back at her.