Hello dear readers,

Please note that the rating for this fic has changed from T → M. At first, this fic wasn't supposed to be spicy, but I got a little... carried away.

Let me know in the comments what you think.

All the best,

The Jolly Bard xxx


The scenery in Scotland was quite different from the one in Southern England. Here, the entire landscape was covered in white. When she jumped off the train, Yasmina stood almost knee-deep in the snow. By the time she reached Eve, her boots and socks were soaking wet.

Delightful.

Despite the weather, she was absolutely thrilled to come back to Hogwarts for this last semester. Yasmina had hoped to spend some time with the youngest Lestrange, but Theodore had ignored all of her letters. Usually, the two of them would hang out during the New Year's day and recall the best moments of the precedent evening while discreetly drinking invigorating draught to cover their usual hangover. Theodore hadn't made a single attempt to contact her this week.

Something was wrong; she could sense it.

Here at school, he couldn't as easily avoid her. Yasmina scanned the crowd, looking for green ties and a bunch of young men with aristocratic features. They weren't hard to find, especially since they were dragging their trunks behind them a foot above the ground so that they wouldn't be covered in snow. A group of first-years scattered on the platform before them, and then she saw him.

Relief spread through her as she spotted Theodore, although he seemed tired and cold. She shot forward, hoping to catch up with the group. The Gryffindor made her way through the students, calling for him, barely avoiding smashing in full force in one of the first years.

He didn't stop walking, but the slight hesitation he had clearly meant that he had heard her. Mulciber, Nott, and Rosier glared at her, but Theodore's eyes remained stuck on the carriage forward.

She stopped. Why was he ignoring her again? She had apologized. Everything had seemed fine when they last saw each other.

A tall man passed right beside her and she stopped him when she realized who it was. She grabbed his arm. "Hey, Avery. What's going on?"

The Slytherin met her eyes for half a second before shrugging and walking away, joining his friends.

"What's their problem?" Eve asked, suddenly behind her, staring at the group of young men with a bemused line on her forehead.

"I have no idea," Yasmina mumbled, although it wasn't entirely true, looking at Theodore's back until he climbed into the carriage.

She had a slight idea of what had happened, but she couldn't believe it to be true. It couldn't be.

Anxiousness stuck with her until she was seated in the warm Great Hall. Eve kept shooting her worried glances, but she didn't mention what had happened to anyone else. Yasmina was grateful for her silence. They sat with Mary, Hadrian, Thomas, and the twins who kept babbling about their Christmas vacations.

"Did you have good holidays, Yasmina?"

"Yes, thank you. How were yours, Evelyn?"

The young woman answered at length, sparing no details about her Christmas evening with her family and the New Year's Eve with a bunch of muggle, military men. As soon as the others got into the conversation, Yasmina's attention quickly waned and drifted toward the opposite table.

Theodore hadn't touched his plate and was in a gloomy mood. Next to him, Avery was talking in a low voice, shooting regular looks at the others members of their group of friends. As for Tom, he wasn't facing her.

The Gryffindor felt sick. Theodore never left his eyes from his empty plate, leaving Avery monologuing by himself.

The nervousness inside her stomach eased when Tom looked over his shoulder for her. As soon as he met her eyes, he sent her his usual dazzling grin. Perhaps she was imagining things and nothing had changed.

Yet, the food tasted a little bland.

0o0o0

"Have you ever felt like there's something strange about that Slytherin's gang? Something… dark?"

Despite her attempts to think about something else, Theodore's words of caution hadn't stopped playing inside her mind. He had seemed so scared, so hopeless when he had talked about Tom and their group of friends. And now, he wasn't talking to her, avoiding her like the plague although she had apologized for Christmas dinner. Nothing made sense. One brain wasn't enough to resolve this puzzle, so sharing was the only option she had at this point. She trusted them her friends, more than anything, and she was craving their support now that her head was filled with doubts. Lying on her bed in the girls' dormitory, Eve shrugged, stuffing a whole cookie inside her mouth. Mary, however, held Yasmina's gaze and slightly frowned.

"Well, it's no secret that they like experimenting. I know you've known them all your life, Yasmina, but still, I wouldn't like to be alone and wandless in their company."

Eve shook her head. "They're still at Hogwarts, aren't they? If they were doing dark magic inside the castle, they would have been expelled a long time ago. And I know exactly why you're asking, Yas." Eve held back from chuckling. "You can't possibly think that Theodore is a dark wizard. He's simply ignoring you and that drives you mad."

"That's not what I said." Yasmina retorted, but she was interrupted by Mary's disbelieving snort.

"Lestrange is not a saint, Eve."

"I never said he was. But a dark wizard? Come on."

"I've seen him sent more muggleborns at the infirmary than I can recall. He's a pureblood supremacist and a villain."

Eve snorted. "You're simply still mad at him because he called you annoying in third year."

Mary scoffed indignantly, mumbling inaudible things. The Head girl felt forced to intervene. "Well, Mary's not wrong. He is a pureblood supremacist, just like his parents. We've clashed a hundred times about this."

"Alright then, Theodore has extremist views about Muggles. It doesn't mean that he's deep into the dark arts. And Tom?" Eve shook her head in disbelief, sneering mockingly. "That guy is the most suck-up, charming man in this school. The teachers all adore him. He can't possibly be practicing the dark arts."

Mary didn't answer this time, and neither did Yasmina. Eve wasn't wrong about this. Tom did spend half his time roving around Dippet for additional responsibilities. It wasn't the behavior she imagined a dark wizard would have at all. But he was talented enough. And his curiosity for the magical arts has never been a secret.

"Whatever Tom does or says, they always follow," Eve added, confidently. "If Tom isn't steeped in dark magic, they aren't. It's as simple as that."

"How can you be so sure that Riddle isn't into that? He's got enough talent to learn it." Mary said.

Eve smiled, leaning back into her seat. "I'm sure because Yasmina wouldn't get a mile near someone practicing that kind of magic. From what I've learned, the Head boy is recurrently improperly close to her."

Yasmina sent a coy smile at Eve, who winked and nodded while reaching for another cookie in the box.

But something still felt off. And she couldn't put her finger on it.

0o0o0

The next morning, she tried talking to Theodore, but he escaped again. It was clear now that he was intentionally avoiding her. They hadn't talked at all since the party at Malfoy's manor. Yasmina had seen the Lestranges a few times at her house since then, but Theodore didn't even come. Amir was convinced that Yasmina had not apologized for Christmas and that was why Theodore was avoiding her.

The young man was good though. He slipped away several times before she could get a hold of him after every class. She saw him briefly at lunch, but again, he slithered away in a dark passageway and she lost sight of him.

Theodore was clearly underestimating her stubbornness.

She was going to talk to him. Today.

Yasmina waited until the end of the day to try again. She ambushed him while he was trying to get back to the dungeons after dinner. He was alone and no one else was in sight when Yasmina pushed him inside the deserted potion classroom. She closed the door behind her and blocked the exit.

"For God's sake, Yasmina!" he whispered, annoyed, looking away. "Can't you understand when someone doesn't want to see you?" He took out his wand and pointed it at her. "Let me go."

Yasmina pushed his wand away from her, hurt. "Why are you avoiding me? What did I do this time? We need to talk about what you said on New Year's Eve!"

"I talked way too much that night." The Slytherin seemed displeased with himself. "I shouldn't have. And lower your damn voice; we're not supposed to be seen together."

The Gryffindor stepped aside to block him from walking toward the door. "Why? Who's stopping you from seeing me?"

Theodore met her eyes for the first time in a week. "You know who." Yasmina was so taken aback that she didn't even flinch when he went around her and reached the door. "Stop trying to ambush me. I'll come to you when I can."

0o0o0

Yasmina spent the following days in a terrible mood that neither Eve nor Mary could appease.

She was furious. How could he even have the audacity of doing that? Tom's obsession with control had reached her tolerance limit. He was highly mistaken if he thought that by deciding who could talk to her, she would spend more time with him. He couldn't be farther from the truth.

Hence, she spent the rest of the week carefully avoiding the Head boy. Yasmina stayed as much time possible outside of their quarters and she was careful to leave the apartment before he got up so that she wouldn't meet him. She limited their interactions to the bare minimum when he addressed her in class.

Yasmina was pleased to notice that he was bewildered by her sudden coldness. Good for him.

Was she acting childishly? Maybe. But she couldn't find it in herself to talk to him after what he had done. She didn't want to listen to any drivel he would tell her as a justification for his actions.

Tom was manipulative enough to convince her he was right. And she hated that. She couldn't take the risk, knowing how easily he could change her mind.

The Head girl successfully avoided his counterpart until Friday night, when they both had to host the first prefects' meeting of the semester. She knew he would try to talk to her there because that is exactly what she would have done in his position. Yasmina thus made sure that everybody else was already seated before entering the classroom, five minutes late.

At the front of the class, Tom stared at her when she passed through the door. Cold politeness met her. "Ah, now that the Head girl has remembered her duties, perhaps we can start this meeting."

The Gryffindor ignored his haughtiness and looked at the prefects instead while walking up to the front of the classroom. "Good evening everyone, I hope you all had great holidays! I am late because I was talking with headmaster Dippet. There are a few details I want to share with you tonight."

Without even looking at Tom, Yasmina took the lead and went point by point, trying to make the meeting as short as possible. She tried to ignore him, but his insistent gaze was burning her skin.

To her relief, he didn't interrupt her and let her lead the meeting until the end.

Thirty minutes later, it was already over. Yasmina rushed for the entrance, but Lyall Lupin stopped her, revisiting an idea he had had during the holidays for Valentine's day. From the corner of her eyes, she knew Tom was waiting for her. Yasmina tried to lead Lupin outside the room, but he was taking his time collecting his notebook, ink, and quill from the desk. She sighed in impatience.

"Bye Yasmina, see you tomorrow!" said Evelyn Wright, waving at her.

Lyall finally zipped his bag. Knowing that Tom wouldn't attempt to ambush her when she was with someone else, Yasmina stayed close to the Ravenclaw, only letting him pass the door first.

It was a mistake.

The door closed between them just before she could cross the threshold, interrupting Lyall's monologue. She reached for the handle, unable to turn it. Of course.

"Let me go," she calmly said to the Head boy without even looking at him.

"What for? So that you can avoid me for another week?"

She sighed and turned around, arms crossed. "I'll stop avoiding you when Theodore stops avoiding me."

Tom frowned, bemused. "What does this have to do with me?"

Yasmina lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed. She knew he was lying. "It has everything to do with you. You forbid him to see me. So when you'll tell him you've changed your mind, maybe I'll talk to you again."

"Harsh negotiator, aren't you?" He looked strangely pleased with her. "I'm not controlling anyone. Theodore can take his own decisions, he's a free man. I merely suggested him… an advantageous course of actions."

The Gryffindor walked up to him at the front of the classroom, irritated. She couldn't believe her ears. "So you did tell him to avoid me?"

"Suggested it." Tom swiftly corrected, grabbing her hip and pulling her closer to him. "I don't need another interested party swooning around."

The Gryffindor pushed his hand away. "An interested party?"

Tom scoffed in disbelief, shaking his head. His voice was terribly haughty. "How amazing it is that you can be such a clever woman but when it comes to men you're disastrously oblivious."

"What do you mean?"

"Theodore likes you." Tom's voice was making it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.

Yasmina burst out laughing. This was the most ridiculous thing she had heard in her life. "You're imagining things."

Tom didn't have a hint of a smile on his face. "I'm not."

He was absolutely out of his mind. Yasmina shook her head in disbelief. "This is ludicrous. You're seeing things that don't even exist! "

"And you've been blind. You'd be surprised how much he can talk under the rights incentives."

Her stomach turned. Surely Tom was only saying this to provoke her. There was no way that this could be true. Theodore and her loved each other. Like siblings, like family. She knew, deep down, that Tom's insinuations were lies.

His jaw was clenched and Yasmina remembered the cold possessiveness, the harsh jealousy she had felt when he had shared his memories with her at Malfoy's manor. "I know you are terribly jealous but that doesn't make any sense! You simply can't get over the fact that he knows me better than you do. And even if he did like me, that's not an excuse for forbidding him to talk to me! I've been…"

Before she could finish answering, Tom rudely pulled her towards him and kissed her without the slightest bit of tenderness. Yasmina tried pushing him away, but he was stronger than her. He forced his tongue inside her mouth, his hand behind her head. She pushed harder against his chest, drawing out her wand and he finally pulled back, sighing.

Tom locked his eyes with hers. "Stop fighting."

"Stop kissing me!" She retorted loudly. "I was talking to you! Stop trying to shut me up because you don't like what I'm saying!"

"Fine, talk if you wish," Tom smirked. "I'll let your mouth free."

Without any warning, he shoved her onto the nearest desk and spread her legs open. The insults and the spells she wanted to hurl at him got stuck inside her throat. Tom's hands went dangerously up under her skirt. He slipped one of his fingers under her right stocking and slid it slowly all the way down to her feet. He took off her shoe.

"You're awfully quiet for someone that had so many things to say to me," the Head boy taunted in his strong, Londoner accent.

Yasmina tried hitting him with her bare foot, but he strongly caught her ankle and let himself fall to his knees. Great Heavens.

The Slytherin brought her ankle to his mouth, his lips caressing her skin, climbing up slowly. Tom left a trail of burning kisses up her leg, heating up her skin, flushing her cheeks. The sight of him was sinful. On his knees, he looked like he was worshiping her, and the image was so provocative it was only more inviting.

She put her wand away.

He stopped his ascension at her knee and looked up at her, still waiting for her to talk.

"Go on, I'm listening," he insisted, wearing the most pretentious smile Yasmina has ever seen on his lips.

"Fuck you."

The Gryffindor tried shooting him a deadly glare, but failed miserably, as he pursued his unhurried torture up her thighs. She was focused on her breathing, trying not to faint or die because of the lack of oxygen. How could she even start to explain what was on her mind? He knew that perfectly well.

She could feel his smile against the soft inside of her leg. His hot breath when he murmured against her skin was all it took to corrupt her. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No."

The Head boy raised her skirt, flipping it over her stomach. His eyes were hungry with desire and the look he shot her at that exact moment, kneeling between her legs, undid her. Unconsciously, her thighs spread a little more apart and he smiled victoriously, knowing that he had won that battle. Again.

While his right hand was sliding down her left leg lewdly, removing her remaining stocking, his mouth slightly brushed against the apex of her tights. Yasmina loudly sighed, desire curling down in the pit of her abdomen.

"Please," she whispered, yet unable to know what she was begging for.

"I thought you never begged."

Nevertheless, he obliged her. Tom pulled her closer to the edge of the desk, closer to him. Then he kissed her there, right where she craved it.

"Goodness."

The Gryffindor was certain that he could feel the burning fire irradiating from her body. Yet, somehow, his mouth was even hotter against her, even through the fine piece of clothing. He tossed it aside with a slender finger, his tongue slowly reaching for her in criminal torture. She fell back on her elbows, worn out by his exquisite touch, knowing that she would have gladly damned her soul just to keep his warm breath between her legs indefinitely. But Tom stood up before it was nearly enough, his gaze longing on her.

"We should go back upstairs. I don't want to touch you here. It's too risky."

Yasmina rearranged her skirt more properly and cleared her throat, avoiding his gaze. She could easily imagine her cheeks were as scarlet as her tie. "Is this a good idea?"

Tom raised an eyebrow, sharp. "Why? Would you rather have other hands on you? Would you rather have someone else's mouth feasting on you? He was so close now, his lips brushing against hers. His eyes were as dark as the black lake on a winter night. "Would you rather have your precious Theodore touching you instead?"

"God, you're obsessed with him."

"I'm only obsessed with you. Answer me."

Without even asking, Tom slipped under her panties and slid a finger inside her. Then another one. She gasped. It was luscious, thousand times more savory than when she had attempted it herself. Still, it wasn't enough. He was still too far away.

He trusted inside her deeper and her head fell forward on his chest. More. He brought her closer to him, reaffirming his embrace with a hand on her back. More. Yasmina pulled his tie, requiring his scorching kisses. She wanted more.

She needed more.

Tom wasn't distracted, though. He grabbed her hair and compelled her to look at him by pulling her head backward. "Answer me," he commanded dryly.

"No," she panted, "I don't want anyone but you."

Satisfied, the Slytherin let go of her, wiping his fingers on her skirt. "You can be a good girl when you want."

Tom took a step back and unlocked the door with a flick of his fingers.

Yasmina felt terrible. She was hot and sweaty and aroused and consumed with desire. How could he tease her like that and simply walk away, unbothered? She threw him a dark, annoyed glare but Tom merely mocked her.

"So easily addicted… Lust really is a sin."

The Gryffindor wanted to shoot him another murderous glance, but she could only blush back at Tom's burning wink. God, she was weak! So weak! Why couldn't she resist his manipulative charm anymore?

Why was she hungry for him when he was nothing but controlling? Why couldn't she spend a mere day without his smile and his attention? He smirked at her again and she felt her heart racing inside her chest. She was fancying him. No. It was way worse than that.

She liked him.

And she liked him too much. More than he liked her.

It took her a few minutes just to jump back on her feet, her body still aroused and craving, her mind still messed up by the realization that she had fallen too hard for him. Leaning back on another desk, Tom was observing her picking up her clothes, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Stop watching me like that."

He chuckled. "Why? I know a work of art when I see one."

Before she could answer, the door opened on Marion Fawley, the sixth-year Hufflepuff prefect.

"Oh, hi guys, I just forgot…"

Words faded on her tongue. Fawley froze and stared at them with incredulity, analyzing their wrinkled clothes, Tom's undone tie, and their disheveled looks. Her eyes stopped on Yasmina's flushed face and bare legs and she let out a small, wry giggle. It was like Christmas had come early for her. Yasmina had never seen her wearing such a bright, cunning smile.

Her voice was deadly. "You'll both lose your Head titles when that'll come out."

Tom redid his tie knot slowly, his eyes fixed on the Hufflepuff. He didn't say a thing.

Yasmina ran a hand through her hair. "What do you want?" Her voice was as cold as she could make it regarding the circumstances.

Tom shot her a sideways look while Fawley was taking several steps forward, unable to stop smiling. "If you don't want me to talk, I want you to do just a few things for me. One, I want you to recommend me as Head girl to Dippet for next year. Two, at the end of the year, I want all the notes you took to prepare for N.E.W.T.s exams." Fawley was counting on her manicured fingers. "Three, I want you, Shafiq, to arrange a meeting between your handsome brother and me. Oh, and fourth, Riddle, I guess you could ask my best friend on a date, she has dreamed about it for years."

Yasmina's rage burnt inside her. She had never particularly liked Fawley, but now she hated her with all her guts. The Head girl searched for her wand in her pocket, but the Slytherin prevented her from advancing by grabbing her wrist. He gazed at her, silently asking her to let him resolve this.

Tom wasn't so easily blackmailed. He raised an eyebrow. "Don't overestimate your abilities. You won't be able to tell anyone."

The young woman scoffed disbelievingly. "Everybody in this school takes my word for granted, Riddle. Give it two hours and Dippet will be at your door, demanding your resignation."

Yasmina's panic reached another high, but Tom seemed as unshaken as always. He didn't stop smiling, but something in his smirk made Yasmina's blood turn cold.

She was glad to be on his side, for once.

"Oh, you misunderstood me." Tom grinned even more. "What I meant is that …. Why did you believe for a second that I would let you get out of this room at all?"

Tom took out his wand and pointed it at the door, which shut and locked. Marion looked over her shoulders and when she stared back at them, fear had appeared in her eyes. The Hufflepuff had realized how alone she was. She took a step backward, reaching for her wand.

"You're threatening me, Riddle?" She tried to appear confident, but Yasmina could discern her voice shaking.

Tom nodded. "Yes."

The young woman raised her wand. "My story will be even more convincing if I have poof you attacked me. You can't stop me from talking."

"Actually, I can." The Slytherin reached for Yasmina and put his free arm around her waist.

"I'm not scared of either of you. I rather think you are scared of what I can do to your beloved reputations."

Still composed, Tom he leaned towards Yasmina, his lips lightly touching her ear. "Hufflepuffs never had an inch of survival instinct," he mocked in a whisper. The Head boy raised his wand, and before Marion could realize what was happening, he murmured a spell. "Imperio."

The Hufflepuff's body suddenly relaxed and her eyes became vague and empty. Tom stared at her in deep concentration and after a few moments, Marion finally left the room, which he unlocked. Yasmina kept eying her until she disappeared and close the door behind her.

It took the Gryffindor several long seconds to realize what had just happened. That was what Theodore had implied on New Year's Eve. She was wrong. Eve was wrong. Dippet was wrong. Everybody was wrong about him. She shot a look at Tom, who hadn't moved. He was watching her prudently, silently.

The only words that got out of her mouth were made of pure indignation. "You are insane! An unforgivable curse!"

He pocketed his wand. "That was necessary and you know it." He was gauging her reaction.

Shocked, Yasmina shook her head. "Why not simply obliviate her?"

"Memories can be retrieved. Fawley is bright enough to know how. You know that was the only way of keeping her quiet."

Yasmina felt her legs faltering and she sat down on the chair next to her. She loudly cursed, trying to calm her nerves. She had had enough emotions for today. The Gryffindor stared at the wooden door, avoiding Tom's eyes. "The Imperius curse can severely damage someone's brain if it's not correctly done," she quietly mentioned.

"Are you doubting my abilities?" he asked, slyness in his voice.

Yasmina stared at the man's grin. He was overly confident, even more than usual. Then it struck her.

This wasn't his first time at all.

"You've done it before." It wasn't a question.

The Head boy pulled a chair and sat in front of her. He caressed her arm reassuringly. Something about him was even more attractive than before. It was like the dark aura that always followed him was now inviting her, luring her in.

She wasn't supposed to be attracted to someone like that! She wasn't supposed to like someone like him.

As if he knew her internal dilemma, his eyes reflected pure satisfaction. He knew. Of course, he knew she liked him. He had known before she had even realized it. Desperately desiring to avoid being lured again, she attempted to stand up.

"Would you like to learn?"

She froze halfway up. "What?"

"You heard me, Yasmina. Would you? That spell can be very useful. I'm sure you could handle it."

His confidence in her abilities left her speechless and she fell back down in her seat. Learning an unforgivable curse? Not only was it illegal, but it was also dangerous. How could he believe she wanted to learn it? She wondered for a moment if she would be able to learn it at all. She had never tried spells that dark before. Yasmina knew she hesitated way too long before giving him an answer.

"I… It's…It's an unforgivable curse!" were the only words that could escape her mouth.

"Why so?" He had the same tone he used when he was politely arguing with a teacher about an academic subject. "You saw me doing it. I merely commanded her to forget about this and to appear jealous wherever she sees us together. Hence, nobody will ever believe her if she says anything about us. You can't seriously think that this curse is worse than what you threw at me at Halloween. Yet, you got out with two weeks detention and I could get a lifelong sentence in Azkaban for that."

Yasmina remained silent. He was right. It didn't feel right but somehow, his words made sense.

Tom leaned forward, his lips deliciously caressing the skin of her neck. His kisses took a sigh out of her. "Unforgivable curses are only named that way because mediocre wizards can't execute them correctly. That is not my case. I'm sure it's not your case either," he whispered.

Yasmina pushed him away gently. "I may agree with you regarding the Imperius curse. What about the Cruciato curse and the Killing one? The objective is either to kill or to torture."

Tom shrugged and Yasmina's skin got covered in goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cold.

"You could stun me while I'm on a broomstick and I'd die from the fall. You could throw me a leg-locking hex while I'm near the stairs and I would break my neck. Yet, those spells are used regularly by everyone in this castle. Does that make them more forgivable?"

"It isn't the same!"

"The result is exactly the same. The only difference is that the wizard who used them could always make a jury doubt their intentions. Doesn't that make those people even worse than the ones who don't hide their true motive?"

"I don't know."

"We're wizards, Yasmina. We have power nobody else in this world has. Why should we close our minds and forget about half of the things the magical world has to offer us?" Tom softly put his hand on her cheek. She couldn't look away from the intensity of his gaze. "If we want to become accomplished wizards, isn't it best that we tackle every kind of magic possible? I'm not saying using unforgivable spells for useless fun, I merely suggest learning them so that we can improve our magical abilities.

The Gryffindor remained silent, at loss for words.

"You're not destined to be a mediocre witch, Yasmina," Tom added softly, tracing her dark veins with his index. "Your blood is so pure. Let me show you how powerful and talented you could be. You're clever, that would be a piece of cake for you."

Yasmina's mind left the small classroom and flew over her memories of the past months. She saw herself standing over Theodore in her home kitchen at Christmas. How powerful she had felt. She saw herself hexing Tom in front of everyone. She knew, then, that she would be able to learn. It was a challenge she was ready to accept, but only for the satisfaction she would feel once she had succeeded.

"Fine. I'll let you teach me the Imperius curse."

"Good," he softly commented, standing up. He didn't seem taken aback by her answer at all. No trace of surprise had appeared on his face.

He knew she would say yes.

He knew he could convince her.

He knew she had it in her.

Tom Riddle had reached out a hand to her… and she had grabbed it.