Tom's Pov:
I knew that keeping my studying the Dark Arts from Sophie was me risking me getting caught under her wrath, but I didn't realize that I would end up hurting her, to the point of her completely shutting me out. Not even when I tried communicating with her through our link, all I received was a cold shoulder, it was like slamming head first into one of the stone walls here.
I knew that she didn't take me hiding things from her kindly, in fact, my left ass cheek was still sore and scarred from the time she made a sharp, pointy rock fly towards my back during the summer when I kept the plans of me going to see my father, once I was bigger. Her aim was impeccable, she need not lift a finger if she wanted to do something, she only used her wand while at school, wandless magic being her specialty along with other things. Just like me. I want power, I wish to grow up and be the most powerful sorcerer in the world, of all time. Yet when I am with her, I see her as my possible equal. I seem to forget everything when I am with her.
I couldn't help think of all of this as I went to bed at night. There were a lot of things that were bothering me, but these more than usual. My mind kept drifting back to the last few months and how everything had changed between us.
The morning when she stopped talking to me is still fresh in my mind. After we discovered that we had a telepathic link we both quickly discovered something called Occlumency, blocking one's mind from unwanted visitors. That morning she had disappeared which was rare for her, because I couldn't hear her, it was as if she disappeared into thin air, and that worried me, but I quickly masked it with a sly smirk.
When she walked into the Great Hall, I couldn't help but stare at her as she made her way towards the Slytherin table. Her long, silky, raven and multicolored locks almost flying behind her as she walked briskly towards the table.
"Did you need something, Riddle?" She asked emotionlessly, turning to look back at the book she had placed on her lap.
Surprising me by the cool edge in her otherwise sweet voice, and the fact that she used my surname.
"Me? Oh, I just wanted to know where you disappeared to earlier this morning..." I muttered, pulling out my own book from my cloak pocket.
I could feel as her all-seeing eyes scanned the cover of the book. It read: Et ab altissimis tenebris premuntur artium Magia.
Oh crap, I'm a dead where I stand. I thought, flinching.
I watched from the corner of my eye as she slowly reached to touch my hand, and letting her mind open to connect with mine. I felt as my brows smoothed as I looked up to meet her silvery, blue-green combination. One I admired, it never failed to quicken my pulse, and increase the beats of my heart as I got lost in the endless pools of blue, green, and flicks silvery gray.
Dark Arts? Tom what's going on, Tom? She asked me, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.
'Tom?' I thought, surprised by the iciness in the word, and hurt that she hadn't called me her usual 'Tommy'.
She ignored my comments and raised an expectant eyebrow at me once more.
Nothing is going on. I just saw this book the other day in the library and felt curiosity as to see what it is about. I replied abruptly, trying not to think of anything else that would give my plans up.
Tommy, you could lie all you want but I really don't think curiosity is why you got it. Now tell me the real reason you got this for, before I actually get angry with you. She thought commandingly, crossing her arms over her chest, as the group began to arrive and sit around us at the table.
"Good morning, Annie." Bellatrix greeted her, smiling rather brightly.
"Good morning, Bella." She mumbled back dryly, a scowling forming on her face.
"What's going on between you two?" Narcissa asked, warily, as she motioned to the two of us.
"Nothing. Tom, is just being difficult this morning." She said, scowling down at the table as the food appeared before us.
Soon as breakfast was over, I watched Sophia as she grabbed her bag and left briskly towards first hour, to the first class of the day. Which happened to be Xylomancy with Professor Nora Bettie, the head of Gryffindor.
I, however, got pulled back by a couple of the guys in our house was we all walked towards the class. Frustrated by her silence I tried focusing on opening the telepathic link we sheared only to feel as if I crashed into one of the stone walls head first. Feeling a sharp jab in my mind, as I walked into class. I watched as her shoulders stiffened slightly, making me believe that she felt it too.
I heard the seats on either side of her squeal as Bellatrix and Narcissa sat in their seats. I chose to keep my eyes towards the front of the room, feeling as a sharp jab begin to appear in front of my head once more.
"Annie, what's wrong?" Bellatrix asked, or whispered loudly, worried as she sat down next to her.
"My head is just hurting. No, nothing is going on..." She sighed, rubbing her temples, and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
I slowly pulled out a notepad, ink bottle and my quill pen getting ready to take notes for the next hour. I felt as my head snapped up just in time to hear a seat screech and watched as Sophie collapsed in a heap on the ground.
I began to worry as she laid on the cool ground for several minutes. Her breath began to grow ragged, and her already pale skin began to get a green undertone in it. Finally, after Merlin knows when she began to come to.
"She's coming to. Back up people, back up, let's give her some air. That means you mister Lestrange." Mrs. Bettie said, as she slowly sat on the ground, looking dazed.
"Annie, Are you alright?" Bella asked, helping her stand.
She nodded once, once she did I saw red begin to pour out of her nose, a collection of gasps was heard as we all watched the blood pour out of her nose.
"Miss. Riel, are you alright? Do you wish to continue with the class?" Mrs. Bettie asked her, worried.
"Yes, Professor, of course. I feel fine." She muttered, lowly.
I kept a watchful eye on her for the rest of the day, after the first three classes, she finally sat down looking dead tired in the Great Hall. I watched her amused as she eyed the food hungrily, holding an arm over her midsection as if to contain the hunger she was probably feeling judging by the way she was eyeing the food that appeared before us.
"What is going on? Why can't I hear you? What have you done?" I asked her, worried, after a few minutes of silence.
"Nothing is wrong I just didn't want to talk. There is something I need to talk to you about though. I think your mother knows about it too. After we eat I am going to send her an owl." She told me, still staring at the food before us..
I didn't respond, reaching to grab her warm hand. I watched as she slowly closed her eyes in what seemed deep concentration. I could feel as the barrier I ran into earlier slowly disappear, slowly and deliberately reached and entered her mind. I could feel her concentration once more as she focused on showing me what I believe she'd seen earlier when she collapsed.
What do you think the Chamber of Secrets is? I heard her ask me as she happily began digging into her plate of chicken fingers and stick fries.
I don't know but I think those two figures were us. My mom might know what the Chamber of Secrets is or was.. I'm sure I've heard of it somewhere but it slips my mind at the moment.I answered back chewing into my food.
She finished her food faster than I would've thought. I wasn't even half done with the food on my plate when she abruptly stood up, grabbing her things and briskly walked out of the hall. I rolled me eyes, grabbing my things before following her out of the dining hall slowly. I followed her all the way to the library, watching her carefully from the shadows.
I found her in one of the corners talking to my sister and a friend of hers quietly. Sophie stiffened as she felt me coming closer to her.
"Who is that?" I interrupted suddenly, curiosity getting the better of me.
"Oh, uhh..hmm. That-that's Leilah's new friend, Seamus. Seamus MacLaggen." She said, as I stopped next to her.
"You're a Ravenclaw." I said, bored.
"Uhh, y-yeah. That's h-how I met your sister." the boy stuttered, his eyes flicking to her again.
I noticed he was staring too intently at Sophie, peaking my curiosity, I pushed into his mind, taking in everything as I did so. He's related to her, how interesting.
"He's your uncle." I said, looking at her.
"What-what? My mother never told me I had any other relatives otherwise she'd left me with them." She sputtered, her mouth gaping like a fish.
"He's remembering the last time he saw your mother. She was way younger than when I met her. About your age. He's either related to her or, he's known her for a while." I said, keeping my eyes on him.
I turned to look at the boy, his eyes had a familiar blue gray eyes I'd seen in her mother. I watched as she stepped back, before her hands began to shake.
"It's true isn't it...d-don't stay quiet, answer me!" She demanded, her hands beginning to shake more.
Oh no... I thought, automatically wrapping my hand around hers. Leilah, stepping back too.
"Yes, it's true. Your mother is my older sister, we have a younger sister that's in your year. She's in Gryffindor. Her name is Grisha MacLaggen." He finally replied, his eyes wide.
"Come on, Sophie, let's go. Our friends are waiting for us back in the common room. Let's go." I said, practically dragging her away, towards a different part of the library, before leaving the library to find something to distract her.
I quickly came back and watched once more as she entered the restricted section of the library quietly.
I shook my head amused as she slowly lifted her hand and whispered,
"Accio Chamber of Secrets." She whispered.
I almost laughed when three books flew towards her at a fast pace. I could almost imagine her face as she watched the ancient, thick books quickly flying towards her face at the last moment I finally gave in and helped her.
"Stupefy!" I said in a low voice.
I heard as she let out a surprised gasped, as she quickly turned to see me standing behind her, holding the three books that were flying towards her in my arms.
"Seriously, couldn't wait for me could you, Sophie?" I teased her unable to hide my amusement from her any longer.
She shrugged, rolling her eyes at me before heading back towards the library doors. She ignored me as I followed slowly behind her and began making her way out of the halls towards the direction of what I assumed was the owlery, confused.
"Where are you two going now?" my sister asked, suddenly appearing next to us.
"The owlery. I have to send this letter to your mother. Its sort of an emergency." she replied, as we all made our way across the deserted quad.
"Hmm.. Are you still seeing things and having those dreams, Annie?" She asked, turning to look at her.
I watched the exchange, following behind them quietly as we walked through the cool night towards the owlery.
"Yes, actually they're starting to happen on a daily bases. I've seen important things, and insignificant things like us sitting in a lesson or seeing one of the professors drop something in the middle of a lesson." She replied, as the chilling wind blew through her hair, causing her to shiver.
"What is the point of having knee-high socks if they slip down." Sophie suddenly complained as she climbed up the stone steps, up the tower where the owlery was located.
"The point is to keep our feet, all the way to our knees warm. But of course they have to be defective." Leilah muttered.
I rolled my eyes at their complaining as we ascended the stone steps to the owlery, hooting could be heard from the bottom of the stairs. Hanging back and watching as Sophie went inside directly towards her snowy whit owl.
"I need you to take this to Merope, you already know where. I need a response as soon as possible. Be careful." She whispered to her owl, as she watched her fly away.
That night as we sat in the common room studying I was approached by Laura Parkinson, in my opinion she was too nice to even be in Slytherin, she didn't seem to have the qualities to be a true Slytherin, how she got sorted into Slytherin I will never know or comprehend.
Neither does Sophia, yet here she is. The thought slinked through my mind as I sat in the common room studying.
"Hey, Tom do you understand the lesson we were given in Herbology?" She asked me timidly.
I sighed trying to hide my annoyance as I looked up from my book. " Its simple all you have to do is name the characteristics of a certain plant, what it does, and what potions it can be used for." I said, suppressing the need to roll my eyes at the stupidity of the question.
The professor had explained in detail what a boggart is, and everything else in the lecture he gave, making the class take vigorous notes of said lecture.
She nodded sitting down next to me as she quickly opened her book and began jotting down what I told her, occasionally asking a question. I would try to my best extent and knowledge to help her but the girl is honestly harebrained, and rather air headed if she didn't understand my explanations after the ten time of explaining said subject. She maybe the complete opposite of her sister in appearance and maybe even knowledge.
I could feel myself loosing brain cells the longer time I spent in the presence of this daft girl. I was almost too annoyed when I heard one of the Lestrange twins asking Sophie something, it worried me more when I noticed how close he was to her, but I felt anger begin to rise within me as I saw him grab her hand.
No one has ever touched her, she was my friend, not his. Why was he even sitting that close to her?
"Annie, is something wrong?" Bastian asked her.
I felt myself tense as I heard her warm, caring voice speak, uttering the words, that not only wounded me but also made my heart skip a beat uncomfortably.
"No, I-I've just been thinking. There's a lot of things to think about. I am actually worried I'll get behind in my studies this year." She said a sharp edge in her words, shoving all her books in her bag.
"You look rather worried. You know you can trust me with anything right?" He said, grabbing her hand.
No, she could trust me. I thought, scowling in their direction before turning my attention to the book situated on my lap.
I couldn't help the glare that formed as I watched their quiet exchange, it hurt more that she was confining things in him as she blatantly ignored me. Laura threw a questioning worried looked in their direction too, as she looked towards me and then back at her.
"Yes, I know that Bastian. Unlike some people here, I know you'll tell me the truth. Brutal as it may be." She replied, her eyes never leaving mine as she uttered the words.
I flinched in response before I covered it up with the mask of indifference back in place. I knew hiding things from her wasn't the best way to go but the damage was done, knowing her, she probably just needed time to cool off before speaking to me again. We had never let any problems get the better of us but somehow, I knew that this was only the beginning of the problem. Seeing as we lived together and my mother was her guardian, I had nothing left but to wait it out. But for how long?
"Laura, I'll help you with your lesson during breakfast tomorrow. I am feeling rather tired now and prefer to rest." I said, gathering my books and supply before leaving the room without another word.
The following month the communication situation with Sophie seemed to be deteriorating further and further. It only worsened my mood when I noticed and realized that Lestrange and his brother were hanging around her along with Malfoy. It made my insides twist in a way that I couldn't explain. Things only seemed to worsen when Jennica Avery began trailing behind me like a lost puppy. I briefly wondered if I should set off a serpent on her but disregarded the idea when I realized it will only piss Sophia off more if I let a serpent hurt someone.
It was early in the morning almost two almost three months after Sophia stopped talking to me, when I got cornered near the Potions' room. I was there earlier because I need to ask Professor Slughorn about a potion I had read about. More interesting as we dove into Potions. I was so lost in thought that I didn't realize I wasn't alone until it was too late. Jennica had already cornered me and had pushed her disgusting lips onto mine, pulling me closer to her. I heard a gasp, quickly pushing her off me without thinking of the force I used, she ended up on the ground, staring up at me shocked.
I saw as hurt flashed in her eyes as she passed us, but she quickly covered it when Bastian quickly wrapping an arm around her slender shoulders as they disappeared into the room. Professor Slughorn was already waiting, with a projector already set up. The professor seemed rather excited as we all sat down around the room.
"Come on. Come on. Move it along. We have a rather long lesson to get through on this morning." He ordered, exasperated.
The lesson was about finding a key ingredient in potions to their antidotes, and where they could be found. When the lesson finished I watched once more as she left without a second glance back. I tried once more to see if I could open our link but ended up with a huge blazing headache and disappointment as I walked to the Great Hall to get a bite to eat.
I was sitting down with Yaxley, and Dolohov when I heard as all the glass that the room contained burst into tiny pieces, sending everything flying in different directions. I was about to check on Sophie when I turned to see Lestrange, who happened to be sitting next to her, quickly looked towards her, his eyes widening as he stared slack-jawed at her. I could see, her hair now had different colored streaks again, and her eyes were a brighter color than before.
"Annie? Annie, are you alright?" I heard Andromeda Black asked her, her voice calming, but her back was tense.
I saw her shake her head at her in response, as she dropped the fork she held a minute before with a loud clank, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Without thinking twice I got up and began running in her direction as she began falling to the ground in a heap.
I managed to get glimpses of what she was seeing while she was unconscious but I realized that I had to keep my distance from her. I had only seen her loose her cool once, and that was this past break when we ran into my 'father'. To tell you that I feared for her would be putting it lightly, if I messed up again and she lost control over her emotions we'd all be in danger. Even her.
My control seemed to crumble to the floor, one day while we all sat in class waiting for the old oaf Slughorn to come waddling into class. I watched the exchange she had with Sirius Black, making a quick note to put him in his place later for messing with Sophie.
"Are we still on for this summer? You don't seem happy right now." Bellatrix asked her, clacking her nails on the wooden desk before us.
I so happened to be sitting down two seats away so I heard almost every word that they spewed out, it was rather amusing until he got in her face. I felt proud when she held her ground, almost flicking her wrist which I knew she only need to do without uttering a word to render him unconscious.
"I'm just tired is all. Studying so much has fried my poor head." She complained, letting her head plop down loudly onto the desk.
I flinched in response, but kept my eyes on the book nonetheless.
"Oof. That looked like it hurt. Are you alight, Anna?" Sirius Black asked turning from the row before ours to look back at her.
"I am fine, Black. Leave me alone." She muttered, with her face still smashed into the wood of the desk.
"Sorry for asking." He said smirking at her.
Causing me to ground my teeth together in anger. Without thinking I thought of a hex and waved my wand under the desk, enjoying as he stiffened in his seat.
"I don't need any of your petty concern, Black, so turn around, leave me alone, and get back to whatever it is you do here." She replied, annoyed probably at the way he kept smirking arrogantly at her.
"Dear cousin, I see you're are still trying to get girls who are above your status to look your way..." Bellatrix cooed, batting her eyes at him mockingly.
She said something else but I missed it since I kept trying to open my link with Sophie.
"Bella, Bella, Bella... don't you get tired of all the air that goes through your head?..." He asked, making a whooshing sound.
I could hear a bit of buzzing when I tried again, feeling a sharp jab in my head once more as I did so.
"You know, your parents must be really proud of having you for a son. Oh wait, I mistook you for Regulus, the wanted son." She quipped back.
Regulus chose to appear that instant. Which to my relief, he seemed to cool down the situation, almost.
"Reggie! We were just talking about you, dear cousin." Bella said, smiling at him as he sat next to her.
"Sirius, you're not trying to annoy cousin Trixie, again are you?" He asked, looking at his twin.
"I can't help it she's just too fun to mess with." Sirius replied, chuckling.
I saw Sophie roll her eyes, picking up her head before staring at him straight in the eye.
Turn around, act like you are paying attention, and leave us alone. She thought, clenching her fists as she watched him. I was surprised that I heard her thought as she stared him down unafraid.
"Anna, stop." Bella said, her eyes widening as she watched Sirius turn stiffly around.
She let out a huff in annoyance before letting him out of her mezmerizing gaze; watching as he turned back around with a glare on his face, he stood up so fast he knocked his seat to the ground.
"Listen here, you daft twat, if you ever do that again I will hurt you so bad, your mother will feel it." He said, threateningly, leaning over the desk to make eye contact with her.
I almost stood up to shove the mongrel off of her when she opened her mouth and said something unexpected.
"No, you listen mongrel. Don't think that because I look fragile that I am, I can and will hurt you if you ever speak to me like that again. I won't hesitate to drop you on your arse... so, think twice before utter anything about my mother, because your cousin may have saved you this time, but next time you even try, you'll be unconscious before you even pull out your wand. Now get out of my face, you sorry excuse for a Y chromosome." She growled.
Regulus, who was watching the exchange amused quickly got up from his seat and shoved Sirius back to his seat. Before I could move an inch, he was extremely lucky I didn't do it.
"You do remember what father said before we came back from break. Don't you, brother?" He reminded, a glint in his eye.
The Professor decided to walk into the room that moment diffusing the fight entirely as he waved his wand and we all received our exams. Enduring four hours of the same people in a dingy, mold smelling room was far more punishment than anyone should endure.
Before we knew it was all over, we were dismissed to go have dinner at the Great Hall once more. We were waiting for dinner to commence; the headmaster began to speak.
"Settle down now." Headmaster Dippet said, looking around the room before he continued, "It has come to my attention that today was a very intense day of testing. I want to congratulate you all for your hard work, and studying. Seeing as tomorrow is the final day of school, I would like to announce that all lessons and exams are hereby canceled. Enjoy your free day tomorrow. You may leave if you decide you want to begin your summer break earlier." He said, smirking at our surprised expressions before he waved his hand, and the food appeared "Enjoy your meal." He added before sitting back down.
Realizing that we could start our break sooner than expected I quickly wrote my mother an explanation and went to the owlery to send mother the letter. Watching as it flew away, disappearing into the darkness of the night.