Sorry this one took a while to get out. You'll find it was WELL worth the wait though ;) it's pretty long too.
In response to the reviews...
Kavernista- once again thank you for the absolutely amazing review! It was the best thing I saw that day. And on that day while I was interviewing someone for a position at my work a big group of naked guys ran down the street screaming so it's not like it was a mundane day! Thought about you as I wrote this one too.
KirikaAndo- on the same note as above the next day I got to wake up to your review and it was fhe best start to the day, thanks! To clear up confusion yes Rangvald Lestrange is Leta's son... there was a "Lestrange" in Voldemort's gang in the books so I thought it would be cool to make him Leta's son, the timelines match up. As Tom was in school up until 1945 it's set in the 40s which would also make Newt in his 40s. But as stated both by Vicki (grand daughter at the start) and Tori, he ages freakishly well. Tori said he looks no older than mid to late 20s during this story and basically looks the same still as he did in the film.
It didn't take me long to receive a response from my mother. When the evening post came the next night I had a handsome school owl bring me a letter with my mother's handwriting on the address at the front of the envelope. It was made obvious my mother had obviously written to me the second she received my letter.
I wanted to open it there and then at dinner but I knew it wasn't appropriate as there were so many people around. This had to be read in private so I didn't risk anyone else seeing it.
I scoffed down my dinner and headed back to my dormitory. All the other girls were still out as it was quite early but I still closed the curtains on my four poster bed and then hurriedly opened the letter now that I was alone.
My dearest Tori,
You have no idea how happy you've made me. You're finally blossoming into a beautiful young woman and I'm so pleased.
Charming men is a bit different for those who are only half-Veela as you have less powers than those of full-Veela status. However you don't sprout feathers and talons upon becoming angry, so I think you get the better end of the stick even if you have slightly less powerful abilities.
Veela just need to dance softly to get a male's attention. You'll need to put in a little more effort but you still have a big advantage over the other girls. I am going to give you advice on the art of seduction.
Pick a day you can commit to your task. Show a little skin. You can pick either some chest area or some leg but never both – a lady will only ever show one or the other. Catch his eye when he is with his friends. He will be physically with them but his mind will be with you. Then you need to get him alone. Once you are alone he will be yours.
Don't overthink it. Do what comes naturally. It's in your biology. If you get nervous and overcomplicate it you won't be successful. Clear your mind and your powers will take over. I promise.
As for the one you are unsure about, my knowledge is limited darling. The only one who fell in love with me as a person and not my looks is the one I married for that reason – your father. Therefore I have no experience with unrequited feelings. All I can say is that if you have to second guess your feelings you most likely don't hold any romantic interest in this person. Maybe you've confused a high level of respect with puppy love?
I'm not sure if I can write you the signs he shows he's interested as it really does differ between men, and without seeing them for myself I cannot comment. But I can give you three strong signs a man will show when he's NOT interested:
1. He openly shows affection for another woman in front of you. This extends to speaking fondly about another one, or ogles one in your presence. If a man seeks another woman whilst with you, it means he wants that other woman more.
2. He doesn't take pride in his appearance or perception around you. If a man is interested in you he wants you to think the world of him. If he looks dishevelled or weak he clearly doesn't mind if you think the same.
3. The most relevant in this context – a man most likely is not interested in you if you cannot tell. If he wants you, you'll definitely know about it.
Take those signs as you will. Study his behaviour and see if he fits into those categories or not. I would also see how you feel about whether he does or not – as you'll quickly get an idea on your true feelings for him.
Oh my darling daughter you have the world at your feet and today is the beginning of the rest of your life. I am so happy and excited for you.
Please let me know how everything pans out as I am dying to know. You will be in my thoughts.
All my love,
Mum xo
I smiled as I re-read the letter a few times as some plans started to form in my head. I would carefully execute separate plans for Professor Scamander and Tom Riddle. I spent the evening in bed thinking about it, before drifting off for an early night's sleep.
I had been nervous all day. Last night my mother's letter had given me lots of courage. So much so I decided to confront both Tom and Professor Scamander in the same day. I knew if I didn't do it on the same day and as soon as possible I would talk myself out of it and it would never happen.
This was evidenced by my nerves as I kept second guessing my decision to listen to my mother. In Herbology I accidentally used the wrong potting soil and angered my plant to the point it started breathing fire. In Defence Against the Dark Arts I had answered a question and said that the best defence against a werewolf was to dance around one. In Transfiguration not only had I not managed to turn a wooden chair into a bunch of flowers, I had set the chair on fire. Professor Dumbledore managed to put it out easily enough and was nice enough to not give me a lecture about the dangers of Transfiguration mishaps after.
"You really should take me up on that offer to help you with Transfiguration. Maybe sometime this weekend?" Tom asked me as I headed out of the classroom, grabbing my wrist to spin me around as he used a low voice.
"Maybe. We'll see what happens." I winked, gaining confidence for the first time today as I quickly strode out of the classroom, leaving Tom in awe.
After lunch I had double Care of the Magical Creatures with Professor Scamander. Sometimes the class was held out on the grounds (the 'practical' assignments) whilst some tasks were held in a classroom (the 'theory' tasks). Today we were out in the open field studying Doxys.
"Doxys may not be too dangerous, but they're very common and thus we'll be studying today. Does anybody know the alternative name for Doxys?" Professor Scamander asked the crowd out loud.
I knew the answer but I didn't want to bring attention to myself so I stayed quiet. However when Scamander looked around and asked 'anybody?' I found myself throwing up my hand before I could second guess my class participation attempt.
"Ah, Miss Black. What's the other name for Doxys?" Professor Scamander asked me, his face lighting up as he pointed in my direction.
"The biting fairy." I proudly stated out loud.
"That's correct. Well done. Five points to Slytherin." Professor Scamander smiled brightly towards me, and I smiled a little as a few people from my house gave me a pat on the back.
He then went on to explain a little more about the Doxys. The slight dangers they pose. The effects of their venom and the antidote. He spoke about their status as a pest and how to humanely get rid of them. He even spoke about the small details such as their diet and habitat and even how they lay eggs.
I watched around as everyone else were getting bored as he spent half the lesson lecturing about the Doxys. I on the other hand paid close attention for two reasons. I was furiously scribbling note about everything Professor Scamander was saying about Doxys, but also I was following my mother's advice and looking for clues in her letter. So far I could only really read into the third one, I wasn't sure if he liked me or not. Sometimes during his lecture he would catch my eye and smile, but other parts his eyes would gloss over me, as if avoiding me. It was definitely sending me mixed signals.
"Okay everyone," Professor Scamander declared as he clapped his hands to get everyone's attention "There's enough Doxys for one between two people, so you'll need to partner up."
I froze up a little. Those were my least favourite words I could hear in school. But now at least my dorm mates were talking to me. Drucilla would most likely partner with Beatrice, so I could partner up with Cordula. It would be okay this time.
"Well, it's too bad for Tori, but looks like we're all partnered up. She'll have to work alone." Drucilla cruelly stated, a snicker in her words.
I turned around and saw Drucilla clinging onto the arm of Lestrange, both of them grinning wickedly towards me. My eyes scanned across the field and I saw that it was true, everybody all seemed to be paired up. Beatrice shot me a sympathetic look as she stood next to Cordula, and all of the other Slytherin boys had paired up with each other.
I was planning on remaining silent and either hoping there would be a Doxy left over for me to study, or quietly becoming a third person with Beatrice and Cordula if I promised to do all of the work to sweeten the deal with them. However unfortunately for me, Professor Scamander made my plan impossible.
"Do we have any leftovers?" Professor Scamander asked up loudly. I awkwardly ran my hands through my hair as I felt very uncomfortable in this situation, but Drucilla spoke up powerfully.
"We of course we do have a leftover. Victoria Black, the biggest leftover of them all." Drucilla smirked, emphasising 'leftover' each time she said it.
My eyes shot back to Professor Scamander. It took a few seconds to register but I noticed he began to look crestfallen and mouthed an 'oh' – it finally dawned on him how poor of a choice using the word 'leftover' was.
"That's alright Tori. You can work with me." Professor Scamander smiled towards me. Whilst this made a lot of people in the class giggle towards me, I put on a happy expression. It was a little humiliating but it was nice that he attempted to make me feel better. I'd also be able to see if he fit into the three categories whilst we worked together.
Professor Scamander began to hand out the Doxy cages and told everybody to spread out, as there was a chance that the Doxys would fight each other if all kept within close proximity of each other. So all of the students walked out of sight and I had a feeling a lot of Doxys would stay in their cage and the students would use the time to socialise, especially as this was the last class on a Friday afternoon.
"So where should we go, Professor Scamander?" I asked him, crossing my arms as he picked up the remaining Doxy cage.
He looked around with a neutral expression, as if he were a young boy planning to do something naughty. When he noticed the coast was clear, he then spoke up.
"I feel so weird when you call me by such a formal name considering we're on friendly terms. I know it's against tradition and quite possibly school rules, but you can call me Newt when it's just us around, only if you want to though." Professor Scamander said to me, leaning a little closer and speaking a little quieter as if someone else were listening.
"You already call me Tori, so I have nothing else to offer you." I joked loudly.
Professor Scamander – or "Newt" as I was to now call him then got the Doxy out of the cage. We didn't converse much outside of communication about the Doxy as we observed his behaviour. I was the one who made the observations whilst Newt wrote them down. He said as I was the student I should be the one making the observations and thus be the one learning. He wrote down a good page full of notes before he got me to use the knockback jinx ('Flipendo') to stun the Doxy back into the cage. It was nearing the end of the lesson but no students were in sight, so he began to make conversation.
My mother's three rules entered my head. One, he shouldn't mention other women in front of me. Two, he should take care of his appearance. Three, I should have some idea by the end of this conversation. If I didn't, that would mean he held no attraction to me. That would be good, right? I could then focus solely on charming over Tom Riddle completely. Rather than waiting for the signs to come up in conversation I decided to kick start the process.
"What's that? There's something on your shirt." I pointed out, referring to a mark on his vest.
He looked down to what I was referring to, holding out his vest as he inspected the stain.
"Oh, yes. A little mishap with my forth year class before lunch. I don't even want to tell you what it is." Newt grinned.
I cocked my head and held myself back from asking what it was. I was curious about what on earth the thing on his shirt was that was so shocking he felt he couldn't tell me, but I didn't want to get distracted. I needed to figure out if he held any feelings for me.
"That's the convenience of a vest, I guess. You can just take it off should it get dirty." I commented, pretending to not sound too involved as I diverted my eyes elsewhere.
"I actually thought of taking it off before this class began, but I decided against it. A few mystery stains are nothing, certainly not worth a wardrobe change." Newt said to me.
I just nodded my head. One sign he doesn't like me: he's absolutely fine wearing dirty clothing in front of me, and made a conscious effort to stay that way, not caring that I'd see his stained clothing. According to my mother's theory that was one strike.
"My wife probably thinks differently though. She always convinced me to make myself look as presentable as possible, no matter how much exposure I had to creature fluids. I'm not sure whether it was annoying or caring." Newt spoke up, a shaky smile appearing over his face.
I scrunched up my face for a split second. Not only did he mention another woman in front of me, but he was still married? I knew he had a wife as she had a dedication in his textbook but I assumed they had separated. He was living in the castle and hadn't mentioned her to me at all. That didn't make sense when I thought about it. I was a student, why would he talk about his wife to me?
The bell rang out throughout the school and carried onto the grounds. School was over for the week. A few groans carried out nearby, as the fellow students realised that by not coming back earlier they now had to spend after school time getting the Doxys back into the cages and back into Newt's possession.
"Do you uh, need my help?" I asked him, standing around as I watched all of the students trudge back slowly, some looking a little worse for wear with torn clothing and bruises on their bodies. Drucilla even had a gash across her face. I felt terrible but for a split second I was happy, not that because she was hurt but she now had a big imperfection made very obvious on her face.
"No. I can take it from here. You go enjoy your weekend." Newt said to me.
"Thanks for the great lesson. I learned a lot." I thanked him brightly.
"You're very welcome, Tori. I guess I'll see you next Wednesday, if I don't see you around beforehand." Newt said, and I took this as my cue to go just as Drucilla whined loudly as she shoved her cage back into Newt's arms.
I made sure to walk slowly as she stalked back to the castle with Rangvald Lestrange angrily – I definitely didn't want to be around them if I didn't have to.
I was confused for a second. Newt and I had a few moments together this afternoon. He broke our student-teacher relationship by asking to call him by his first name and once again by calling me about his nickname. He also genuinely seemed to enjoy spending time with me and our goodbye was awkward, as if he didn't know how (or want to) say goodbye to me for the week. But then I realised that was point three. I was still confused on his intentions towards me.
He confirmed all three signs my mother said a guy showed if he wasn't interested. He spoke about his wife openly in front of me without flinching. He certainly didn't mind his appearance around me as he kept a dirty vest on. Lastly, his mixed signals made me confused. Mother said if a guy wanted you, you knew. Clearly this wasn't the case.
Mum was also right that the way I felt about it would be revealed once I figured out his intentions. Honestly, I felt relieved. I also felt great that I was able to execute my plan successfully. That was one thing less I had to do. I could also know focus on the Tom Riddle plan.
I sat in the common room at the oak table in the corner with a bunch of homework laid out in front of me. I was barely paying attention to my homework, instead it was being used as a prop. Tom Riddle was sitting in the common room with his gang on the couch next to the fire. He was attempting to converse with them but I kept noticing his eyes would lead back to me across the room.
I didn't blame him. I was acquainting myself with the art of seduction. I took my mother's advice and decided on showing some skin. She said to show either chest or leg – I went with leg. I rolled my school skirt up so it was knee length and had kept my legs crossed as I sat at the table. Every now and again I'd run my hands through my hair and brush the end of the quill against my cheek. I felt a little bit like a whore, and a few of the other girls had coughed it my way as they walked past, but I felt my insecurities melt away.
Before my mother's letter I would have been a mess trying to get his attention this way. I didn't know how to flirt. But now after reading it and sitting here, all my actions were coming to me naturally. I couldn't believe how easy it was. What's best was that it was working. Not only could Tom Riddle not keep his eyes off me, it seemed most boys in the common room couldn't either. Which added to the situation as I noticed Tom send furious looks to all who were looking at me.
As it grew later my attention to flirting began to subside and I began to actually focus on my homework as I had been seducing Tom for a few hours and he had yet to approach me. This is why I was caught off-guard when I felt a presence, looked up and saw Tom next to the table I was sitting at.
"Why don't you come sit with us? You might be more comfortable." Tom proposed.
I gave him a sultry look as I looked up from the table to the area he and his gang were seated at.
"Looks a little squished. It's not ladylike for me to be sprawled over you gentleman. I'll be fine here." I responded as I uncrossed my legs and quickly crossed them again, making sure my skirt crept up a tad more up my thigh.
I purposely watched Tom's line of sight. He watched my legs and I saw his eyes dart up my legs. I even heard him suppress a groan and I certainly suppressed a smirk at his actions. Mum's advice was working so well. I had enchanted him with such ease.
"Well, luckily it appears most people will be heading off to bed soon. Maybe I would be lucky to have your company when the common room clears out?" Tom asked me, even going as far as to pick up my hand that was laying idly on my school book, and he kissed it before gently laying it down again.
I had to stop my eyes from widening as I nearly broke from the seductive act I had put on. Not only did his lip to skin action send shivers up my spine and butterflies to my stomach, I had not anticipated that. The most he had done is touch my back. This was making his intentions very clear.
"S-sure." I stuttered as I sent him a small smile.
I pretended to not notice as he strode back to the couches near the fire. I noticed he spoke to his friends who jumped up from the couch and they all split up and began talking to other people who were still in the common room. Fairly quickly the common room began to empty until about ten minutes later when it was just Tom and I. He had managed to clear out the common room purely to get us alone.
"Tori, come take a seat now. There's clearly enough room for the both of us now." Tom called out to me.
I only sent him a cheeky smile as I packed up my homework into my book bag and plonked myself down onto the couch next to him, strategically slightly opening my legs enough to get to attempt to peek but not enough to show him any of the goods.
He cocked his head as I saw him eye my legs before he slowly began to raise his head as he looked all the way up my body until he arrived back towards my face. He put an arm around my shoulder and let out a loud sigh but said nothing else.
Then out of nowhere he began to kiss me. It was just a very light peck to begin with as he seemed to be studying my reaction. When he broke away and saw my eyes closed and lips still lightly parted in bliss he decided to keep going.
After a few moments his kisses began to change. He began to roughly put his hands all over my back and even became brave enough to run them through my hair, lightly pulling on my locks in the process. I gasped in surprise at his raw change but this only seemed to excite him more as he changed positions on the couch.
He had me pinned down under him on the couch as he hungrily came down for smooches. He was holding me down fairly roughly as he was using all of his body weight but it just added to the excitement of our activities.
A fire had been ignited in me tonight that had previously not existed. All my life I had been shy and self conscious about myself and my abilities. This was changing starting from now. I may not be a full Veela but I was a red blooded woman and I would be using the gifts my mother had given me from now on.
"Oh, gross. If you're going to engage in illicit activities could you please ensure no one else, especially me, is around to witness it." Drucilla Carrow screeched loudly from behind us.
Tom didn't seem to be phased but he moved and took his weight off me when he felt that I was trying to shift my position and get out from under him.
Drucilla only laughed at us cruelly as she went back down the stairs to our dorm. I knew she'd probably gossip to all of the girls about what a "whore" I was, but I didn't care. Not after what had just happened.
"Wow, look at the time. Perhaps it is best if I head off to bed." Tom said as he looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the common room and noticed the late hour.
I only sent him a nod as I wanted to hide my disappointment that he wanted to go to bed and didn't want to keep kissing me.
"I suppose I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I didn't ask you on a date after that. Hogsmeade is still two weeks away, but Professor Slughorn is having a 'Slug Club' party tomorrow night. Say, why don't you come as my date." Tom asked me.
I was caught a little off guard and was incredibly flattered. I used the new fire burning inside to compose myself quickly and respond in the best possible way.
"I would love to escort you." I coyly smiled.
"Good. Because I would love to pick up from where we just left." Tom growled lowly to me, giving me one last rough kiss before he turned around and descended to the seventh year boy's dormitory.
When he had turned away and was out of both sight and earshot I let out a loud happy sigh as I fell back onto the couch. I felt a little superficial but I had just had my first kiss – with the handsome and popular Head Boy. Things were really going my way today.