Sorry updates have been slow lately, and just a heads up, they'll be slow for the next two weeks. I've got so much going on at the moment - I work a pretty grueling full time job that I've had to put a bit of overtime in at the moment. Add an important exam in two weeks and wedding planning, things are a bit hectic. On the bright side though after exams I won't have any study for a while and I'm also taking annual leave from work around then so I plan to pump out some updates.

In response to the reviews-

Kavernista - unfortunately the manipulations will continue even though this chapter puts a stop to some (you'll see what I mean soon!) but at least this chapter is paving the way for more Newt, which I think we can all celebrate :)

Guest - I am honoured you re-read my stories - and I re-read your reviews regularly :) Even though I write Mary's character I can't decide whether I like her or not either! Tori is a sweet, sensitive and naive type so I think she reads too much into what Mary says but at the same time Mary is a smart girl who accidentally blurt things out not realising how they sound, which is a bit rude. As for your comments about Newt - all will be revealed in good time, some of which will be coming very, VERY soon (i.e. next chapter).

AnadoraBlack - Thanks for your reviews as always. I feel good that Riddle makes you feel that way, that's my intentions. We as the readers fall for the manipulations a bit but still are sceptical as hell of him. In all honestly I'm just glad that message is coming across - therefore you can see Riddle isn't out of character when he does the sweet/charming stuff, it's just part of his manipulation act.

CarlyLynn - Once again thanks for your words of encouragement. It's really sweet and means a lot to me. Thank you xx

It had been two weeks since the Slug Club party, and to say I was a little confused was a little bit of an understatement. I had barely spoken to Tom in that time. After I woke up alone on the couch (and endured a lot of light teasing from my fellow Slytherins) I attempted to sit next to Tom at breakfast but he was sitting with his group of friends and said we would talk later, refusing to make room for me.

Later that same night he was still with his friends and didn't acknowledge me as I returned to the common room. There were three whole days of this behaviour from him until I finally confronted him during our Transfiguration lesson where I sat next to him and asked why he was avoiding me.

"Oh, I'm sorry Tori. I understand I've been a little distant lately. Things are just really stressful with my Head Boy duties, as well as N.E.W.T exam preparation." He explained, before we lightly chatted in-between demonstrations from Dumbledore.

I was a little sceptical of this revelation. But that same day I came across Mary Figglestill and Andrew Hartwell hand-in-hand in the corridor and stopped for a quick chat. Mary asked me if Tom was okay, apparently even at prefect meetings he was distracted and not his usual social self – to which Andrew made a sarcastic comment at Tom's expense.

Therefore I felt a little better that he was being distant with others and it wasn't just towards me.

However I was now getting a little sick of it, and I was also a little hurt. I had previously told him I felt he was being a little too hot-and-cold towards me and he assured me he didn't mean to be like that and assured me that he really liked me. I had also poured my heart out to him in our chat and he did the same, and now he was being lukewarm towards me. It wasn't a nice feeling, it almost made me feel really stupid for believing him.

This is why I was surprised when he approached me as I was seated at a table in the common room doing Herbology homework.

"Tori, would you accompany me on a walk around the castle?" he asked me formally.

My face went red as the same inadequate feelings rose inside me that would always appear at the beginning of his courtship. It felt as if it had been so long without his company that my growing strength had reset and once again I felt like that awkward girl that wasn't good enough for the handsome and charming Tom Riddle.

"S-sure." I stuttered, as I accepted his hand to help me up and packed my books up quickly.

I saw every eye in the common room on us, everyone must have also noticed Tom and I hadn't been very close these past two weeks. I ignored them as we left them all behind, finding ourselves in the corridor.

I looked at Tom expectantly. Usually when we left the common room together and found ourselves alone he would latch onto me suddenly and not let me go for a while. I shouldn't have predicted this based on how odd he had been towards me these past two weeks – perhaps it was wishful thinking but I was surprised Tom didn't kiss me passionately. I may have had the courage two weeks ago to kiss him myself, but once again his intense demeanour made me feel shy and meek.

"Come on, let's go somewhere we won't be interrupted." Tom said as he took a few paces in an attempt to further lead me away from the entrance of the common room.

This was when I realised something was different. I knew something was going on his head that was causing him to push me away (stress from his duties perhaps?) but it was at that moment I suspected things would not go back to the way they were beforehand. Tom would always grab my hand where possible, sometimes I thought he perhaps did not realise he was doing so. But tonight this was not the case – in this instance he wanted me to follow him based on his body language and not by his gentle touch. This was very out of character for him, and I also had no clue what our night time stroll was for – it clearly wasn't to pick up where we left off at our deep talk two weeks ago.

We began to walk in silence and it was the first time in a very long time I had felt uncomfortable in Tom's presence. I felt the tension was so thick in the air it could be sliced with a knife – did Tom feel this uncomfortable? Did he feel the tension?

"I really am sorry I haven't been there for you recently. I've still been keeping a watch over you, and made sure no one has been causing you grief. I will always do this for you. I hope you know that." Tom said once we reached a very secluded corridor, and for the first time in a long time he showed me affection by holding my hand and looking deep into my eyes as he did so.

"I-I believe you." I automatically stammered out, matching his gaze with my own nervous smile, looking into his eyes as well.

"Which is why what I'm about to do is possibly the most difficult thing I have ever had to face, and I haven't exactly lived a plain life." Tom mentioned, a very rare smile forming across his face but for the first time ever I felt I could read him – I could see that smile did not contain an ounce of happiness.

I frowned at this revelation as I didn't know what Tom was trying to say. Tom took the most difficult subjects at school. He was Head Boy and found himself in very complex situations regularly, his most impressive achievement was probably tracking down what had killed that girl two years ago. So why was his most difficult task what he was about to tell me? What was going on?

He sighed and ran a hand through his neat hair. I bit my lip as I saw his hair turn dishevelled – it made him look even more good looking, even though I didn't think that was possible. Being in his close presence again made my heart go wild, my teenage feelings going crazy.

"I see a future with you Tori. I really do, I hope one day I will go down on one knee and ask you the most important question I will ever ask in a lifetime, and have the word 'yes' come from your beautiful lips." Tom mentioned.

I wanted to squeal in delight, I really did. If Tom had said that in any other context I would have outwardly expressed my happiness. Even though I wasn't the brightest witch I could tell Tom wasn't trying to be charming to make me delighted. He was going somewhere with this and it wasn't meant to be joyous. I was too sceptical to react positively to what Tom had just stated.

"That's why I'm doing what I'm about to do. In order to one day be a perfect husband for you, I need to work hard with my studies now. If I work really hard now, I'll be able to provide for you and our family later on." Tom said, still looking into my eyes as he brought a hand up to my face and stroked the side of it affectionately.

I took a step back. I was already hurt and confused by what was being said even though Tom had barely began to scrape the surface. I wasn't enjoying this situation being dragged out and I wanted him to just spit it out and put an end to this confusion.

"What are you trying to say, Tom?" I asked him coolly, the first time I had ever spoken to him in such a cold manner.

He was silent for a few moments but then eventually spoke and finally came out with what he was trying to say.

"In order to be the best husband and provider for you, I need to free myself from distractions now. You're so stunningly beautiful, I always find my mind wandering to you. If I see less of you for now, I might be able to clear my mind a little to focus on both my duties and my studies." Tom responded.

"So you don't want to see me anymore?" I asked sharply, attempting to get Tom to conclude what he had to say. I didn't want to be in this dark corridor with him anymore, I honestly just wanted to go to bed and be sad.

Tom hesitated. It was another first – I had never seen him squirm. No matter how flirty or seductive I had tried to be he always seemed to keep his cool. But now he almost seemed guilty, he was gaping and hesitating when he went to answer. It was very strange for Tom Riddle. I didn't know whether to feel sorry that this conversation was making him act odd or whether to be happy calling off this courtship was just as upsetting to him as it was to me.

"It would only be a temporary arrangement, until the end of school. I know this is a shock to you and doesn't excuse how I have been treating you the last two weeks. But I promise to you from the bottom of my heart I can give myself over to you completely at the end of the year." Tom added on.

We were silent for a while. He was still looking into my eyes deeply and touching the side of my face. I on the other hand had no idea what look I was shooting Tom. I was feeling hurt and confused even before Tom had even said he didn't want to see me anymore. Now I felt completely numb. I almost felt relief – now things were over I would no longer have to worry about him and not making a fool of myself in front of him. No more worrying about whether I was good enough or not – or whether he still liked me. Even though these thoughts were swimming around in my head I still couldn't bring myself to feel joy. I didn't feel anything.

"I want to go back to my dormitory." I finally spoke out loud, once again taking a step away from Tom.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion but he didn't attempt to reach out to me again. He clearly didn't get the response from me that he was expecting. I didn't even know what he was hoping I would say, nor did I know what I was supposed to feel.

"Okay. I'll accompany you back. But just think about my proposal. It's essentially not a break-up, but a hiatus. It's an investment into our future. I'll wait for you, if you wait for me." Tom said as we began to trudge back to the Slytherin dungeons.

"I didn't know we were together to begin with." I piped up, meaning to sound neutral but I could hear myself sound a little defensive after my statement came out.

I saw Tom frown once more. I wasn't sure whether Tom was letting emotions get the best of him or whether I was starting to know him more, but I felt I was now able to read him a lot easier. I could tell he was unimpressed with these turn of events but to be honest so was I. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing, or saying. I felt quite awkward.

"Yes, well. It's been a very emotional discussion. We will speak about this at a later date when we are both more clearheaded. Good evening, Victoria." Tom said stiffly as we gave the password to get into the Common Room and parted ways.

For weeks I had been confused about the relationship growing between Tom and I. I had no idea whether we were together – or his feelings for me. I didn't know where our relationship was heading and over the last two weeks I had been perplexed at the lack of communication from Tom. Even though every single one of those questions had been answered tonight (some now in retrospect) I still felt even more bewildered.

I sighed as I flopped onto my four poster bed and shut the curtains. I felt like I wanted to cry myself to sleep but the tears wouldn't come, so instead I was reduced to letting my mind run wild, and play the night's events over and over into my mind, until I would eventually drift into sleep.

I sighed as I leaned against the pillars of the entrance to the castle, sitting on the stone steps. It was a Hogsmeade visit day but after the bombshell that Tom had dropped on me the previous night, I didn't feel like going. I attempted to sleep in but Beatrice woke me up thinking I had overslept. I told her I wasn't feeling well and would be staying back and soon I was left alone.

I thought all I needed was to sleep it off and things would feel much better and clearer in the morning. But I still felt as jaded as I did last night. I attempted to do homework in the common room as it was empty aside from a few stray first and second years, but I found it too hard to concentrate.

My mind still felt blank, but my emotions felt completely flat. I wasn't depressed or upset, but my mood overall was impassive towards the situation. I didn't feel myself – I was usually positive and upbeat so I decided to rug up and sit outside to get some fresh air.

It was as I was sitting outside on the steps I heard a scuttling noise. I ignored it to begin with but as I heard it get closer I jumped up and pointed my wand outwards. The source of the noises revealed itself as it scuttled towards me.

"Watch out!" A voice came from behind the creature hurling towards me.

Without hesitation I was able to identify exactly what the creature was – a Fire Crab, we learned about those in Care of the Magical Creatures in fourth year. I also remembered exactly how to stop one in its tracks.

"Rictusempra!" I shouted with a small wave of my wand, a jet of silver light coming out of my wand, knocking the crab over.

The source of the voice came to a skidding halt, a large cage being thrown over the crab. The size of the cage was massive and any normal person would have trouble carrying it, but the boy carrying it was rather large himself. I recognised him as the gamekeeper's (whose name was Ogg) assistant, the one that Tom got expelled two years ago. His name was Hagrid, I had spoken to him a few times after he was expelled, we spoke about creatures and beasts as he was the gamekeeper's assistant he had access to quite a few and he was just as passionate on the subject as I was.

I didn't know much about what happened when Hagrid was expelled, we regular students were not told much. All we knew was that a girl died and a beast was involved. I had never asked Hagrid about it as we hadn't spoken much aside the occasional hello, and I certainly wasn't confident enough to ask Tom about his biggest achievement when he was so modest about it. I could tell he didn't ever want to talk about it, he had never even hinted in conversation as to what happened. But from what I could gather it was all a big misunderstanding. I assumed Hagrid didn't know his beast was volatile and dangerous and although he didn't mean to bring in a beast that would harm humans, unfortunately his beast killed that girl. Therefore I wasn't afraid of him.

"Lucky yeh were there Victoria, would 'ave had ter have a very interestin' conversation with Ogg if that crab got a student." Hagrid cheerfully stated as he manhandled the Fire Crab into the heavy duty cage he had brought.

"You were the one behind it, you would have been the one blasted by its flames. It's a bit rude they come out of the rear end, but that's where they come from." I weakly smiled, Hagrid's cheerful manner making me feel a little better.

Before Hagrid could speak up I saw Newt running towards us, skidding to a halt moments from crashing into me. He held onto me for dear life, letting go of me once he steadied himself and he looked at me in shock.

"It's Hogsmeade weekend. Why are you here?" Newt asked me, ignoring whatever he was panicking about moments before he ran into me.

"Long story." I mumbled, finding it inappropriate to air my dirty laundry in front of someone I didn't know very well, as well as not wanting to mention anything about Tom in front of the boy who he got expelled.

"Professor Scamander, Victoria here caught the crab, yeh can go back to yeh duties." Hagrid said enthusiastically to Newt.

"What have I told you Rubeus? You're a member of faculty. Please call me Newt," Newt smiled to Hagrid but then turned to me "Victoria is very talented, I don't doubt for a second she didn't break a sweat whilst stopping that Fire Crab."

"I um-well. Fire Crabs are pretty easy to identify – their jewel shells give them away. It's why they're protected from Muggles, Muggles would want to harvest them for their shells, the same way they do with non-protected species such as elephants. With creatures that have hard shells you need to think outside the box a little as they are hard to stun – a tickling charm seemed a good way to stun the creature enough to get it back into its cage." I stammered out to begin with feeling a little shy as I wasn't used to being complimented on academic knowledge, but became confident by the end.

"Well you saved Hagrid's behind, he saw me on my stroll around the grounds and asked for my help to catch a Fire Crab on the run so I went searching for it, also intending to knock it with the tickling charm to temporarily stun the crab so we could get it back into its cage. Therefore, I have to award ten points to Slytherin for your help." Newt declared.

This made me feel better. Not just a tad better – but it made me beam. Newt had effortlessly managed to pull me from my slump and bring me back to life. I wasn't sure whether it was because he made me feel intelligent and adequate or just because he was Newt and had a sweet and cheery charm to him, but I now felt like myself again. All because of him.

"Once again thanks Victoria and Newt, yeh saved me from gettin' in trouble with Ogg. I'll see yeh both around." Hagrid politely said to Newt and I, effortlessly hoisting the large cage onto his shoulders and walking off back onto the school grounds, turning a corner and going out of sight.

"Now that we're alone, will you tell me why you didn't fancy going to Hogsmeade? I thought for sure that boyfriend of yours would have loved for you to accompany him." Newt asked me, putting two hands on my shoulders as he looked into my face, worry sketched across his own.

I debated for a moment on whether I should tell him or not. But then I decided I should just do it. Newt and I were friends…sort of. He'd most likely hear about it from someone once the news spread through the school. Considering I had overheard Slughorn gossiping about us once, it seemed even teachers would most likely hear the news.

"He's not my boyfriend. I know I've told you that before, but uh, he's now not my boyfriend more than ever." I attempted to explain, my face reddening as I started to feel really embarrassed to be speaking about this topic with a teacher, not realising I wasn't making any sense.

"I'm sorry, I don't get you." Newt responded, and I could see he was very curious about what I was trying to say.

"He was never my boyfriend. But um, he called things off. He said I was too distracting and he wants to focus on his studies. This is what I mean by he's now not my boyfriend more so than ever, because things are over." I weakly smiled, the happiness that Newt had made me feel before was draining rapidly as I felt incompetent and silly again as the fresh memories of Tom dumping me replayed in my mind.

"Oh," Newt said in shock, removing his hands from my shoulders as I could see he wasn't expecting me to say this, before he sent a small smile my way "Say, it's too cold to be out here. It's also too much of a shame for you to be all alone on a Hogsmeade weekend. Why don't you come to my office for tea? We can talk about what happened if you want, or not talk about it. You decide."