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Into Your Gravity
Chapter Twelve: Apples
My wave, my shark, my demon in the dark,
the blue tide pulling me under.
Or are you my soul, my heart, pull everything apart?
Are you gonna, are you gonna be my love?
Shark - Oh Wonder
The following morning, when Luna emerged from the Ravenclaw common room, it was to find Tom waiting at the bottom of the spiral staircase up to the Tower. He was leaning against the wall across the corridor, hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. He appeared lost in thought, and he did not look up until Othello meowed at him from Luna's pocket.
"Oh!" He stood up straight. "Good morning."
Luna eyed him, the faintest bit wary. "Good morning."
Tom appeared to struggle for words for a moment, opening then shutting his mouth several time. Then he grimaced and said, "If you're going down to breakfast, we should walk together."
After searching his face for several long moments, Luna nodded. Without another word, they fell into step, side by side on their way to the Great Hall, walking in silence the majority of the way.
"You were quite frustrating yesterday," she said as they approached the breakfast table.
"So were you," he shot back, as he again pulled her chair out with a wave of his hand.
"I feel you were a far sight more frustrating," she replied, sitting down in the chair.
"I strongly disagree," he said, sitting down next to her.
Luna inspected him, and he met her gaze. Then she smiled. "You're extraordinarily exasperating."
"I'm extraordinary in a number of ways. And you're infuriating," Tom said. The faintest lopsided smirk crept onto his face despite his stern voice and raised eyebrow.
This seemed to settle the matter.
The next handful of days, the two were bordering upon inseparable. They met for every meal; Tom began to gain back some of the weight he had lost over the past few weeks, his pale face regaining some of its color, the dark circles under his eyes disappearing. He didn't argue when she followed him to the library each morning, where the whiled away hours together, sometimes engaging in conversation, and sometimes in silence side by side as they pursued their individual interests. In the afternoons, they either returned to the library or went for long walks around the school grounds.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, the two of them were in the library as per their new usual. They were seated at one of the tables, numerous books spread around them, but Luna had cleared an area just in front of them and was scribbling away at a piece of parchment.
"What is that?" Tom asked, looking down his nose at the drawing Luna was making for him.
"It's a Blibbering Humdinger, Thomas."
"Stop calling me that. It's not even my name, Lovegood."
"Stop calling me Lovegood, then."
"At least Lovegood is your actual name."
"Look at this, Tom, look at the way its wings are. . . ." And out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn he bit back a smile in spite of himself.
She was just in the process of explaining that the Humdinger's saliva was said to have properties more powerful than those of dragon's blood when a voice behind them interrupted. "Excuse me, Miss Lovegood?"
Both Tom and Luna turned around in their chairs to find Albus Dumbledore behind them. "Yes, sir?" Luna asked.
"I apologize for interrupting. I chose to wait until after breakfast since you two seemed so deep in conversation throughout the meal." Dumbledore was smiling, his eyes twinkling. "However, would you please come meet with me in my office for a few minutes?"
"Of course," Luna said, standing. She following him back to his office in which she had sat over three months prior. They resumed their previous positions on either side of the desk, and once Dumbledore had settled in to gaze at her over steepled fingers, Luna asked, "Have you found a way to send me back, sir?"
"Very shrewd of you, Miss Lovegood. Perhaps I just wanted company for my morning tea and crumpets," Dumbledore said.
"Well, that's quite all right, too. I love crumpets, and I rather enjoy your company."
Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm afraid you were correct in your initial assumption as to why I brought you here. I have not as yet discovered a way for you to return to your own time, but I wanted to discuss the progress with you. I am attempting to make a reverse Time-Turner, which proving to be even more difficult that I had imagined."
Luna did feel quite disappointed, though she was far more curious about the hint of relief she felt at the same time. "That's all right, Professor."
"You will have to remain in the past for at least a while longer," he added, eyeing her.
"I'm doing well here. I don't mind. I've made friends here," she replied.
"Yes, I've noticed. Miss Litner, Miss Viridian, and Miss McTavish have continued to be your companions throughout the last weeks."
"Yes, I adore them. I do miss my family and friends from my own time, but having Cat, Lorraine, and Lucinda here makes it much more pleasant. I'm becoming very close to them."
"I've also noticed you're spending quite a bit of time with Tom Riddle, despite your potions partnership having concluded some time ago."
Luna gazed back at Dumbledore, feeling him search her face, much as he had the first time he had brought up Tom to her and implied she should reach out to the boy. She would have liked to have discussed the matter plainly with Dumbledore, but knew she could not due to his request that she not discuss the future with him.
"Did Tom, by any chance, mention that today is his birthday?" Dumbledore asked.
She raised her eyebrows. "No, he didn't mention it at all."
"I'm not surprised. I've noticed that he rather enjoys cultivating a bit of an enigmatic persona. Not unlike some other brilliant witches and wizards I have known."
"It's a very important birthday," Luna said. "His seventeenth. He's of age."
Dumbledore nodded. "A very important birthday, indeed, for a wizard."
"I suppose if he'd wanted presents he would have made a point to tell me it was his birthday," Luna said, chewing on her bottom lip.
"I suspect he is not accustomed to receiving presents for his birthday, given his upbringing and that the date always falls on winter holiday here," Dumbledore added.
"Yes, I suspect you're right. He was extremely uncomfortable when I gave him a Christmas present."
"I imagine he was. That was a very kind thing for you to do." Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair. "Miss Lovegood, I will be frank with you. Tom Riddle is quite a worry to me. I encourage your friendship, so long as it is something for which you also wish."
"It is," she replied without missing a beat, without having to think about it.
Dumbledore smiled at her kindly and peered over the rims of his glasses. "You may be, as they say, just what the Healer ordered."
Luna returned the smile. "Thank you, sir."
"What are your plans tonight?" Luna asked Tom that night at dinner.
"My plans?" he repeated.
"Yes. Around, oh, half past eleven or so."
"Nearly midnight? What are my plans at nearly midnight?" He stared at her.
"Yes." She ignored his stares, buttering a dinner roll. "I should like for you to meet me in the Astronomy Tower; however, if you have other plans, I understand, as I have asked you on quite short notice."
"Lovegood, what plans do you think I have at nearly midnight when the school is empty?"
"I haven't the foggiest idea, but you're a very busy and mysterious man. I thought it would be polite to ask if you had plans before inviting you."
He was intrigued in spite of himself. "What on earth do you want me to meet you in the Astronomy Tower so late for?"
"I intend on leaving that to your imagination."
Tom narrowed his eyes at her, but he did not push any further, knowing that she expected him to and not wanting to give her the satisfaction.
Later that night, after a great deal of deliberation and attempting to talk himself out of going, Tom's curiosity got the better of him. He gave a heavy sigh and hauled himself up off a couch in the Slytherin common room. He snatched his cloak. Feeling more and more frustrated with himself every step of the way, he left the common room and headed towards the Astronomy Tower.
When he exited the spiral staircase on top of the Astronomy Tower, stepping outside into the cold December night, it was to find Luna already there. She was seated in one of the wide crenels of the battlement, leaning her shoulder against the stone to her left, her feet dangling off the side of the tower. She had the hood of her cloak down, and her face was turned upward, toward the sky.
"That's not the safest place to sit, now is it?" he asked from behind her.
Luna glanced over her shoulder at him. "Perhaps not. I like it, though. Come sit next to me."
Tom was not enthused about sitting on the edge of the highest tower in the castle. "Why did you ask me to come here?"
"Well, I heard it was your birthday."
This was not what he had expected her to say. "And?"
She patted the stone next to her, indicating where she would like him to sit. "And I thought it might be nice to sit with you in the last moments of your seventeenth birthday and welcome the new year together. It isn't every night you turn seventeen."
"No, I suspect it only happens once," he snarked. But he edged closer, hands clasped behind his back until he sat down beside her with care, vertigo washing over him as he dangled his own feet over the edge of the tower and he looked down into the blackness below. "What makes you think I would want to spend my seventeenth birthday with you?" he asked.
"Well, if you didn't want to, you wouldn't be here, would you? You aren't particularly known for doing things you don't want to do."
He avoided her question. "I could be sleeping right now. I've been very tired lately."
"Why have you been tired lately?" she asked, turning her eyes on him that shone like the moon.
His mind raced towards thoughts of diaries and fathers and fractured souls. His eyes darted towards the ring on his finger on the hand between them, the one whose knuckles were paler than the rest of his hand from gripping the edge of the stone, then back to her face. He was more sure than ever she could tell exactly what he was thinking, but he lied anyway. "You know I don't sleep well."
"Mm," she hummed.
Tom was struck by how much she could communicate to him without saying a word. In one little sound she had conveyed all her sentiments to him. It was thoughtful and noncommittal. It was infuriating in its obviousness that she did not believe him, but would not say so. He looked away from her, mimicking her earlier stargazing.
After a moment, she returned her gaze to the sky as well. They sat in silence for some time. A shooting star burst into light and blazed across the night sky before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
"Did you make a wish?" she asked, her soft voice breaking the stillness of the cold night.
"Of course not," Tom said.
"Why not? I did."
"Because it doesn't matter. It's not real."
"You've never wished on a shooting star?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her face turn towards him again.
Tom paused. He thought of late nights in his orphanage window, sitting alone. Resentment and anger twisted knots in his chest like old friends. "I have before. But stargazing is for fools."
She did not ask any additional questions. Instead, she turned her eyes away from him once again, and a few moments later, he felt the edges of her hand touching his own where they both were gripping the edge of the stone between them. It was the faintest touch, just the borders of their skin pressing against one another along the side of their hands. Her skin was warmer than his. He did not move his hand.
Luna lifted her other hand to glance at her wristwatch. "It's nearly midnight. Your birthday is almost over. It's almost a new year."
"None of these are things I particularly care about," he said, rolling his eyes, even as his mind was preoccupied with rather repetitive thoughts about the few inches of her skin touching his. "Nothing remarkable will happen at midnight."
She ignored him. "Let's countdown to 1944 together." Holding her arm across her so that he could see the watch as well, they watched the second hand tick towards midnight. Thirty seconds...twenty seconds...Luna was now leaning her right shoulder into his left, and he was very aware of her weight against him. When there were only ten seconds left, Luna started to count out loud, her breath frosting between them. "Ten...nine…."
Tom felt his heart pick up its pace in his chest, and he cursed it, loathe that she might be able to somehow sense it. What are you so excited for, you filth?
"...three...two...one." All three hands of her watch were pointing to the twelve for a moment that hung in time, then the second hand carried on its way into the new year.
Tom was caught by surprise when Luna turned towards him, wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him. His entire body stiffened as though frozen in the winter night. Then the hug was over, extinguishing just like the shooting star.
"Happy new year, Tom," she said, giving him a benign smile. "And I hope you had a happy birthday."
After blinking at her in bewilderment for a moment, Tom stood up, gripping the stones to steady himself, and then backed away from her several steps. "I need to go to bed now. You've kept me up quite late enough with this nonsense," he said in a stilted voice.
Smile untouched, she nodded, watching his progress. "Of course. Goodnight. Sleep well."
Without another word, he turned on his heel, cloak swishing in the night. He slipped back in through the door and began descending the stairs of the tower, breathing just a bit harder than normal. By the time he had returned to the Slytherin common room, he had regained his self control, feeling calm again. It was simple. He just wouldn't tell her that it was the birthday he had enjoyed the most so far in his life.
Before Luna knew it, the other students had returned from their vacations, and it was the morning of the first day of the new term. She was seated at the Ravenclaw table, listening politely as Cat raged on about how obnoxious she found her four younger brothers.
"Of course, they're always horrible. I'm the only magical one in the family. They're so jealous, it makes them sick. So they know I can't do magic away from school, and I tell you, they take full advantage of it every break, the miserable gits." Cat rambled on and on, inducing Lorraine to roll her eyes from behind the book she was reading, and Lucinda to stand up in the middle and move farther along the table to flirt with boys.
Cat paused mid-rant to breathe, then to offer Luna a silver pitcher and say, "Apple juice, Luna?"
Before Luna could decline, a voice from behind her said, "She doesn't like apple juice."
Luna, Cat, and Lorraine all turned to look at who had spoken. Tom Riddle stood there, hands clasped behind his back, looking down his nose at them.
Cat side-eyed Tom with suspicion, then glanced at Luna. "You don't like apple juice, Luna?" she asked.
"I don't believe in apples," Luna answered, shaking her head.
Cat opened her mouth, most likely to ask how someone could not believe in apples, but Tom interrupted. "Are you ready for Potions?" he asked Luna, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice, his eyes darting around the Great Hall.
Luna glanced to Lorraine, who also would be heading to Potions, but Lorraine waved her on ahead, a tinge of pink in her cheeks as she avoided eye contact with Tom. "You go ahead," Lorraine muttered. "I'll wait for that one down there." She jerked a thumb down the table towards Lucinda, who was laughing with several seventh year boys.
Standing, Luna gathered her books. "I'll see you, then," she said to her friends, then left with Tom, leaving Cat gaping at her retreating back. As they crossed the Great Hall, Luna noted that Tom seemed surlier than he had been over the holidays, with the corners of his mouth and eyebrows being tugged downwards as though due to gravity. "What's the matter?" she asked him.
He glanced over his shoulder at the other students in the Great Hall, many of whom had been watching the two of them leave together with great interest. Waving a hand back at the other students in a vague gesture, Tom said, "That's what the matter is."
Luna performed an about face in the entrance of the Great Hall in order to stare back at the other students, who giggled and started whispering to each other. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on," he snapped, tugging at her elbow to keep her moving. Once she had fallen back into step beside him, he said, "They were all staring at us."
"People always look at me that way," she said, just as she began to hop from one stone in the corridor to the next with her feet together as though she were in a Leg Locker Curse.
Tom rolled his eyes. "Odd, that. Yes, but they don't look at me that way."
"Oh, I see. You don't want to be friends now that school's back in," she said, continuing to hop alongside him one step at a time as they descended the stairs to the dungeons.
"That's not what I said."
Luna was pleased he hadn't argued that they weren't friends again, but was prepared to push him further. "Does that mean you'll be my partner in Potions again?" She reached the bottom of the staircase with a final jump and turned to look at him.
"Well, I - I mean, I don't know. The Slytherins won't shut up about it if I do."
"Does it matter?" she asked, blinking at him. To her surprise, her breath seemed caught in her throat as she waited for him to answer. When was the last time she had assigned a great deal of value to if someone was willing to be seen with her or not?
Tom inspected her face and seemed to be weighing his options. Then he shook his head. "I suppose they'll just have to learn to get used to it. I can do what I bloody well want."
Luna beamed at him, a wave of relief washing over her, then they continued to the Potions classroom. As they settled in at the front table at which Tom always sat, Lucinda and Lorraine walked in. When they saw her sitting with Tom, they began to giggle and grin.
"I'll be working with Tom today, if that's all right," Luna told her friends.
"Sure, Luna, of course," Lucinda replied, then they continued on toward their usual table.
A few moments later, Malfoy and Nott walked in from the corridor just as Slughorn appeared from his office off the classroom. Slughorn was busy greeting some of the other students, and sour looks appeared on Malfoy and Nott's faces as they saw Luna sitting beside Tom.
"What is this, Riddle?" Malfoy snarled. "Her again? I thought you would have taken care of this by now."
"Did you two get cozier over the holidays?" Nott said with a chuckle.
"Unless I am much mistaken, I don't need to explain myself to either of you," Tom drawled back. "And besides, Lovegood here happens to be much more adept than either one of you worthless gits at brewing potions."
"Language, Tom!" Slughorn had bustled over to say hello. "But I'm afraid he's quite right, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Nott. Your exams at the end of last term were certainly lackluster. Miss Lovegood here, on the other hand, achieved the second best scores! After only Tom, of course." Slughorn beamed at Luna and Tom.
"Thank you, sir," Tom said in an unctuous tone.
"Yes, thank you, sir," Luna repeated, but her eyes were on Malfoy and Nott, who were slinking away to another table with sullen faces, looking cowed.
Once Slughorn had moved on to the front of the room to begin his lecture at the beginning of class, Luna whispered to Tom, "Why are they so afraid of you?"
Tom chuckled in a dark way, sending a shiver down her spine. "You don't want to know."
Deciding if he wasn't going to talk, she could at least put the time together to good use, Luna pulled out the drawing of the Humdinger she had been drawing for him over the holidays.
"Why did you bring that?" Tom hissed once Slughorn's brief lecture concluded, staring at the drawing with obvious distaste. "We're supposed to be working on our potion."
"Because I wasn't done explaining it to you, Tom. Now, look. . . ." She babbled into Tom's ear as he mashed their beetles into a fine powder, telling him all that she knew about the Humdinger. It was just as she started on the great Humdinger migration of 1827 when the piece of parchment with the drawing on it caught fire in her hands. "Oh!" she cried, dropping the parchment.
A few Slytherins around them snickered.
Luna watched the parchment curl into flames on their table top for a moment, then a jolt of excitement raced through her and she gasped. "Ooh, Tom, it must have been a heliopath! They can turn invisible when they want to!"
Tom, not seeming to share her excitement, instead looked at her incredulously as he tucked his wand back into his pocket. Luna spent the rest of the class in a buzz of enthusiasm, convinced she had had contact with a heliopath. Tom did not contradict her.