Tomita had finally gotten rid of her headmaster when the bells rang the curfew. Muttering loudly to her feet, she walked back to the Slytherin common room and sat down in a rugged chair by a window. She picked up a book lying at the coffee table beside her and started to read it half-heartedly. After Dumbledore eventually left her alone she had been feeling nauseous without knowing why. As she was browsing through the pages, she suddenly felt like she was being watched.
"Who's there?" She whispered. She knew it couldn't possibly be one of her housemates who had creeped out of bed, that she would've noticed. No, it must be someone who'd been there even before she returned. A shadow appeared on the wall across from the window and she flinched. "Who are you?" she said, louder this time.
"Calm down, Riddle, it's just me", said a very familiar, draggy voice. Tomita calmed herself and turned to look irritatedly at the head teacher of Slytherin, Severus Snape. "For Merlin's sake, professor, did you really have to frighten me like that?" Snape just smiled at her and flew a hand through his greasy hair. "Where were you yesterday, professor?", the still annoyed girl continued, "I was actually expecting you to show up at the graveyard, despite your fondness of Dumbledore and all."
Though vexed, Snape couldn't help but snigger at the sarcasm in his protege's voice. "I thought you would ask, but I still hoped you'd be smarter than that. How would it look to the staff if I showed up with a bunch of Death Eaters doing their dirty business? Silly girl, you know of my double spying!"
He was so irritated that he accidentally spat Tomita in the face. She just stared at him with a bubble of rage beginning to burst inside of her, and stood up. "You... you... Of course I know that! But I had hoped you'd be less of a coward now that my father has returned to health! It was a very important night, and you willingly missed it?! Haven't you wished for this as much as I have?" Her eyes filled with tears and she stood up with her fists clenched in anger. Snape looked away.
"What is this odd infatuation with the Dark Lord anyway? No, Tomita, I don't mean to offend you. But honestly, one might think... Ah, never mind." "One might think what, exactly, professor?" The witch's eyes were penetrating. "Odd infatuation, you say? Well, not that it's any of your business really, but yes, I may be slightly infatuated with him. Where's the oddity in that?" Snape just looked at her in disbelief. "But Tomita, darling, he is your father." He sat down in a chair a couple of metres away from Tomita's and put his hand over his eyes, stroking his forehead slowly forth and back.
"What right have you to blame me?" She closed her eyes and sat down again. "I have memories, you know, little fragments of them at least. From before the Potter incident, I mean." Snape looked up at her. "You remember him from when you were only two years old?" "Yes. Or well, not really. Like I said, I have these fragments of memories... Feelings, rather... Of being together with him, watching him doing his work with such great passion. I just know I've always loved him, and what reasons could I have to stop now?" She stood up yet again. "If you don't mind, professor, I'd like to go to bed now. I'm very sleepy." Snape stood up as well and watched her disappear up the staircase to the girls' dorm rooms.
Once alone in the dark room except for her sleeping friends, Tomita unbuttoned her shirt and threw it together with her skirt and stockings onto an already existing pile of clothes. "Where have the house elves been all day, I wonder..." she muttered to herself. She carefully folded her necktie and placed it on her night table. "Now where is my journal?" Having looked through her trunk twice, the now very tired girl gave up and went to bed.
After having slept for what felt like only ten minutes, Tomita was woken by a sudden bang. Shocked, she jumped out of bed and picked up her want from the night table. She spun around looking for whatever had made the sound, hearing her heart beat loudly in her ears. She had been waked by similar noises before and they always meant something terrible. Unable to find anything of suspicion, she just shrugged and looked out the window. The sun was just rising from its cold bed far away behind the grounds and mountains surrounding the castle. Tomita quickly dressed and went upstairs to catch some morning air. She figured the headmaster would still be asleep, or at least in his office, at such an hour.
"Hello there, Riddle" said someone right behind her. She flinched and turned around to find Ron Weasley standing with a smirk on his freckly face. "Weasley. What do you want, you dimwit?" He backed of a few feet, but kept his head high. "Hey, why the hostile tone? I just wanted to say hi." "Hi." She started walking away but Ron went in her way. "Where's Potter, I thought you couldn't breathe without him?" "He's asleep, you silly girl. And I can get by on my own!" "Good for you. Now sod off before I hex you." She decidedly walked away from him and out through the big gate. "Stupid boy... Wanted to say hi... Why would he want that?" she was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice she was being followed. With a deep sigh she sat down near the lake and started taking her shoes off. It was, after all, early summer and she just loved the feel of the wind between her toes.
"Riddle. What are you doing here all by yourself?" The barefooted girl looked up to see her younger cousin gazing down at her. "Draco, what gives me the pleasure?" She smiled bitterly at him and made no effort to get up. "Oh, nothing really. I couldn't help to see you with that Weasley earlier, though. What's up with that?" She shot a deadly glare at him. "What the bleeding hell is that supposed to mean? The way you said it made it sound like we were infatuated or something!" He sat down beside her with a snicker. "Well well, are you then? Or why else did you get so mad?" Tomita just sighed and calmed her voice. "Of course not. You know very well what I think of him and his friends. Why are you playing daft?" Malfoy laughed. "Daft? I'm just messing around with you." "Oh, how clever of you. Did you want something?"
He lay down and stretched out his legs. "Couldn't a cousin and friend just want to chat? Why are you being so hostile?" There was that word again, hostile. Was she really hostile? "I'm not. I just don't see why I can't spend a minute alone without some dunce interrupting my thoughts. One might think that with all the upcoming exams you'd be too occupied to run around like this." Another laugh. "Run around? I'm not running around. Just wanted to see you, that's all. It's been a while, you know. Now don't give me that look, I know you've never really fancied me, but we did grow up together." "So what? What difference does it make? It's not like I wanted it..."