Disclaimer: If you know it, I do not own it.

Not My Heart

February arrived, cold and dreary.

Well, the weather was cold and dreary. Draco didn't feel as he usually did when February arrived: tired of winter and ready for spring. In fact, Draco felt quite content. He was downright cheery, till he remembered Valentine's Day.

"What the hell am I supposed to do for Valentine's Day?" he blurted out the Friday night before their first Apparation lesson while everyone was getting ready for bed.

Everyone stared. Draco turned red.

"It's a commercial holiday," Tom proclaimed, fluffing his pillow.

Finnigan mouthed the words Tom had said while Thomas rolled his eyes deeply.

"A book!" Neville suggested. "Hermione loves books. Can't go wrong with a book."

"And some flowers," Thomas offered. "Girls like flowers. Chocolates are a little iffy, though."

"Yeah, they might think you're tryin' to fatten 'em up," Finnigan unhelpfully added.

"What?" Draco bewilderedly asked. "Why would they think that?"

"I believe we now know why Seamus has never had a girlfriend," Thomas snickered, elbowing his friend in the ribs. "Books and flowers, mate. Can't go wrong."

"I love chocolate," Tom proclaimed. "As does my father."

Finnigan and Thomas both stared at Tom as if he was two screws short of a set.

"He does?" Harry asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes. He loves the stuff. He's utterly obsessed with it."

Harry blinked, looking massively befuddled.

"Trivia about TR DeVinette everyone," Finnigan muttered, getting into bed. "Thanks, Tom."

"You're welcome," Tom said. "My dad loves chocolate."

Harry looked at Draco for help, but Draco shut his curtains. He didn't want to deal with the Tom and Harry Show tonight as after two months at school with the pair, he was no closer to figuring out if they were, in fact, boyfriends or still "friends."

Draco lay in bed, staring at the canopy and listening to the boys fall asleep for almost an hour before he heard Harry get out of his bed and into Tom's.

"Are you trying to tell me you like chocolate? Because last I checked, you didn't really," Harry whispered.

"I do love chocolate. As does Lupin."

"What?"

Draco could picture the smug look on Tom's face.

"Remus loves chocolate. Everyone always gives him books, but no one gives him chocolate. Well, except Sirius."

"I am so confused."

"And it's a lovely look on you. Now to sleep."

"Tom."

"What?"

"Do you want chocolate?"

"Yes."

"For Valentine's Day?"

"No. Tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay. Good."

Tom didn't reply and there was no further noise in the room other than Neville snores.

Draco closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.

The next morning was rainy, cold, and dreary. Perfect day to pretend to learn how to Apparate.

"How are you going to fake it?" Hermione quietly asked while the sixth years milled around the Entrance Hall after breakfast.

"Screw up my face and look constipated?" Draco offered.

Hermione slapped him on the arm.

"I've never done this before," Tom said, standing stiff and straight. He was more pale than usual and his eyes were extra bright.

"None of us have," Harry pointed out. "Well, except Draco. And the teachers."

"It's a pain to learn. It's truly difficult," Draco teased.

Tom's posture changed and he turned to face Draco. He quirked an eyebrow as he said, "You figured it out."

"I did. I was never actually licensed, though," Draco admitted. "It wasn't exactly high on the list when I returned for the summer."

"Was Potter?" Harry asked. "License, I mean."

"Not that I was aware of," Draco said. "Though, he was wanted for more serious things than Apparating without a license."

The conversation was halted as the doors to the Great Hall banged open. Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway and beckoned them all in. Upon entering, the group found all the tables had vanished and been replaced by rows of hoops. Draco frowned, thinking that last time the hoops hadn't appeared till after the Ministry official had spoken to them.

"Find a hoop and wait for instructions," McGonagall barked.

The sixth years all scurried around to find hoops by their friends. Draco glanced around, seeing Nott having a heated argument with Crabbe and Goyle. He jerked his head towards them. Hermione nodded, grabbing Tom's hand and hauled him up front. Draco grabbed Harry and dragged him towards the back where Nott and his cronies were gathering.

"I don't know how much longer, all right?" Nott whispered furiously as he stood by a hoop and completely oblivious to the fact Draco and Harry were in front of him. "It's taking longer than expected."

Crabbe snorted.

"Shut up," Nott hissed.

Crabbe opened his mouth.

"I said shut up. It's none of your business what I'm doing. I just need you to look out and keep me apprised of what's going on. Goyle, too. That's all I need."

"You know," Draco said over the noise of the Great Hall as everyone got situated. "If I was doing something that required my friend's help, I'd tell them what I was doing. Trust me."

Draco bore his eyes into Nott's when the weedy boy spun around. He didn't look furious or upset. He looked tired, more tired than Draco had felt by this point in his sixth year.

And he didn't reply to Draco. Or pull his wand. He stared.

"Shut up," Crabbe said. "It's none of your business what we talk about."

"No, it's not."

"QUITE!" rang out the holler from all four Head of House.

Draco turned his back on Nott and faced forward to listen to the opening remarks of the Ministry official.

After an hour of pretending he was trying to Apparate, Draco left the hall with Harry and headed for the Common Room.

"That was horrible," Tom proclaimed when he caught up. "Why does anyone want to do that?"

Tom, of course, had mastered Apparation before anyone else. While Susan Bones had managed Splinching herself, no one other than Tom had achieved anything of interest.

"You've only done it once," Hermione gently said, patting Tom on the arm.

"And it was horrible," Tom insisted. "Worse than doing Side-Along."

"Really?" Harry asked scrunching up his nose. "Why are all wizarding traveling methods painful?"

"No pain, no gain," Draco offered.

"So, what was Nott up to?" Hermione asked, hooking her arm through Draco's.

"Not much. Fighting over what he's doing with Crabbe and Goyle," Draco offered. "Though, he had no witty come back when I said he ought to tell them what he was doing. He simply stared at me."

"You never told your two cronies?" Tom inquired as they started up the stairs.

"No. Never."

"Maybe Nott will," Tom mused. "We ought to keep an eye on them."

"We know what he's doing," Harry pointed out.

"Ah, but we don't know if he'll tell Crabbe and Goyle what he is doing."

"They'll help him," Draco pointed out. "I didn't tell them, partly because I was embarrassed it was taking me so long and partly because I wanted the glory for myself in all my sixteen-year-old wisdom—"

"By this point did you think of the glory?"

"No. I'd been home for the holidays," Draco remembered and shuddered. "I didn't tell them because…it was how I was. I didn't tell anyone what I was doing. Ever."

"Well, you know Crabbe and Goyle best."

"They'll be anxious to help, to show the Dark One they're loyal," Draco said. "Actually, we should keep an eye on them. They might do something stupid."

As February wore on, Crabbe and Goyle, in fact, didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary other than not being with Nott. Crabbe and Goyle were often by themselves while Nott was elsewhere.

"Maybe they're growing apart?" Harry suggested on the morning of Valentine's Day. "So, book and flowers?"

"Book and flowers," Draco agreed, going to his trunk to fish out the presents. "Best go down to catch her before she takes breakfast."

Draco hurried out of the dormitory. Upon entering the Great Hall, he found Hermione seated at the Ravenclaw table, working away on piles of homework. She was, thankfully, alone. She smiled when he sat down.

"You look a little nervous," she observed with a grin.

"How can you tell?"

"I know you quite well," she quipped, quirking an eyebrow. "I also know the date."

She pulled a huge, flat box out of her book bag and handed it to him. He studied her for a moment before handing her the flowers and book.

"Oh, Draco, they're beautiful," Hermione breathed, taking the flowers and sniffing them.

Draco silently thanked Neville for his help in picking flowers out, as Draco had no clue what to do there.

Draco popped the lid on the box and found himself faced with massive amounts of chocolate.

"Lovely!" Tom said, plunking one of the chocolates out of the box as he sat down.

"Tom," Hermione chided as she opened the book and gasped. "I've always wanted this! Thank you Draco!"

Draco blushed and nodded. "Thank you, Hermione. I adore chocolate."

"I had no idea what to get you. You are so hard to shop for," Hermione complained, sniffing the flowers as Tom stole another chocolate.

"I hate you," Draco told Tom, smacking him on the back of the head and trying to mess his hair up.

He failed to mess the kid's hair but got an angry look before Tom purloined more chocolate.

"What are you doing up so early, Tom?" Hermione asked as Draco moved the huge box out of Tom's reach.

"Harry woke early, along with all the other boys who have girlfriends, which is all of them except Harry and Neville."

"You've got a girlfriend?" Draco asked. "Who?"

Tom gave Draco a dark look before snatching another chocolate as hopped off the bench before Draco could punch him in his perfect nose.

After Valentine's Day, February flew by. Draco was surprised when he realized that March was about to begin.

"I can't believe they canceled the next Hogsmeade trip," Weasley complained loudly from somewhere behind Draco during Potions on the last day of February. "It was on my birthday. Now all I have is that stupid lesson to look forward to."

"Just think of all the places you'll go once you're out of school and can Apparate," Zabini suggested.

"Big birthday treat that will be," Weasley grumbled.

The next Saturday, which was evidently Weasley's birthday, dawned gray and chilly, just like every other day since they'd arrived back at school from the holidays.

"I was kinda hoping for a change in the weather," Harry grumbled as he searched through his trunk, discarding things left and right. "Have you seen my jeans? The ones without the holes in the knees?"

Draco looked up to find most of Harry's trunk all over the dormitory floor. Tom was seated on his bed turning a package of Chocolate Cauldrons over in his hands with a greedy look in his eyes. He glanced at Harry, then tore into the package when Harry didn't seem to realize he'd given Tom a box of chocolates (along with several pairs of pants, a few stinky socks, and a trick wand, but Tom didn't seem to notice these things since he had chocolate. Draco hadn't realized the kid liked chocolate so much).

"Haven't seen them," Draco lied.

The jeans were stuffed under Tom's bed. Draco had a theory Tom had a thing about Harry's knobby knees showing and didn't really want to think about it too closely.

Tom stuffed his face merrily with chocolate.

Draco rolled his eyes and finished getting ready.

"Ready?" he asked Harry as Harry sighed and pulled on his jeans with the ripped knees.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Draco was in the hall heading for the stairs when he realized he didn't have Harry behind him. He turned and poked his head back into the room to find Harry staring at Tom with a horrified expression. Draco could really figure out why. Tom was leaning on the bedpost, staring out the rain-washed window with a strange look on his handsome face. Granted, he was wearing a very unfocused expression, so maybe that was why Harry was worried? Or maybe Harry was finally seeing that Tom loved chocolate more than him, evidently?

"Tom?"

"Huh?"

"It's time for breakfast," Harry said.

"I'm not hungry."

"Of course not," Draco drawled. "You just ate a whole package of Chocolate Cauldrons."

"What?" Harry squeaked, whirling to face Draco. "Where did he get them?"

"You threw them at his head."

Harry let out a high pitched noise and fell over.

"What is going on?" Draco demanded.

"It's not that," Tom insisted, not seeming to notice Harry had fallen over and was in the mists of having a panic attack. "You wouldn't understand."

"Breathe," Draco ordered Harry, kneeling down. "What is wrong?"

"Love…potion…spike…girl…oh….god…"

Draco fell backward and stared at Tom, feeling utterly horrified. Those chocolates had been spiked with Love Potion. And had been sitting Harry's trunk since before the holidays.

"I can't stand it!" Tom wailed, launching himself across the room. "I can't stop thinking about her!"

He yanked on his hair while Harry got himself under control and knelt on the ground. Draco swallowed.

"What are we going to do?" Harry moaned. "What do you do when someone ingests love potion?"

"You usually have to wait till it wears off, but…he ate the whole box and…love potions get stronger with age."

Harry cursed darkly.

"She doesn't know I exist!" Tom lamented with a desperate gestures. "How can she not know I exist?!"

"Who?" Draco asked, darting in front of Harry who looked heartbroken as he slowly got to his feet. "Who doesn't know you exist?"

"Romilda Vane," Tom breathed, looking love sick.

It was not a good look for the boy.

"Oh, god," Harry moaned, banging his head on the ground.

"I love her," Tom went on in a strangled voice. "I love her. Have you seen her hair? It's all black, shiny and silky. And those big dark eyes…"

Tom swayed a little, a dreamy expression falling over his face.

Draco wanted to throw up.

"What are we going to do?" Harry moaned.

"We'll have to take him to Slughorn," Draco decided. "He'll have an antidote. All potions professors do."

"Why not Madam Pomfrey? I mean, wouldn't she have one, being a school and all. Accidental love potion ingestion might be common."

"I did not ingest a love potion," Tom insisted. "Those things are vile and my love is pure."

Draco and Harry exchanged looks.

Draco really wanted to take Tom to Slughorn to see what the man would do, but also because there was a little naggy feeling in his brain that kept telling him Slughorn over Pomfrey.

"Okay. Okay. Uh, he actually likes Pomfrey, so I guess we'll take him to Slughorn."

"What?" Draco asked, looking at Harry. "That made no sense."

"It didn't, did it? This is a Time thing, isn't it?"

"So it would seem," Draco sighed. "Slughorn hates him. Pomfrey likes him. We really should take him to her."

"But, I also now really want to take him to Slughorn. Because he likes me. A lot."

"There is a reason Time wants us to go to Slughorn's office. What could it be?"

"I wish I could meet her," Tom breathed, flopping onto Neville's unmade bed. "Just be in the same room with her would be heaven."

"Oh, crap," Draco muttered. "I know why. I sent Slughorn poison mead to give to Dumbledore, but he didn't give it to Dumbledore and the Weasel wound up poisoned."

Harry made a face at Draco, then turned to Tom and said, "I know where she is."

"You do?" Tom asked, face brightening. He launched himself at Harry. "She did like you before Christmas. Do you think she'll take me instead of you? I am taller."

"You are taller," Harry quickly agreed. "But since she did like me, but I don't like her at all, I can introduce you."

"You don't like her?"

"Not in the way you do," Harry insisted, peaking at Draco. Draco nodded. "She'll be with Slughorn. She has extra lessons."

"Oh, maybe I could have them with her?" Tom suggested eagerly. "Let's go."

He grabbed Harry and towed him out of the room.

"Out of my way! Harry's going to introduce me to Romilda Vane!" Tom proclaimed to whoever he knocked over on the stairs.

Draco hurried out of the room to find Lavender Brown picking herself up off the floor and mouthing Romilda Vane.

"He's ingested a love potion Vane gave to Harry," Draco explained for some reason.

"How horrible!" Lavender gasped. "I never did like her. You're talking him to the Hospital Wing?"

"Yeah," Draco lied. "Could you tell Hermione I'll be late?"

"Of course!"

Draco ran after Harry and Tom. Tom was dragging Harry, who tried to free his arm but failed. Draco caught up easily and tried really hard not to smile as Harry struggled. Tom banged on Slughorn's office door, then jumped back and forth on his heels while still clinging to Harry's arm.

"I'm going to meet her. Do I look okay?"

"You look fine," Draco assured.

"Tom, let go," Harry tried as the door opened to reveal a bleary-eyed Slughorn.

"Harry?" the sleepy man mumbled. "This is very early for a call…I generally sleep late on a Saturday…"

Slughorn's eyes finally took in Tom, who was trying to push passed the green velvet dressing gown matching night cap wearing man.

"Professor, I'm really sorry to disturb you, but Tom's swallowed a rather strong love potion by mistake," Harry quickly said, jerking his arm backward. The action sent Tom flying off his feet, taking Harry with him.

"You see, it's aged a few months," Draco put in as Slughorn stared at the pile of boys at his feet. Draco was sure Harry was making it hard for Tom to get back to his feet. "He's really convinced he's in love with a girl."

Draco gave Slughorn a significant look when the professor looked at him. Slughorn turned back at the boy pile.

"You couldn't make him the antidote, could you?" Harry asked, struggling with Tom. "I'd take him to Madam Pomfrey, but we're not supposed to have anything from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, you know, awkward questions."

Ten points to Gryffindor for artful sucking up and lying.

"I'd thought you could whip him up one on your own, Harry, an expert potioneer like you?"

"Er," Harry tried as Tom elbowed him in the side and sent him crashing to the ground breathless while Tom got to his feet.

"I heard you're giving Romilda Vane lessons," Tom breathed. "I'd like them as well."

Slughorn looked torn between screaming and laughing.

"Well, all right, come in, come in," Slughorn relented, stepping aside.

Tom burst into the office, tripping over a tasseled footstool, and falling head over heels.

"She didn't see that, did she?" Tom asked, somehow getting to his feet before Draco or Harry managed to actually get into the overly hot office.

"Nope," Draco said. "You arrived before she did."

"Oh. Good."

Tom sat down on the footstool he'd tripped over and once again stared off into the distance with an unfocused expression.

Slughorn looked as if he agreed with Draco that was an expression one should never see on Tom Riddle's face. Shaking his head, Slughorn headed over to a cabinet and began to pinch things into a small crystal bottle. Draco edged towards the drinks trolly Slughorn had sitting in his office.

"Harry!" Tom suddenly shouted, grabbing Harry around the waist and causing both of them to topple to the ground once more. Tom pushed himself up, while pinning Harry to the ground, and asked, "How do I look?"

"Very handsome," Slughorn smoothly said, turning around and heading towards Tom. "Now, sit up here. You want to look smart for her, don't you?"

"Yes, sir," Tom said, crawling off Harry and taking the seat Slughorn indicated. "She'll be here soon?"

"Yes. Now, drink that up, it's a tonic for nerves, keep you calm when she arrives," Slughorn urged, handing Tom the bottle.

Draco reached the drinks trolly. He scanned the bottles but didn't see anything resembling an expensive bottle of mead meant to be gifted to Dumbledore, as none of the bottles were full or unopened.

"Yes, I think I need that. I'm unusually jumpy," Tom said, taking the bottle and downing the antidote in one go.

Harry peeled himself off the floor and sat on a chair across from the one where Tom was sitting. Tom beamed at all three people studying him till very slowly his grin sagged, then it vanished. His gem blue eyes grew large and an expression of utmost horror appeared.

"Back to normal, then?" Harry asked, studying Tom carefully.

Tom said nothing.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, grinning at Slughorn, who chuckled and clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Don't mention it, m'boy, don't mention it," Slughorn insisted as Tom collapsed backwards in the chair, still horrified beyond all known reason. "A pick-me-up is what he needs. I've got butterbeer, I've got wine, I've got…oh, some oak-matured mead. Brand new bottle, I think."

Draco stood up taller, as Slughorn bustled over to a table loaded with bottles he was standing next to. He picked up a package that was sitting on the lower shelf. He unwrapped while Draco stared at him, looking horrified.

"Why don't we open this to celebrate…"

"March?" Harry suggested. Draco let out a strangled noise.

"Good idea," Slughorn chuckled. He poured out four glasses, while Draco stared horrified. Harry frowned, his mouth working but not opening. Slughorn handed Tom a glass first and Tom had downed it before Draco or Harry were able to move.

"NO!" Draco screamed throwing the mead in his hand at the ground and knocking Harry's and Slughorn's glasses to the ground. He wildly looked around the office as Tom fell out of his chair, his extremities jerking uncontrollably and foam dribbling from his mouth.

"TOM!" Harry bellowed. "Professor, do something!"

Slughorn, though, was paralyzed in shock at the sight of Tom Riddle slowly being poisoned on his floor.

Draco cursed darkly.

"Where's Slughorn's bag? That he brings to class?" Harry bellowed.

"OH!" Draco shouted, spotting the bag and vaulting over furniture to get to it.

The last lesson, they'd done Golpalott's Thrid Law and had to make antidotes for poisons. Harry, not understanding the law at all, had taken the advice of the Half-Blood Prince to heart and handed a bezoar to Slughorn at the end of the lesson. It was likely in the potion kit.

Slughorn was sputtering in his seat while Tom was starting to turn blue.

Draco searched through the kit, throwing things left and right till he finally found the shriveled up kidney like a stone. He threw the stone at Harry, who effortlessly caught it and shoved it into Tom's mouth. Tom gave a great shudder, a rattling gasp, and went limp. Harry cried out in panic, but Slughorn grabbed his shoulder before he could throw himself at Tom.

"It worked, see? He's breathing normally. Mr Malfoy, would you go down and get Madam Pomfrey? Use the fire. Floo powered on the mantle," Slughorn said, moving Harry away from Tom to check on him closer.

Draco went across the room to the roaring fire, threw the powder in, and vanished in a swirl of green to the Hospital Wing.