And! Here is the next chapter. :3 I really like this series now. It's, interesting to write Tom with a more, Slytherin like attitude. I'm writing him a lot like I wrote my Draco, the actual little shite Draco, not my Gryffindor!Draco.

But yes, I like the way it's turning out. I hope you guys like it too.

Words then: 1397

Words now: 3015

I DON'T OWN!

ENJOY!

Tom didn't know why he thought this was a good idea in the first place. He must have been in shock from the discovery. Witches; or Wizards according to Ron; Tom has to say, the flush that appeared on the younger boy's cheeks made his stomach twist a bit when Tom asked if he was a witch.

"How did you find me?" Ron had asked when they found him alone in a clearing, failing miserably to start a fire, his fingers turning blue in the mid fall weather, it would start snowing soon.

"Merope," Tom had told him simple, standing behind the short girl, unable to see what her face looked like. Based on Ron's eyes widening, it had to be something good.

"She told you?" Ron had sounded like a mix of scared and resigned, like he thought Tom would walk all the way to him only to condemn him.

"That you're witches?" Tom had said it as offhanded as he could; trying to make it seem like it was nothing; like he had figured it out on his own. Ron turned red at his words, his freckles standing out beautifully.

"I'm a wizard," Ron had mumbled, "not a witch, witches are girls," he finished almost inaudibly. Tom had quickly taken over after that, apparently he's the only of the three who'd gone camping in the woods before.

Now here they were, in the middle of a forest, huddled around a fire Tom made with twigs and dead leaves, trying to stay warm. Tom couldn't help the thoughts that came to mind, about how he was starting to feel about his two companions.

When he thought of Merope, he thought of that girl that would watch him from behind a gate, her glances seeming love struck or lustful. Those glances stopped once Ron came into their lives and changed, turning to something similar but different. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

He used to mock her, to her face or behind her back, it didn't matter, she was 'the tramp's daughter', a creepy stalker that he felt he had a right to hurt simply because she wouldn't stop staring. He used to laugh when his friends told him that if he wasn't careful, he'd fall for her.

Now he isn't so sure it's a funny thought. He was, falling for her that is, and that was both terrifying and liberating. Now that he knows her, he can see that she can be the most nurturing, kind, blunt, and strong women that he'd ever known.

But there were times when she could be insecure, terrified, weak willed little girls he had ever met as well.

"What about my family? If they find us, they'll kill you both, and I don't…" Merope started to hyperventilate, her breathing picking up and her hands going to her chest like her heart would beat right out of it.

"They can try, but I think Tom and I could take them. Right Tom," Ron turned to him, his eyes filled with protective emotions, making them shine in the glow of the fire, his lips pulled back into a proud grin. Tom couldn't help but agree, nodding his head quickly before turning to the girl, trying not to show the emotions on his face that were brought up by Ron's smile.

And that was another of his problems, one that he isn't sure what to do with. As the son of a wealthy business man, whether or not he had any actual money at this time, he knows what was expected of him, and that wasn't falling for a wizard of all things, running off to who knows where and staying by the side of a man and a woman who he had no right staying with.

But this was something he didn't want to change, something he felt he had to change, because being here, with both of them, it was the best feeling he could have, a feeling he only felt when they were together, all three of them.

He felt like he was home.

Logically, as he had been taught, he thought maybe he was under a spell, an enchantment by the two magic folk that sat on either side of him, both pushing into him for his body heat. And that he should probably be looking for a way to break the enchantment, or finding a way to get them to break it for him.

He wasn't sure he wanted to be saved.

Merope took lead as the three walked through the forest. She couldn't stand looking at the two men right now, wishing that she didn't see her family slaughtering them in front of her every time she saw them.

She made sure to keep her head down and covered while she walked, her eyes scanning before her to make sure she didn't walk into a tree or trip over a branch, but her thoughts kept wandering to the two behind her, the promise of protection Ron made the night before, only minutes before the three had been curled together under the blanket that Ron had brought, trying to keep warm.

She pulled at the shawl that covered her head and shoulders, hiding herself behind it as best she could. She knows that she isn't very pretty, never had been. It was a wonder that neither of her boys seemed to notice, both seemingly happy with what she looked like. It was terrifying; to find even one person who liked the way she looked was improbable, impossible that she found two.

But here she was, walking with two men, who if she was telling the truth, were some of the most handsome men she had ever seen, but she could be biased. And they didn't say anything about how ugly she was, not like her father and brother, who would tell her how ugly she was every day, all the time.

The two men were different than her family, the opposite of what she thought she deserved. Tom was strong and quick witted, his smirk cutting and his eyes holding secrets; while Ron was comfortable, honest (most of the time), willing to protect her against anything, even her family. And they both had a temper to match hers.

It was exhilarating, thinking of how much she was falling for Ron, or how much further she was falling for Tom. It was heart wrenching for her, to think that she would have to choose which she loved more. And the fact that she has a choice now, it was mind boggling.

If only she didn't have to choose, they could stay like this, just the three of them, forever.

Ron knows that this is a bad idea; changing the past so much. He remembered what Harry told him about Vold- Tom Jr., or, Tom the third, what Dumbledore told Harry about him.

About how Merope somehow magicked Tom into a relationship; the thought sent shivers up his back.

The Merope Ron knows now would never do something like that. The Tom he knows wouldn't have to be magicked to fall in love with Merope either. They were close now, closer than Ron thought possible when he thought of Tom the Third's parents.

He knows he did something, this was somehow his fault. Fault; that would imply that Ron did something wrong, that this love he was seeing was improper or wrong. It didn't feel wrong. He could see the same feelings in their eyes that he could see when he saw his parents together.

That made his chest hurt, in discomfort. Something about the two being together, without him, made him feel bad. He didn't want that, that's why he left in the first place, hoping the timeline would fix itself once he was gone, Merope and Tom would stop being friends, Merope would do whatever she did the first time around, and the time line would be fixed, no more interfering Rons making the world a horrible place for pureblood supremacists and such.

He knows that changing things, whether or not changing Voldemort from before birth, is a bad thing. The timeline likes to be the way it is, according to Hermione when he asked that one time at the end of third year, when he found out about the time turner.

She said that time is a funny thing, and that things are supposed to happen the way they happen, and that we can't change things, or else something bad will happen. He was sure erasing an evil villain would not actually be a good thing, no matter how his instincts told him it was necessary.

But now, with Tom and Merope walking alongside him, refusing to let him be alone, it was making him think that they could take it. Whatever the timeline throws at them, they can take it, and they would be better for it. They will make it through this, and hopefully, this won't blow up in all their faces, or the faces of the past, or the future as it is.

It wasn't like he could go into the future now; to see what it is that would be changing, right? It didn't matter, he doesn't think he could leave these two now, not even for a little, not if there was chance he couldn't come back.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Ron stood, searching for the sounds that woke him. Hushed whispers were coming from just beyond the tree line of their small encampment. Looking around told Ron that both Tom and Merope were gone, probably the owners of the hushed voices he heard.

Striding to the trees as quietly as he could, he managed to catch part of the whispered argument.

"-beautiful does not mean you can say that about them, you can't just treat someone like they don't matter," Merope hissed, her voice sounding both angry and hurt. Ron looked between the trees and saw Merope holding herself protectively, her head bowed and her hair covering her face. She was shaking, but not in a way that made Ron think of vulnerability, Merope was pissed.

"I can treat them like they don't matter, if they do not matter," Tom hissed back, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white. His posture screamed anger and Ron wasn't sure who was in more danger at the moment.

Ron was confused, when he had first fallen asleep, it was to the cutting humor shared between the two, both smirking at the other with barely concealed love. Now it looked like they were going to claw each other's eyes out.

"But they do matter, they matter to me," Merope's voice choked a bit at the last word, her body stopped shaking and she turned bodily away from Tom, trying to hide in plain sight.

"They hurt you, why do you defend them?" Tom stepped forward and gripped Merope's arm causing the girl to jerk away from his grasp violently.

"They're still my family. They were all I had for sixteen years," Merope ground out, her green eyes burning a startling emerald color as she stepped out of Tom's range, "you can't speak of them that way."

Ron understood that. He was best friends with the poster boy of abused children, he learned that you don't speak ill of someone, even if that someone was the worst person. He thinks that many children feel that way. They will defend their family to the death, even if the family probably doesn't deserve it.

Hermione said it was probably some muggle mental disorder, stalk home syndrome, or something like that. Ron has learned that Hermione's usually right and to never fight against her in that regard.

"Family doesn't treat family like they treat you Merope," Tom's voice turned a bit softer, not a lot, but Ron could hear it. He wanted to move forward, to comfort Merope or calm down Tom, try to help, but he knew that he couldn't, not yet. They need to get this out; they need to learn the hard way.

Merope didn't look up, her face turned toward where Ron stood, but her eyes averted to the ground. Ron could see the tears dripping down her cheeks, her eyes starting to turn red. Tom took a step forward, his face draining of color.

"Merope, I'm sor-" Tom started, only to be cut off by a growl as Merope slapped his hand away, her head snapping up at him, her tears falling faster down her cheeks as she glared at him.

"Get away from me," she ground out, her voice rough from all their arguing, "don't touch me."

Tom made to move forward again, only to stop when Merope took a step back. Ron wanted to move forward, wanted to help, this had gone on long enough now. Tom had to have learned his lesson. He couldn't just let Merope cry like this, couldn't let them fight. Watching them was making Ron's heart hurt.

"Merope, Tom?" Ron asked, stepping into the clearing. Merope turned away from him, her hands going to her eyes to wipe away the tears. Tom looked away in shame, his eyes averting a fraction, though his face was a stoic as ever.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked, looking between the two with unconcealed worry. Merope didn't look at him now, her shoulders slumped forward and her hair covering her face. Tom turned his body a bit to better hide any sorrow he might have felt. Ron felt like growling to himself, this was wrong. They needed to talk, it was one of the major reasons they were in this situation in the first place.

"I heard most of that," Ron decided to say after a silence. Both Merope and Tom turned to him, their eyes wide.

"Or at least, I heard enough. Look, I come from a decent sized family, and if you care half as much as I do about family, you must really care about your father and brother, am I right?" Ron turned to Merope with as serious a face as he could. Merope nodded but didn't speak.

"And I know how Tom feels about that, I understand wanting to bad mouth the people who hurt you. I wish that no one would have hurt you, that no one could hurt you anymore, now that you are with us." Merope bit her lip and looked at Tom, who shared her glance with a sorry one of his own.

"I didn't mean to offend you," Tom told her, "I'm sorry if my words gave you the wrong impression of my intentions." He still looked composed, his back straight, his shoulders squared, his hands before him. The only clue to his inner turmoil was his fingers, the digits fiddling with each other as he tried not to lose all his composure.

"I…I'm sorry as well, I shouldn't have snapped at you, I had no right," Merope told him, her eyes going back to the ground as her shoulders dipped even further down. Ron was about to object, she didn't need to feel bad about this, this was perfectly acceptable, it was something that needed to happen sooner or later.

Tom surprised them both when he jerked forward, his hands gripping Merope's tightly.

"You had every right to defend your family from ignorant gits like myself. I am actually ashamed that I had driven you so far; I meant to hurt them, not you… I think I love you more now, knowing how far you are willing to go to defend those I could never," Tom spoke in an abnormally broken voice, his eyes staring directly into Merope's. Both reddened a bit when they registered Tom's words, but Tom still didn't let go, his chest heaving from the thickness of the tension in the air.

Merope was pale, sweat starting to drip down her brow. Ron felt like he was intruding on some private moment, one he probably shouldn't be there for.

"You…love me?" Merope's voice was less than a whisper, but louder than a scream in the tense silence surrounding them. A beat of silence between them before, "I do." Tom's grip lessened a bit, but he didn't let go. His whole stance shifted, his body moving close to hers.

Merope stepped away from him, letting his hands go. Tom's arms dropped almost uselessly at his sides, a look of pain overtaking him.

"If you had told me even a week ago, I would have been overjoyed," Merope started, her eyes filling with tears again, her half-smile looked fake, "but now, things are different now."

Ron felt his heart seize, both Tom and Merope glanced at him, their eyes lingering for a second before averting. He did this, he is the one who put them both in this place, this, hurting husk of people who only wanted to go on with their lives. He stopped them from doing whatever they were going to do.

Sometimes he wonders what would have happened if Tom hadn't found him and blackmailed him into being his servant. He surly wouldn't be here, with two people who he felt conflicted over. He wouldn't have been there to force the two to choose, happiness, or him. But then he remembers the feeling he felt when the two found him that first day, after he had all but run away from Tom's home.

"I understand," Tom's voice broke him out of his musings, both Tom and Merope had moved already, the two all but walking hand in hand as they made their way back to camp. When they reached Ron, Merope's hand reached out, tugging at Ron's sleeve, pulling him behind them as they went back to the blanket, fully intent on going back to sleep.

They had a long day ahead of them; they were still a good walk away from the next town. Ron decided to put his musings on hold, at least until they were put into another situation that called for it.

And! Chapter. So, what did you think?

Next up: Merope et Tom et Ron: They finally made it to town.

Quick thing, Should I change the name of this chapter? If so,

Inner Musings, Our Thoughts, Learning Experiences, Truths from the Heart, Inner Truths, Inner Worries, Worrying About Us, Truths and Worries,

Or something else?

Mars