Sorry about the late update. I was so busy with finals and then some other issues. I hope you like this chapter!

A week had passed since Christine had talked to Tom Riddle for the first time. Since she had told him off, he hadn't approached her at all, not even once. Christine yawned as she sat at the breakfast table, earning her a few scowls from her house mates. Christine flashed them a grin before eating her waffles and drinking her juice. She enjoyed making her housemates hate her. It was always funny to see them act like they were all that and she was dirt. True, Christine only half belonged in Hogwarts. Her mother was a witch, but her father wasn't. He was a muggle, with whom her mother fell in love with and got married. But, Hogwarts didn't mind, neither did the teachers. So, what was their problem?

Christine stood and left, noticing keenly that Ed, himself, had only just arrived for breakfast. He flashed her a toothy grin and Christine waved to him as he sat down to eat. Christine liked having a friend like Ed. He wasn't too needy and he didn't expect her to do something for him in return. He was exactly like how friends should be. He gave and didn't expect for anything in return. But that didn't mean that Christine didn't give anything back. She helped him in potions, his worst subject, as well as cheered him up when he was beat after a Quidditch match. She was more moral and he was more literal, but neither complained, and so, they were fine.

"Excuse me, Christine" Tom asked as soon as she left. Christine frowned as she noticed him standing in front of her, staring at her with his brown eyes.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked. Christine frowned, but nodded.

"Sure. what is it, Tom?" she asked. Tom smiled and gestured down the hall.

"Let's walk" he said, holding out his hand. Christine frowned and ignored the hand and walked up beside him.

"What is it, Tom?" she asked. Tom shrugged and began to walk and Christine walked too.

"I just wanted to know why you were staring at me, the other day" he said. Christine was trash at telling when others lied, but the lie Tom Riddle was making up was the worst of all times.

"You walked past me" Christine said slowly, "So, I looked up"

Tom nodded.

"I see" he said, sounding rather hurt. Christine frowned.

"You sound disappointed" Christine said. Tom nodded.

"I am" he admitted, bitterly, "I thought you were staring because you liked me back"

Christine frowned.

"Like you back? As in, you like me?" she asked, her eyes widening with shock. Tom glanced at her with a smile.

"Well, I do" he said, "I have since first year" he stated. Christine frowned and shook her head.

"You can't have!" she declared and few students turned to look, but one look from Tom made them leave instantly. Tom sighed.

"Believe me if you want or don't" he said, shrugging, "But it's the truth"

Christine stared at him. Sure, he looked convincing, his eyes were tired and he looked as if he hadn't slept in almost a week. But something about him made Christine feel unnerved. He had an almost unconvincing aura. Christine shot him a smile.

"Fine" she said, defeatedly, "I'll admit it! I was staring at you! Not just because you walked past me, but because I have a crush on you!" she said. Tom smiled, a look of relief on his face. Christine then frowned.

"But, it's only a crush!" she declared, "And I plan to get over it completely!" she announced and then stared hard at Tom Riddle, who looked baffled. Christine nodded to herself, turned and walked away. Tom stared after her and noticed as she walked back to the Great hall and then, realising that she was headed in the wrong direction, turned and walked back towards him. She shot a sour glare when he caught her eyes and she walked past him in the opposite direction. If he hadn't been so shocked, Tom was sure he'd have laughed his head off.

Christine sighed as she sat down on the stone stairs. She had divination and the climb was rather tiring, especially after telling off Tom Riddle, like that. She groaned and looked up and noticed that the stairs went on forever, as did the tower.

"Are you lost, Young?" one of the Ravenclaw girls asked as a group of giggling girls walked past her. Christine nodded.

"Yeah, I was looking for the smart-people area and I'm now finding myself in the area for dumb-Ravenclaws" she mumbled angrily. The girls shot her angry glares before hurrying up the stairs. Christine sighed, not sure who she was more angry at: the Ravenclaw girls, Tom Riddle, or herself. She stood again, braving to face the stairs and the tower with new-found energy. This, she got from seeing that Tom Riddle was approaching her resting-place with his gang of Slytherin boys. Christine skipped up the stairs, dashing past her house-mates, whom she had told off earlier and ran into the tower and sat down in the front row seat. The professor walked in, shaking from Merlin knows what. She was like an intern, under the actual professor. The woman was young, looked as if she was barely out of school herself, yet her eyes were shady, as if she had the 'gift' that the professor was talking about.

Christine sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment. Although she was in the direct view of the Professor, she decided she was brave enough to write an owl to her parents.

Christine yawned as she stumbled down the stairs and slipping more than half of the way and landing on her back, instead of her feet.

"Ow!" she winced as she stood up and rubbed her sore butt. A few guys grinned, noticing her, but none offered a helping hand, or asked if she was alright.

"What happened, Chris?" Klaus asked as he appeared, helping her up by hauling her up by her arm. Christine smiled at him.

"I think I need to go to the hospital wing" she said. Klaus frowned.

"Are you sure? We have potions with Gryffindor next" he offered. Christine frowned, thinking it over. Potions with Ed, or sleep in the Hospital.

"You're right" she admitted, "I'll go in the lunch break" she mumbled and began walking beside him. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms around her and she was being carried away.

"Lovegood" the voice ordered Klaus, "Tell Slughorn that Christine is hurt and in the hospital and that I'm taking her there at once!"

Christine frowned as she noticed the dark brown hair and warm brown eyes of Tom Riddle, staring at her as he ushered her off.

"Tom? What are you doing? Put me down!" she cried, trying to free herself from his grasp. Tom turned to her with stern brown eyes.

"Be quiet!" he ordered, "You're hurt! And you may not care! But I do!" he said. Christine felt herself quietening down at his tone. She pouted, crossed her arms across her chest and looked away as Tom carried her through the halls to the hospital.

"She slid down the stairs from the divination tower" Tom explained as he put Christine on the nearest bed. The nurse nodded.

"I see, she was trying to reduce the time" the nurse said. Tom offered her a smile as Christine groaned.

"I slipped!" she informed them, "And then slid down. I'm not a moron to try it out for myself!" she declared. The nurse grinned.

"Ah! Young! Second time this month, isn't it?" she enquired. Christine coloured bright red.

"Mr. Riddle" the nurse said, turning to Tom, "I must ask you to return to class. Ms. Young will rest here and you need to inform your friends of her condition" she said. Tom nodded and turned to Christine, who was still puffing her cheeks out with anger.

"I'll come pick you up after class" he said sweetly, "So, don't go anywhere" he added, grinning as the nurse cooed and then shooed him out. Christine was furious! Her one class with Ed! And now, it was gone until next week!

"Nice boy you have there, miss" the nurse said, tending to the red bruise on Christine's back, "He really loves you a lot"

Christine snorted.

"Yeah, right" she mumbled, "And I'm the muggle queen of England!" she stated angrily. The nurse looked angry as she finished up with a spell and told Christine to rest. Christine stared at the walls, then the tiles on the floor and then the ceiling. After fidgeting non-stop for an hour, she noticed the nurse leave to check on some other patient and took this as a cue to slip out and away.

"Freedom!" she declared, stretching her arms and legs as she ran away from the hospital.

"I knew you'd run away"

The voice made Christine jump, not only because it was so sudden, but also because it was so close. In fact, it came as a whisper, in her right ear, which made her ears and neck and skin tingle. Christine jumped as she turned and found Tom staring at her, his brown eyes boring into her very form. Christine shifted uncomfortably under his gaze as he looked at her, up and down, several times, as if he could see every defect in her body. He then nodded and smiled.

"You're alright now" he stated, "Good. Let's go take a walk" he said. Christine stared as he held out his hand, waiting patiently as she thought of everything she could say to him. When she realised she still had to thank him for bringing her to the hospital, she sighed, defeated and began walking. Tom frowned, his rejected hand balling into a fist as he caught up to her.

"Thanks" she mumbled, glancing at him from the corner of her eye, "For taking me to the hospital" she mumbled again.

"You're welcome" he said, "Although I did it for my own selfish needs more than anything" he admitted. Christine turned to him, pointing a finger in his direction, rather accusingly.

"I knew it" she said, "You're selfish!"

Tom grinned as he caught hers' and then they walked out of the castle and towards the open grass fields. Christine looked away and up at the sun, which was shining brightly. She shivered a little and soaked some sun, before continuing to walk.

"So, why didn't you go back to class?" she asked. Tom shrugged.

"I wanted to see what you would do" he said, "You can't sit still for a moment, can you?" he said. Christine shrugged.

"I'm ADHD" she said, "I would be worried if I didn't"

Tom frowned.

"AD-what?" he asked. Christine stopped and turned.

"Attention deficit/Hyperactivity disorder" she said, "A-D-H-D"

Tom still looked baffled. Christine sighed.

"It's a disorder in which one is unable to concentrate, on anything for more than a few minutes" she explained. Tom frowned, stopping her by grabbing her elbow.

"And you know this because-?" he asked. Christine grinned.

"My dad's a muggle. When I was young, I was sent to a muggle school and the teachers there always complained of me being unable to concentrate. I was taken to a muggle doctor, who diagnosed my disorder" she explained, "Since dad wanted to know what it was, he bought a tonne of medical books which he read and tried to help me"

Tom frowned as Christine explained, her expression becoming softer and softer as she spoke of her past and her family.

"How do you know this?" he asked, his teeth clenching. Christine shrugged.

"I read a few books. They were boring, but I just read it, for the hell of it. It was fun" she admitted, turning up at the sun away, her lips being pulled into a smile as she felt the warmth on her cool skin.

"You're one strange half-blood, Young" Tom said as he sat down. They were by the lake now and the squid was relaxing in the sun's warmth too.

"There's nothing wrong with being strange" Christine argued, "Or being a half-blood. I'm proud of what I am!" she declared. Tom stared as she sat down slowly and then laid down beside his lying form, rolling on the grass until she was comfortable.

"You are truly odd, Christine" Tom said. Christine turned to face him. He had propped up his head on his elbow and was watching her. His gaze made Christine wonder how long he had been watching her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, avoiding his eyes and sitting up to a better, non-prostitute like position and covering up her bare thighs. Tom sat up and leaned forward, pulling out a grass from her hair.

"Nothing" he told her, twirling a lock of her hair with his finger, "You fascinate me, that's all"

Christine frowned, wondering if that was a good thing, or not. But she didn't have time to decide, for the squid decided to dive and so, with it, splashed a few buckets of water right onto them. Christine shivered as the water dripped off of her. She stared as the last of the squid disappeared and turned to Tom, grinning stupidly at how ridiculous it was. Tom, on the other hand, wasn't amused. He looked absolutely furious.

"You ok?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm to make him look at her. He was busy glaring at the squid until he felt her cold hand on his forearm. He turned to her, surprised and noticed her worried expression. For him. Tom grinned.

"You looked angry enough to murder the squid" Christine said as she stood and squeezed out most of the water from her hair and shirt. Tom stood, running a hand through his hair and pulled out his wand for a quick-drying spell. Christine put her hand on his.

"There's no need" she said, "It'll dry in the sun. It's still warm enough"

Tom looked a little disgusted as he put his wand away and watched as Christine stood in the sun, arms spread out and letting the heat dry her instead of a spell. He was amused that she did weird things, but also annoyed that it didn't bother her that her white shirt, on becoming wet, had become see-through. He ground his teeth and watched as a gentle breeze blew her hair away from her face and made her shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered a little.

"May be it's a little cold" she admitted. Tom grinned and flicked his wand, first at her, then at himself and they were both dry.

"Thanks" she said, "That spell is rather handy" she admitted. Tom frowned.

"Why would you say that?" he asked. Christine shrugged.

"Because I've used it several times, when it's too cold and too wet" she shrugged, not wanting to admit that she spent a lot of time in the lake, especially after curfew. Tom stared at her, and Christine got the unnerving feeling that he was inside her head.

Then, she shook her head, rather vigourously and turned towards the castle.

"Let's go back" she suggested, "It's almost time for lunch" she added, slowly making her up the hill, followed by Tom, who was still staring at the back of her head, trying to find the answer to the question he was looking for.

"You're really so normal" Christine stated as he reached the spot she was standing on, arms crossed across her chest, looking out at the scenery.

"Normal? In what way?" he enquired, raising an eyebrow. Christine shrugged.

"Like a normal wizard, at Hogwarts, learning about the wizarding world everyday, like Ed and Klaus" she said, "I always assumed that you were different. But, I guess I was wrong" she grinned as she stared at him. Tom frowned. He didn't like being 'normal', in any sense of the word. Christine caught his look and mimicked him, frowning as well and pouting too.

"You don't want to be normal" she stated, rather boldly. Tom turned to the scenery and shrugged. Christine smiled a little.

"It's nice to talk to a normal person" she said, rather mischeviously, "I mean, if you were rude and obnoxious like before, I'd have probably never talked to you at all!" she stated, before turning on her heal and making her way back to the castle. Tom frowned and turned to catch a glimpse of her as she ran back, he saw her silhouette as she disappeared into the castle, her hair flowing behind her. Tom frowned. There really was something different about Christine Young.

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