Hey, long awaited next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything! Except Christine Young and Emogene Scallywag! And also the names Klaus, Edward and Theodore, as used here! And the radishes!
"Good morning, Christine" Tom wished as Christine exited her common room the next morning. Christine smiled.
"Good morning to you too" she said. Tom smirked.
"Shall we walk together to breakfast?" he asked. Christine nodded.
"Yeah" she answered, "let's"
After a few minutes of silence, Christine turned to Tom with a smile.
"I'm glad you're not upset, Tom" she said, finally. Tom turned to her, seemingly surprised.
"Upset? About what?" he asked. Christine shrugged.
"Last night" she said, "I was rather rude" she admitted. Tom laughed, a little.
"It's understandable" he said, "I was a little upset" he admitted. Christine looked at him. His eyes were brown with tinges of red? mixed in them.
"But, it's a new day, today, right?" he asked. Christine smiled.
"Yes" she said, "it is a new day and for all those odd things that happened yesterday, I'm truly sorry" she said. Tom smiled.
"You will be forgiven" he said, "if you promise to have dinner with me tonight" The twinkle in his eye was blinding, at least, to Christine. But, she smiled at him and nodded.
"Sure" she agreed and Tom felt his skin tingle as his hand brushed against hers' when they finally reached the Great Hall.
Christine sat distractedly in class that day. She had classes with Hufflepuff and so, she had friends who were talking animatedly around her. Christine sighed. Tom's behaviour earlier that day was a little distressing. She wondered what possible ulterior motives he could have when he invited her for dinner that day. She was so distracted, even after she was finished with class, that she didn't even notice the figure watching her worried, frantic back-and-forth movement in the corridors.
Tom Riddle watched as Christine walked around in circles frantically, clearly worried about that evening's promise. He smirked and watched with amusement. He felt a little proud of having created so much distress in the always aloof girl. It was the truth when he had told her that he had been watching her since first year. Christine had always had a load of friends and yet, she had remained aloof. She wasn't particularly close to anyone and barely spoke of herself. Instead, she listened to people, cooked food that made them happy, and always scored well in exams, despite the fact that he'd rarely seen her with a book. He had been surprised when she mentioned reading muggle medical journals "for fun" for he hadn't expected it at all, that too from someone younger than ten years. He had finally figured out why the sorting hat had placed her in Ravenclaw. Although she had the heart of a Gryffindor, the hands of a Hufflepuff and the attitude of a Slytherin, she had the mind of a Ravenclaw and since the hat only judged her mind, she was placed it the house the hat figured was her destined place.
"Chris!" Edward called as he appeared in the hallway. Christine frowned towards him.
"Don't sneak up on me, Potter!" she scolded. Edward grinned.
"Bad habits" he mumbled, "Sorry" he added, then, his face broke into a smile.
"Guess what?" he asked. Christine blinked.
"What?" she asked. Edward grinned wider.
"Dumbledore wants to talk to you about Klaus' notes on the radish! He thinks you may unlock several things from Scallywag's book!" he declared. Christine smiled a little.
"I see" she said, "But, I do wish he'd given that assignment to Klaus! He's more interested in that stuff anyway!" she complained. Edward grinned.
"He wants to see you now, in his office" he added. Christine sighed and nodded, picking up her bag.
"Alright then" she said, then, frowning looked at Edward.
"If Tom Riddle asks for me, tell him I'm with Dumbledore, ok?" she asked. Edward frowned at the request, but nodded, not wanting to make Christine sad. Christine smiled and ran off towards the Transfiguration classroom and Dumbledore's office.
"Professor?" Christine called, entering the office that belonged to Dumbledore. He was seated in his chair and was reading a book. A book that belonged to Imogene Scallywag. He looked up at her and smiled.
"Christine" he said, smiling, "You came so early!" he declared. Christine smiled and sat down, dumping her bag on the floor and picking up a toffee.
"So, what's wrong, professor?" she asked. Dumbledore smiled at her.
"You figured it out" he said, smiling, "You're a smart girl" he added. Christine smiled at him and then looked expectantly.
"Well, Imogene Scallwag" he said, gesturing to the book, "died before so many of her claims were proved. So, in order to honour her memory, the findings that she'd written down were published as the potions book" he said, "They aren't really standard text books that students ought to follow"
Christine frowned.
"So, you want me to tell Klaus that the project is no good" she decided. Dumbledore smiled, proud of her deductive powers.
"You really are one smart witch" he said, as if agreeing with someone else. Christine sighed and stood.
"I'm sorry, Professor" she said, "But as much as I admire you, I couldn't possibly do that to Klaus. He honestly believes that those radishes and the other things in Scallywag's book are real" she stated. Dumbledore nodded.
"I know, poppet" he agreed, "It's too much to ask of you. That's why I'm not asking you that at all" he said, making Christine frown.
"I want you to tell Mr. Lovegood that his research into Scallywag's notes may perhaps hold the key to several secrets of the forbidden forest" he said. Christine sat down, pouting.
"I see" she said, "But, why not say so yourself?" she asked. Dumbledore smiled at her.
"Because Mr. Lovegood requires moral support from one of his house-mates" he said, "And who better than the only other Ravenclaw to have friends in all the houses?" he said rhetorrically. Christine smiled and nodded.
"Alright, professor" she said, "I'll let him know" With that, Christine stood to leave.
"A word of wisdom, Christine" he said, making her stop and look at him, "Do not assume that everything you are told is the truth and do not believe everything you see to be real"
Christine frowned and nodded. With a smile, she left the office and walked straight into somebody's chest.
"Ow!" she said, rubbing her nose and forehead.
"Sorry" Tom said, leaning down to examine her face. Christine blushed at the proximity and then looked at Tom. He was the same as that morning, save for his eyes, that had turned back to normal: no tinges of red at all. Christine blinked as Tom continued to watch her.
"Tom?" she called, waking him from his day-dream.
"Ah! Christine!" he said, straightening up, "I came to steal you away from Dumbledore" he informed, making Christine smile.
"It's not time for dinner yet" she informed him, "You're early"
Tom nodded.
"I know" he said, "I wanted to spend some time with you before we head to dinner" he admitted. Christine smiled and nodded.
"Sure" she said, "Let's go"
They spent the evening wandering around the corridors, talking random things like school, homework and exams. Christine didn't seem to mind. She felt like she was talking to Ed or Klaus. But Tom wondered if she felt something for him at all. Maybe it was just the fact that she was almost always surrounded by boys and no one seemed to ask her out. Lust, was it? When it was time for dinner, they walked to the Great hall and sat down in the middle of the Slytherin table. Ed and Klaus looked at Christine and she smiled and waved to them. She had explained the situation to them, saying that Tom would feel bad if she didn't have dinner with him. They had understood, but it seemed as if they didn't want to let go so easily. Christine sat down and picked up the fruits into her plate and ate slowly. Tom sat beside her, scaring away any boys that attempted to sit beside Christine. So, Christine's side remained empty, while in front of them and beside Tom people sat and ate, some glancing towards Christine, every once in a while, but looking away when they caught Tom's eye.
Christine began to think she understood why Tom had wanted to eat with her: his housemates seemed dull and uninterested in talking about anything but class. She looked at Tom, he was eating his food slowly, like he didn't like it.
"You don't like dinner?" she asked, looking up at him. Tom turned to her and cracked a smirk.
"Of course not!" he said, "This weird food makes my skin crawl!" he declared. Christine sighed and looked at him plate. He had decided to pick up what-ever looked best. Christine knew foods should be judged by both look and taste, but Helga Hufflepuff had made each recipe to suit all the people. Hence the variety.
"You should avoid the chicken" she said, looking at his plate, "Try the spiced Spinach and the Liquered lettuce, that's good for dinner. And for dessert, you ought to have the peach parfait, it's the best" she suggested. Tom looked over to her plate and noticing the quantities of food, snorted.
"You're barely eating anything!" he said, piling food into her plate. Christine shot him a frown.
"Because you should eat less of dinner" she stated, "Dad says that eating too much dinner will cause my blood vessels to explode!" she informed, gesturing "explode" with hand movements just to add effect. A few Slytherins looked up at her, smiles on their faces. Christine, catching their eyes, grinned at them.
"So, you're Christine, right?" one of the boys asked. Christine nodded towards the blonde boy, with stone-grey eyes.
"You are?" she asked politely.
"Abraxas Malfoy, pleased to meet you" he said dramatically, making Tom roll his eyes with irritation.
"And I'm Theodore Nott" another said, grinning towards her. Christine smiled and nodded.
"Are you friends' of Tom's?" she asked, looking at them. They looked at Tom, quickly, before nodding their heads.
"Yeah, we are" they said. Christine smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Nott, Malfoy" she said and turned back to Tom, who looked positively furious.
"Tom Riddle has friends" she said, softly, "I never knew" she added. Tom shot her a glare, but Christine ignored it and ate her food. Then, after a few moments, pushed the plate towards him.
"Come on, eat with me and finish up" she said, "It's bad to let food go to waste" she added, when he shot her his annoyed look. Slowly, Tom picked up his fork and picked through her plate, watching as their forks touched each other on the plate, just like their hands. Surprisingly, since Tom was right-handed and Christine left-handed, it was relatively easy to eat. Their free hands between them as they leaned towards the plate and ate. The other Slytherins knew that they should be left alone and so, didn't say a thing. After they'd eaten, Christine shuffled away to get a plate of the dessert, one for her and one for Tom and shuffled back, so that their thighs touched and she felt a jolt of electricity go up her body.
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