Chapter 5

She was in his dreams that night. And the next and the next. He looked forward to, but also dreaded sleep. He saw her in the corridors occasionally, avoided her gaze and only spoke to her when it was necessary in class. The tension between them was like a fire. Burning almost constantly, deep inside.
He had to tell Malfoy. He'd go crazy if he didn't. He'd known him for years and he would consider him a... friend.

Tom walked into Potions class. It was the last class on a Friday, Halloween was approaching. Slughorn was standing there, talking to someone he couldn't see. It was only when he sat down in his seat that he realised who it was. She turned away from Slughorn with a small smile and walked over to the empty seat next to Tom. He tried not to look at Skyler, turning his head down to his desk and staring at his textbook. Malfoy and the others had noticed that Tom seemed to be acting a little strange, and his count of girls was lessening with each passing week.
Girls swooned over him as they usually did but he ignored them even more.

Professor Slughorn clapped his hands together. "Turn to page 12. I want you all to prepare the potion you see and the best one shall win this."
He held up a vial of some red liquid.
Skyler recognised it.

"Does anyone know what this is?"
Skyler raised her hand. "Liquid Hypnosis."
"Yes, very good. This potion will enable you to hypnotize your victim completely. Make them do anything you say."
Tom and Skyler glanced at each other. Tom wanted to use it to get Malfoy to forget about what he saw and Skyler wanted to use it on Tom, for multiple reasons.

"Go!"

Tom flicked straight to page 12 and started to read the recipe, mixing and crushing and chopping the ingredients. Skyler didn't have a textbook. She instead pulled out a large notebook and turned to the same recipe but with a few of her own adjustments.

Twenty five minutes later, Tom and Skyler stood proudly in front of their cauldrons, each filled with a pinky-purple liquid.

"Let's check." Slughorn put two frogs beside each cauldron and dabbed them with some potion from each.

The frogs to the right ignored each other but the frogs on the left, in front of Skyler's cauldron, started nuzzling up to each other.

"Very good!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed. "An excellent love potion! And here is your prize; liquid hypnosis."

Skyler took the small vial, glancing over at Tom's furious expression, her own expression complacent.

That night in the common room, Tom was walking over to her with purpose. Skyler uncrossed her legs and looked up at him.
"Hey." Skyler said coolly.
"I...um-" Tom began.
"You want a drink?" Skyler said quickly.
"Oh, alright." Tom said and took the glass. He downed it and instantly felt different.
Tom stared down at Skyler with dilated pupils.
"Well?"

Tom dived on her and tried to kiss her. Skyler spluttered in surprise and pushed him away. She held him at arms length.
"What are you doing?" She demanded.
"Kissing you, you beautiful creature!" Tom exclaimed, stroking her hair.
Skyler held him off with one hand and picked up his glass with the other. She sniffed it and got the strong smell of the love potion she had prepared earlier in class. Oh crap, she thought.
Skyler ran for the girl's dormitory. Tom reached the stairs and, because the stairs were enchanted so boys could not enter, he fell and was knocked unconscious.

Tom woke up and groaned, clutching his head.
"Oh, you're up at last." He heard a voice say. He jumped and saw Skyler sitting in an armchair opposite him.
"What did you do to me, girl?" Tom demanded, rubbing his head.

Skyler chuckled. "You drank a love potion and chased me up the stairs and fell over, hitting your head."
"Did you slip me a love potion?!" Tom said, outraged.
"No! At least not intentionally!" Skyler raised her hands. "I swear."
"Fine." Tom said, standing up and walking outside as quickly as he could.

I wish they would change this one day, Tom thought as his name was called. Choosing our partners like this, it is ridiculous.
"And your partner will be..." A name was drawn from the glass dish of girls' names. Almost every girl crossed her fingers, praying that their name would be called. Every girl, that is, apart from Skyler Nightshade. She did not want to be Tom's partner for the Halloween Ball. But you can't always get what you want, she knew that.

"Skyler Nightshade!"

Tom cursed under his breath.
Tom stood up and walked stiffly across the hall to stand beside Skyler. She folded her arms, leaning against the wall.
"Boys! Put your hand on your partner's waist!" The professor instructed.

Oh no, Skyler and Tom thought simultaneously.

Tom put his hand on Skyler's waist, looking off to the side in annoyance.
Skyler felt like his hand was on fire.
"Other hand holding your partner's hand!"
Tom reached for Skyler's hand and took it in his own. Skyler's heart was hammering in her chest; she prayed Tom could not feel it. Tom bit his lip, the tension getting to him also. His 18-year-old heart raced like it never had before.

Skyler was glad to be out of that hall. She found herself breathing hard in front of the mirror, and not just because she had run all the way up to her dormitory. She dreaded this ball.

Whispers interrupted Tom's conversation with Malfoy.

"You see, it wasn't what it looked like-" Tom tried to explain but Malfoy cut him off.
"Look who's here!" He said.

Tom turned and felt his heart go into double time. He vaguely wondered what made Skyler's skin seem to sparkle as she walked gracefully down the steps, her dark blue dress moving around her hips in the most delicate way. Tom instantly thought she was a Veela but he realised that none of the other boys seemed so enchanted by her as he was. Her pink lips stretched up in a small smile as she saw Tom staring at her. She walked over to him and Tom felt hot all over as she took his hand and moved with him onto the ballroom floor. They danced a waltz.

"You look... alright." Tom said, clearing his throat and trying to appear casual.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Skyler said, looking up at him with her indigo eyes, twinkling a little.

Tom rolled his eyes towards the golden dome ceiling and sped up their dancing a little.
When the dance had ended, Skyler said she was too warm so they went outside. There were a few couples in the bushes around them, giggling and rustling.
"Let's get away from those idiots, come on." Skyler grabbed Tom's arm.

They came to a halt near the lake. Trees surrounded them, casting shadows in the moonlight which shone onto the smooth, dark surface of the water.
Skyler walked around slowly, the light making her hair shine silver. Tom stared at the way her hips moved in her silky dress of midnight blue. It was so distracting.
As Skyler leant against a tree, Tom stood in front of her, looking out over the lake. Suddenly she kissed him, putting her hands on his shoulders. His eyes widened in shock but he found himself responding, and his eyes slowly closed and his hands came to rest on her slim hips.
After a few minutes, Skyler pulled away, taking a few steps back.
"Okay..." she said, almost to herself. "Wow."
"Why...?" Tom asked vaguely.

"I don't know! Just the moonlight and the stars and that tux!" She exclaimed, running her hands through her hair which had now come out of its high bun.
"You like the tux?" He raised his eyebrows, allowing himself to smile.
She shrugged and nodded. "Yeah..."

There was a short silence then Tom said, "What was that thing that happened with your parents? You started to tell me about it but you were..."
"Really drunk?"
He nodded.
"My mother died after giving birth to me. My dad took me and ran. We lived in a small house on a hill in the middle of the mountains, there was hardly ever anyone around. He taught me everything I know about magic. He was a great wizard in his day." She said, sitting down on the cool grass.
Tom sat beside her.
"He was always a little unstable after mum died. After my birthday, on the anniversary of her death, he took us here. To Hogwarts. Then he..." She swallowed, her voice shaking. "He threw himself off of the Astronomy Tower."

She sobbed a little, leaning her head against Tom's chest. He was a bit uncomfortable at having to deal with this much emotion from someone else but he put his arm around her and counseled her as best he could.
"That's awful." He said.

"I know." Skyler sighed.

After they'd watched the stars for a while, Tom asked, "If there was no one ever around, then how did you learn how to... how to kiss?"
She lay down on the grass, instructing him to do the same.

"In the middle of a really bad storm, this man turned up at our house when my dad was away to get potion ingredients from Diagon Alley. Father had always told me to not let people in if he wasn't there, but I felt sorry for this one. He said he only needed food and somewhere to rest. When he took off his coat, I saw that he had hurt his chest. I got out my wand and healed him. He said he was a wizard and his name was Hugo. He told me all about all the things there were for wizards in the world, things my father had never told me about. I began to feel a little differently about Hugo as time went on. Father was gone for some time as some of the ingredients he wanted were rare but he checked in regularly by owl."
Skyler continued her story, "One night, Hugo was teaching me how to stir a bowl without touching it, something that Father would never have considered useful, when my hand slipped and I sprayed my face with the porridge. I cleaned myself off but then Hugo wiped off a bit I'd missed with his hand, he was so close to me... I was trembling like an idiot, and he kissed me. He taught me everything I know about kissing and... other things." She looked at him, a ghost of a smirk on her face.
Tom looked back at her, then grinned and looked away. "Yeah, I learnt all that through experience."
Skyler rolled her eyes towards the star-studded sky. "I bet you did."

That night in her bed, Skyler relived her experiences with Hugo in her head. Talking about it had brought it all back to her.

She was sixteen, he was older. Late twenties at least. When he'd first hesitantly pressed his lips to hers, her whole world had changed forever. When she went to sleep that night, she kept thinking of Hugo downstairs on the sofa. She wondered what it would be like if he were up there with her and her mind raced.
Hugo began to teach her things that weren't just to do with magic. He guided her shaking lips gently with his own, until her confidence grew. One particularly warm afternoon, he put a hand on her knee. Skyler moved closer as his hand moved upwards, trying to encourage him. His lips moved to her neck and she tilted her back. He lay her down on the makeshift bed she'd made for him and then Skyler knew she was hooked.
She thought in love for the first time in her life. She didn't even know what love was but what Hugo did to her made her feel like romance and passion were the only things that existed between them. But behind Hugo's gentle and caring exterior lay a bitter, violent core that longed to make Skyler scream and suffer for his own pleasure.