Author's note and TG: A bit of smut in that chapter (finally, I dare say!) and some more in the coming chapters too, as Tom and Anna try to figure themselves out... Also, they deserve some sweet time, so I hope you'll enjoy the fluff ahead (before the angst hits back). However, some difficult topics will be tackled that are related to child abuse, so please, keep that in mind.
October 1944 - Midnight Meeting
The bell rang the end of his Transfiguration class and Tom watched a group of female Ravenclaws leave the classroom. The last girl turned around and discreetly peeked at him as she tucked a strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear.
He heard her tell her dormmates not to wait for her before she made her way towards the door and turned left, in the opposite direction of the stairs.
The Slytherin found himself struggling to breathe as he saw her disappear in the corridor.
He told his friends to go ahead and he lingered in the classroom for a while, his gestures ridiculously slow as he began to pack his bag. He was well-aware of Dumbledore's stare on him, yet he waited until everyone was gone to finally walk past the professor and wish him a happy weekend.
Tom headed left once he exited the room and, after making sure that no one was following him, he pushed the door of the female bathroom open.
Annabel was rinsing her hands over the sink, slightly bent over, her back turned to him. He glimpsed at her smile in the corroded mirrors and he casted a spell to lock the door behind him.
He moved towards her, feline and self-assured before he dropped his bag on the floor and wrapped his arms around her waist. A sigh escaped her lips when he held her tighter, and he pressed his crotch against her back, feeling the lovely shape of her buttocks through her uniform. His hands left her sides to wander under her skirt, fondle the supple flesh of her thighs before he gripped her firmly by the hips and gently pushed her against the porcelain bowl.
"Are you still indisposed?" he asked in her ear as he spread her legs with one knee, relieving the pressure on her groin before he moved his leg up again, making her whimper and grip each sides of the washbasin.
Tom groaned. He was rock hard against her rear and he had to muster all the strength he could find not to pull down her knickers and bend her further over the sink.
It was a month that they were back to school, and Tom's heavy schedule had barely allowed him to have one minute for himself… All he and Annabel had shared so far were a few short-lived kisses in empty corridors, and he longed for more. Far more… Because when he had finally managed to clear his evening the previous weekend, expecting the night to be long and filled with her delicious sobs, she had stood on his doorstep with a guilty pout, telling him that it was "that time of the month" and that she was in pain, and Annabel had spent the night curled up against him in bed, her hands pressed against her cramping womb.
"Mh?" he asked as he kissed the soft skin of her neck, right under her ear. She shook her head ever so slightly, her eyes still closed and he smiled.
"Perfect. Midnight, my room. Don't be late" he issued before he grabbed his bag and left her shivering from their brief encounter.
—
Annabel wiped the steam off the mirror before she glanced at her reflection. Her skin was pale, far more than it usually was at this time of the year and she thought she looked fade and bony. She stood in her underwear on the tiled floor, trying to ignore her bra which was a bit too lose, and she found herself placing her hands on her chest to try to push her breasts up, wondering if she should add some padding to look more voluptuous, until she remembered that she might have to drop the bra later eventually.
She sighed.
If only she was curvier, taller, blonder… Intact.
She had tried really hard during the past few weeks to ignore her dire memories, and not to make a mental list of all the girls Tom might have had already, those who knew him in a way she did not.
A lump grew in her throat as she remembered that one student, that Mary-something, who used to come back to the Ravenclaw tower fairly late after dinner, with her hair wet and smelling of lavender, how she had swaggered in the common room one evening, to sit by the fire surrounded by her friends, only to say, and loud enough for the room to hear, that Tom Riddle was an excellent lover, but that he was very demanding.
Annabel felt her stomach clench and she took a deep breath, to calm herself down.
"It's gonna be fine" she repeated like a mantra. After all, she had once confided in Tom about her fear of intimacy… Surely he remembered and would be patient with her.
She put on her night gown to conceal her daily clothes and wished goodnight to her friends as she left the bathroom and lay under the covers, waiting for all of them to sleep so she could sneak out of bed.
—
She arrived a bit earlier than planned and inhaled slowly before she knocked on the door. The latter opened almost immediately, and she found Tom on the other side.
She expected him to push her against the wall and rip her clothes off, for she had been struck by the intensity of his desire for her during the past few weeks, yet, he only gave her an innocent peck on the cheek and gestured for her to enter the room.
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked with a controlled voice before he offered to take her jacket.
She turned around obediently and closed her eyes when she felt Tom's fingers fumble against the fabric of her shirt. Soon enough, she had lost her first layer of clothes.
She waited awkwardly near the fireplace, feeling a bit out of place despite the many times she had been in his room.
Tom walked towards her with two glasses and they cheered. He sat down on the sofa, facing her, and he offered her to sit but she stood rooted to the spot.
"Are you cold?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and Annabel realised that she had crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"No" she breathed as she tried to loosen up, but soon enough she was tugging on the end of her sleeve with one hand.
"I'm nervous" she confessed.
Tom watched her for a while, his expression indecipherable until he discarded his glass on the coffee table and stood up.
"All right then" he stated once he was in front of her.
"I suppose I shall put you out of your misery" he joked as he took away the glass she was holding. His fingers linked to hers and gently, he led her towards the back of his room.
She struggled to breathe when she noticed they were now standing next to his bed, and she tried to swallow the lump that grew in her throat.
His hands moved up her arms, brushing her limbs through her shirt until he reached the base of her neck. Slowly, he removed her tie, letting the fabric slide against her throat before he dropped it on the floor.
"Come here" he issued quietly as he lied her down on the mattress with care, reaching for a pillow so she could rest her head. He took her shoes off, the right one and then the left, before he sat between her legs.
She held his gaze when he seized her ankle, his gestures slow but precise, like if he exactly knew what he was doing.
"Relax" Tom cooed. "We don't have to go all the way"
"I just want to look at you" he whispered and she nodded, surrendering to his expert hands.
She held his gaze when he placed her foot into his laps, acknowledging how handsome he was in the dim light. He moved a hand up under her skirt, groped the skin of her inner thigh. Skilfully, he unfastened the clip of her suspender and pulled down the girl's nylons.
Annabel closed her eyes, suddenly aware of the cool air on her bare skin, that her skirt was revealing far more than it should. She sighed at the feeling of Tom's hands on her legs, and she thought there was something terribly arousing in the way he was undressing her, like if she was helpless and delicate, like a fragile glass doll.
The young man shifted position and leaned on her, his weight on one arm, kissing her forehead before he finally reached her mouth. His hand moved to her collarbone and one by one, he undid the buttons of her shirt.
She shivered once he uncovered her upper body, and he shushed her softly, to calm her down.
His free hand traced an imaginary path on her ribs and he slid a palm under her back, to find the hook of her bra between her shoulder blades. He discarded the piece of lingerie and the sight of her naked breasts made his manhood throb.
"Don't hide" he groaned, for his eyes on her made her squirm.
"You're beautiful"
Her heart skipped a beat when he cupped her breast, kneaded her supple flesh with deft fingers and she heaved a small sigh. She saw him smile between her lashes and she tried to compose herself, but when Tom pinched the hardened tip, she let out a moan.
"Look at you" he purred fondly.
"So sensitive…"
She heard him chuckle at her reddened cheeks, certainly relishing the sweet torment he was inflicting her and Annabel gasped when she felt Tom's breath on her nipple. He nipped the skin greedily, his tongue twisting, teasing and she moaned some more, feeling herself getting slick.
She spread her thighs wider and Tom's heart swelled at such eagerness. Swiftly, he removed his shirt before he reached for the heat between her legs. He felt the imprint of her folds against her underwear, and he pushed her skirt up her thighs, revealing a stain on the fabric. His thumb grazed her sex over the cotton cloth until he found her bud. He rubbed the skin through the damp fabric and oh, she wailed.
She was moaning openly now but when Tom's hand slid inside her knickers, when his fingers brushed her clit, spread her nether lips, she flinched.
She was stiff, tensed all at once, and he paused.
"Do you want to stop?" he asked, aware of the girl's focused frown.
"Anna" he began. "I won't be displeased, if you want to stop"
She bit her lip, hesitant, for that girl's words came back to her suddenly, that Tom was a demanding lover, and she feared to disappoint.
"Do the other girls want to stop sometimes too?" she could not help but blurt.
He took a while to respond, looking baffled.
"I don't know, I never asked" he replied, matter of factly.
"Look, it's normal. We'll take it slow. We'll try again" he murmured, gently, but sad memories already began to collect on the back of her mind.
Again, she thought. But what if it did not work next time again?
She realised she had pronounced the words out loud, with a plaintive and desperate tone, and Tom sat up, looking seriously concerned now. She looked up, to hold her tears, her arm concealing her breasts and she felt him move next to her.
"Here" he said, handing her his shirt and she uncovered herself to slip on his clothes.
"Shall I go back to my dorm?" she uttered in a strangled voice and he glanced back at her, to find that she was sitting with her arms around her knees in an attempt to self-soothe.
"You can sleep here if you want"
She thanked him, grateful, as she removed her skirt and suspender before she lied down. She watched him take off his trousers and switch off the lights with a spell, and soon enough, he was beside her, covering them both with the thick covers. He reached for the girl's waist, pulled her towards him like the first time they had shared a bed and Annabel hid her face in his neck.
He smelled of bergamot and pine trees, and she breathed his calming scent for a while.
"I'm sorry" she finally whispered against his chest.
"Don't be. It's normal" he soothed her, his fingers drawing invisible circles on the small of her back.
"No, you don't understand" she shook her head ever so slightly. "I… I'm broken"
He was quiet for a second, pondering over her words before he dismissed his daunting thoughts.
"It's all right" Tom eased her as he kissed her forehead, his hand moving up to kindly stroke her hair.
"I'll fix you"