Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Tom eagerly devoured the praise Merope lavished upon him as he completed his fourth year at Hogwarts with top marks in all of his studies.
Still, his mother's approval wasn't enough to satisfy him.
While he spent entire days longing for Harriet as he carried on with his outward facade, Tom looked forward to leaving Hogwarts behind and beginning his adult life.
A few more years and he would be a grown man, able to do exactly as he pleased without the pesky restrictions on underage magic, without an adult's approval, and without………without restraint.
On rainy Saturdays, while Harriet was busy at Quidditch practice, Tom dove into his personal studies as he sat surrounded by a mountain of books in the library.
His dark eyes narrowed as he consumed page after page of information on the Dark Arts and their many applications.
Sometimes those dismal afternoons birthed deranged fantasies in young Tom Riddle's mind.
A simple brew of Amortentia would enslave Harriet to him forever, as long as he had her swallow the appropriate dose every so often.
The Binding Curse would allow him to shackle her to a bed purely for his enjoyment.
The Silencing Spell cast with malicious intent would render her speechless, unable to stand witness against him.
Tom sighed to himself one evening as he realized the frivolity of his wild dreamings.
Although he found it tempting to imagine grabbing his gratification by force, force was not how he preferred to acquire Harriet Potter.
Tom would not have repressed his primal wants and brutal methods for anyone else other than his darling.
No amount of money could be given to make Tom harm Harriet, no bargain, no deal, no promise.
Regardless, Tom Riddle failed to understand his obsession with his Gryffindor queen had turned into love.
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His reluctance to use Dark Magic on Harriet did not mean he had abandoned pursuit.
Deciding that he would first need to make himself a capable mate in her eyes, Tom shouldered the responsibility of finding employment just before his fifth year began.
For a school boy, the hours he worked at Hogsmeade's apothecary were long and strenuous.
As the summer passed, Tom hoped Harriet would deem his efforts at working hard as a noble sacrifice.
It pained him to see the hours pass during each shift and know that each moment had been spent without Harriet.
As his fifth year commenced and with it, the Triwizard Tournament, Tom delighted in the age restriction placed on entering the competition.
If students under seventeen had been permitted to put forth their names, he would have had no choice but to drop a piece of parchment in the goblet……all to impress Harriet, of course.
Unlike other alphas his age, Tom barely noticed the Beauxbatons.
The boys from Durmstrang didn't seem to threaten him, already far too comfortable with his own ego to be challenged.
While the first semester droned on, Tom continued studying, working, and chatting with Harriet, his good friend.
By taking the magical bus from London to Hogsmeade, Tom worked through the winter recess during the evenings, eager to save as much money as possible.
Late one night, as he prepared to close the empty shop, he glanced up as the door bell rang.
Ring, ring.
His dark eyes widened as he gladly greeted his last customer of the day, "Hello, Harriet."
"Hello, Tom." She breathed with a forced smile.
Tom hadn't forgotten his darling had mentioned she'd stay at the castle for the holiday, though he was surprised to find her in his shop.
"Lovely to see you this evening." He said with a smile before his pleased expression vanished only to be replaced by a frown, "You look a bit pale……...Shall I take you to Madam Pomfrey?"
"No, I….I'm fine, I just came to buy some black cohosh." Harriet weakly replied.
Tom rushed around the counter to catch Harriet in his arms as she groaned and sank towards the floor.
"Careful!" He called as he helped her onto a nearby bench, "Harriet, can you hear me?"
His eyes narrowed to slits as he nervously watched while she fought against her lightheadedness to focus on his face.
"Yeah…..sorry, the walk here was a bit too long today. I've barely been out of bed…..Wood's going to murder me for missing practice." Harriet groaned as Tom gently leaned her back until she rested securely against the wall.
"Harriet….." Tom breathed as he knelt in front of her, "What's happened? You can tell me anything! We're the best of friends, aren't we?"
Tom found himself torn between two wildly different emotions.
His concern for Harriet's well-being sent bile rising in the back of his throat.
On the other hand, the fact that his beloved had wandered into his shop, desperate for help, in need of his assistance made him want to lick his lips.
"Sure." Harriet said hazily as she sighed, "The…..The best of friends. Heat cramps are still rather embarrassing."
"Oh………" Tom replied in a single utterance.
He grit his teeth against the sudden, unwelcome surge of arousal that coursed through his groin.
"I usually have them a week or so before it starts." Harriet confessed as she passed a hand over her clammy face, "The tonic Madam Pomfrey gives us all helps, but this time's different. This time's bad, Tom, it's really bad!"
As Harriet curled forward and squeezed her eyes shut, Tom let her grasp his hand for support.
"Breathe." He commanded as he watched the movement of Harriet's chest cease.
"Breathing makes it worse." She hissed.
"Well, lack of oxygen will make your lightheadedness worse, won't it?" He snapped.
Harriet sighed as she took a shuddering breath while the sharp cramp in her lower belly moved like the sharp edges of an unforgiving razor.
He scowled as he watched her lean on the side of the counter for support as the colour drained from her face.
Deftly, Tom let her dangle an arm over his shoulders while he slipped his other around her waist.
"I've got you, Harriet." He whispered while her eyes rolled in her head as her knees buckled, "I've got you…….."
A small groan issued from her lips as she leaned against Tom, who held her steady and saved her from collapsing onto the floor.
Harriet barely noticed him helping her over to lie down on a bench in the apothecary as the room spun around her.
As he bit back the desire to close the shop, pull her into his arms, and take advantage of her most vulnerable moment, Harriet sighed.
Once her head rested against the cushion of the bench seat, she vaguely realized Tom let go and slipped away from her.
Her eyelids closed before they fluttered open at the sound of his voice, "Harriet?...Harriet?"
Harriet took a deep, heaving breath as Tom's face hovered in front of hers.
"Eat this." He commanded as he pressed something against her lips.
Desperate to escape her hormonal haze, Harriet parted her pink lips and let Tom push a bit of black cohosh into her mouth.
She battled the urge to vomit as she chewed the bitter pulp and swallowed.
Her head was tilted up, then cool water touched her lips.
Harriet gasped once she took a long sip, after which Tom gently laid her back down on the bench.
"Pain……." Harriet managed to whisper as her eyes closed again and her brow furrowed.
Tom watched her place a hand over her belly and splay her fingers across the area just below where he assumed her navel to be.
He silently decided to boldly offer a greater level of help to his suffering darling.
As Harriet writhed to get comfortable, Tom reached out, moved Harriet's hands away, and placed both of his over her empty womb.
Gently but firmly, he began to knead at the tensing muscles there until Harriet sighed in relaxation.
Tom watched her furrowed brow ease as he continued his ministrations.
"Tom……." Harriet whispered as she pushed her hips against the fabric of the bench.
"You should feel better in a moment." He told her reassuringly, "I can take you back to the castle now, if you'd prefer?"
"No………" Harriet mumbled.
"Are you certain?" Tom grinned, "I could probably convince the Fat Lady to let me pass."
"...Don't want Viktor to see me this way." Harriet sighed as her eyes remained closed.
Tom's hands stopped moving as his heart thudded in his chest.
His stomach took a sickening lurch as he asked, "...What was that?"
"Viktor……..asked me to meet him……for a butterbeer…" Harriet admitted as her cramps threatened to crescendo again.
"Viktor?" Tom snarled.
"...Krum." Harriet breathed.
Tom remained silent as he slipped into a boiling void of his own envious rage.
A few moments later, exactly as he expected, Harriet slowly woke from her trance, sat up, and rubbed her eyes.
It annoyed Tom that although she stood on the cusp of her heat, due to the earliness of her cycle and the black cohosh, he had failed to detect a single whiff of her.
"How are you feeling now?" He asked as she hesitantly looked around.
"Loads better! Thanks, Tom." Harriet nodded with a wry smile.
Tom smiled in return as he offered Harriet his hand, helped her stand, and then continued their chat while she completed her purchase.
Another customer came in as soon as Harriet left the shop, much to Tom's dismay.
Another customer followed.
……..Then one more afterwards.
By the time the apothecary closed, Tom gnashed his teeth as he closed and locked the door with a simple spell.
He sighed as he waved his wands and drew the curtains in the shop.
It made him want to explode knowing that after years of giving Harriet her space and carefully calculating his approach, an unseen enemy had beaten him to his own glory.
"GGYYYAAAA!"
Tom released his anger in one explosive burst.
He cried out as he opened his arms wide with his wand in hand.
The Dark Curse that issued from his wand sent jars shattering, herbs flying, and wood splintering.
As he stood in the ruined apothecary, Tom tried to steady his own ragged breathing.
With one single curse, he had smashed everything in the apothecary.
He stepped on a piece of broken glass and listened to it splinter under the sole of his shoe while he thought.
At whatever cost, he understood then that he would have no choice but to do the same to Viktor Krum.
