"And I crave you.

Not like an addiction,

but an obsession."

Chapter 7: Obsessed

Tom frowned, his gaze sweeping over his workstation located in Malfoy Manor's library. He knew his black notebook was missing as soon as he walked up to the desk. His books that he had organized in piles were skewed and his papers jostled. He knew it was because of that girl.

Hermione…

The girl had completely come out of nowhere and had taken his thoughts by storm since their first meeting in his store. When Tom saw her browsing the shelves of cursed objects at his boss's behest that evening in Borgin and Burkes, his interest was immediately piqued as to why such a pretty, delicate creature would risk traveling into Knockturn Alley in the evening to peruse a shop like the one he worked at. The girl was pretty, there was no mistaking it, but delicate she was not. As soon as her honey brown eyes struck his, Tom knew she was not delicate.

She was ferocious.

The darkness behind her eyes couldn't be disguised no matter how hard she tried, and he can always tell when someone was trying to hide their darkness. Tom knew the darkness too well. Her eyes were drenched in it. Her smooth movements through the store, her calculated replies to him. It was clear fear and being scared was foreign to the girl. Whoever gave her the furniture list had clearly tried to turn her away from Knockturn Alley and she went down there anyways. She clearly chased danger and it drove Tom crazy.

And when she left the store not giving him her name, the memory of it causing Tom to clench his teeth as he reorganized his books, he nearly Avada'd her through the doorway. How dare this girl come onto his turf, tease him, lead him on in questions, and not fess up anything.

Who the fuck did she think she was?

The girl had clouded his thoughts, but he managed to shove her out as the annoying dinner that the unbearable Parkinson woman planned approached. The woman begged him to be the guest of honor and arranged the whole thing. To keep a good face with his loyal followers, he begrudgingly accepted the invite and agreed to go. He would never forget the feeling of listening to Abraxas drone on about something he couldn't even remember, it mattered so little what the boy said, when that girl's melodic voice cut through his clouded thoughts like a meat cleaver.

And there she sat. Sitting there, looking like a fucking siren next to that oaf Alphard Black, daring to make eye contact with him like she always belonged there.

Who the fuck did she think she was?

And when he caught Abraxas leering at her, he nearly ripped the man's throat out. It was bad enough the damn girl took up his thoughts, how dare Abraxas sit there and make her feel uncomfortable? Tom could see on her face that his second-in-command made her uncomfortable and he wanted to beat his face in for that. The violence that Tom felt at that moment genuinely surprised him that he had to send Abraxas away to get a drink to avoid physical conflict. Women never took up his thoughts. They chased him, he used them, would throw them away, and they would feel lucky enough that he spent any time with them at all. And here this girl was, not even chasing him, and he had been thinking about her ever since she left the store.

He ambushed her.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He could feel how slender she was, how tight she was, through his dark tendrilled magic that wove around her to pull her into that spare room. The room was so dark, and they were so quiet. No one would know if he did anything to her… When she stood in front of him, her chest heaving, the slight panic her quick breath, he almost lost it. The darkness in her eyes were laced with fear and he could feel himself practically frothing at the mouth for a taste of it. He wanted to feast on her darkness. That night with the memory of her threatening him to watch his back and her teeth and lips against his ear, he did something he hadn't done since he had graduated…

Tom had pleasured himself with the thoughts of his little fox in his mind, tied up to the bed in that dark room at Parkinson's while the rest of his moronic followers had their tea and desserts in the sitting room. He imagined his dark tendrilled magic snaking around her body, tightening around her arms and legs, spreading her for him. He thought of his hands around her throat, gripping until she was gasping out for air with his name on her lips. Leaving bruises on her from biting and sucking at her until every part of her skin was sore, leaving handprints along her body. He came as he imagined her choking on his dick while touching herself, looking up at him with tears in her honey-brown colored eyes, the darkness in them seeping out and he could finally feast on it.

Tom wanted to ruin her.

He wanted to devour her. He had decided that night after cleaning his orgasm off his chest.

And when she finally told him her name, her voice coming out like an innocent whisper, he felt it go straight to his groin.

Hermione.

She had trusted him enough to walk her home safely and to know her name even though Tom could feel her nervous hesitation.

Standing in front of her door, her small hand tightly in his, Tom couldn't help but finally feel what her delectable-looking soft lips felt against his and dared to press his against hers. It was everything he wanted it to be. Her mouth was buttery soft as he pressed hard into her, and he was convinced his fantasy from the night prior was going to unfurl in front of him. Tom was going to ruin her and send her away like all the other girls before her and she would finally stop clouding his thoughts. But he was wrong.

She had shoved him. Hard. One second all of his fantasies were coming true and the next second, he was pushed away from her. When Tom had recovered from the shock, Hermione was already in her house, slamming the door shut behind her. It left him speechless.

Who the fuck did she think she was?

This girl, this little fox, Hermione, pushed him because he dared to kiss her? Women were lucky if he wanted them and here she was pushing him away from her like he disgusted her. He had already decided that he wanted her, and she was refusing. The girl just simply had to understand that he already had decided he wanted her. He knew she was interested in him, at least a little. She had to be. Why else would she keep toying with him? Why else would she let him walk her home? Why else would she let him use her beautiful name, Hermione? It didn't make sense.

He could have murdered Abraxas when he found out the man had invited his little fox to the manor to look at his library as a ploy to get her, but he knew she was too smart for that. He at first thought maybe there was a small inkling that Hermione would be interested in Abraxas, but when Tom saw the state of his workstation with his missing black book, he felt the smirk form on his face, his black eyes twinkling. Her being there had nothing to do with Abraxas and everything to do with him, Tom Riddle.

He had skillfully appeared through the floo yesterday to catch a glimpse of his little fox in the library and thought about confronting her for shoving him, but one glimpse at her had him stopping in his path. He had never seen a look of such serene peacefulness on someone's face before. Hermione's face was completely relaxed, her hand tangled in her hair as she held her head to the side, her beautiful, pouty lips slightly parted and he watched with amusement as every so often she would mouth the words she was reading. It was clear to him that reading wasn't just a way to pass time for her, but something she greatly did appreciate. He slid into the shadows and parted through the floo as fast as he appeared, not wanting to risk his little fox's time alone.

But she had to know where her priorities should be and that was with him. She had to understand that once Tom finally had his way with her, something he knew she wanted as well, she just didn't want to admit it to herself for whatever reason, they could part ways and he would finally feel satiated. He would finally be over this fixation on this damn girl.

With the sun setting and his little fox tucked away in the walls of Malfoy Manor's library, he apparated to her home. Silently stalking up to her door, he whispered Alohamora and was surprised nothing happened. Waving his wand, he saw there were several wards in place protecting her home from intruders.

Interesting and impressive. What makes you so scared that you need to protect yourself this much?

Her wards weren't a match for his magic, but he appreciated her efforts nonetheless. Stalking inside, the shadows of her home masking him, he made his way through her home like it was his. Her living room and kitchen looked straight out of a furniture magazine. Everything looked perfectly placed like it was meant to go there. The girl must have moved her with nothing because everything looked so new. The garden extended past the kitchen patio doors holding many blooming plants and flowers. He was about to stalk up the stairs when something glinted against the setting sun, catching his eye. Tom walked closer to the door and saw a knife had sliced through a fence post clean, its blade now a fixture in the garden like a lawn ornament. He could feel the rage coming off the single object and knew it was his little fox that must have thrown it.

Her darkness.

It must have bubbled over. He imagined being a socialite made her suppress it. Tom itched to release it and so did she, apparently.

Turning away from the blade, he slithered his way to her bedroom upstairs. The room, like the rest of the house, was prim and pristine. Everything freshly bought. Except…

The red throw he sold her at their first meeting. Tom's eyes immediately went to it and he felt heat and possessiveness spread through him. When she had agreed to buy it, he had never been more surprised by someone. Someone seemingly sweet and innocent, buying something as depraved as that cursed object drove him mad. Walking towards it, he gripped the material between two fingers and felt the mad urge to wrap her up in it so until she lost every ounce of self-respect she had, until she was begging him to take her. Tom wanted her to choke on the red cloth. Dropping it, moving briskly to her bed, his pale hand outstretched over her pillow, he felt the softness of it and imagined it against his own skin as he would drill into her.

Soon.

He smirked to himself as he conjured a rose on her pillow and left his handwritten note marked with a fox. Tom knew it would make her angry and drive her over the edge. She was probably wanting to avoid him after their rendezvous, and he couldn't allow that to happen. Tom needed her flustered enough to confront him.

And that could be sooner than he thought.

As he sat in his usual chair, staring at his desk, his long legs stretched before him cross at the ankles, he was perplexed. Why would she steal his black notebook? It didn't have anything in it except notes about what he was studying and unless she knew about horcruxes and dark magic, she would have no idea what she was reading. He almost scoffed at the idea of the girl having any idea what he was up to, but a small voice in the back of his head told him not to underestimate her. The small black notebook clearly interested her for some reason. How could she know that it was an exact replica of his beloved horcrux? She couldn't know, could she?

How would she? If she did know, and that's a very large if, what he had written in the notebook would make sense to her. Because if she understood horcruxes, she understood dark magic. The thought both turned him on and filled him with rage. How dare she steal from him? Granted, he broke into her home, but it was for the greater good. Tom had to get this girl out of his head and the only way was to have to her. He couldn't do that by standing on the sidelines. He had to pursue her and pursue her hard.

But if she has an interest in his notebook, a simple fuck wouldn't just get rid of her. She clearly wanted to know something more than she was letting on. This strange girl coming from America was seemingly interested in him enough to steal his belongings and put up with Abraxas's desperate attempts to come onto her. Was she everything she said she was?

Her darkness.

Her stealing.

Her need to tease him and lead him on and then push him away…

It didn't add up. Something didn't add up and he was determined to find out what it was. He felt his dick harden in his pants and his groin tighten up as he thought about his little fox and her trickery, his head falling back as the girl swam through his thoughts. Images of the two of them wrapped in the red throw swimming through his thoughts. He slid his hand to adjust himself and gritted his teeth with the urge to release the pressure. He had to see her.

"Hey Tom, how's it going?"

He would have to see her another time.

Abraxas Malfoy had entered the library and was walking over to his old school friend.

"Fine", Tom hissed out. Adjusting his cloak to cover his discretions, he pierced his friend in his place with a stare," To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He enjoyed watching the Malfoy heir shift awkwardly in his own home. Tom knew he had that effect on people. Once he made a claim to something, no one dared question him.

If only certain little foxes would realize that…

"I was just seeing if you needed anything from me or assistance with anything", Abraxas replied, but Tom knew he was tiptoeing around something else, too scared to say what it was.

A sharp smile stretched across Tom's face as he continued to pin Malfoy down with his stare," Are you sure that's all it is? Are you sure there isn't anything else you'd like to I'm not sure, ask me or tell me?"

Although his followers were mostly the same age as him, some even older, a few younger, he talked to all of them like they were beneath him. They were not all school comrades anymore and it's important they knew that. You can't be a dictator and a peer.

"I was just wondering if you had happened to stop by at any point yesterday?" Abraxas finally choked out, his pale finger tracing a book cover," You know, for your studies."

And there it is.

Abraxas was nervous Tom had seen his guest yesterday. He could laugh at the situation, but he refrained. His second-in-command was acting like a nervous teenager sneaking a girl into his dorm room and the House-Head was going to find out. Tom really must have made an impression that night at dinner when he shood Abraxas away from the girl to want to keep her visiting a secret. A secret that was not sitting right with Tom. Did Abraxas actually think he stood a chance with the girl Tom had already aimed his next target at? If only the man knew Tom had already kissed her.

"I did stop by briefly", Tom slowly stated, his wand twirling around his fingers," But it seems the library was already preoccupied."

His black eyes flashed upwards to meet the pair of pale blue eyes meeting his and relished the panic that went through them.

"Had I known you were planning to host a book club, I would have arrived with bells on", Tom snickered," You wouldn't have been wanting to keep your new guest a secret, would you have Abraxas?"

The way the man's name flowed from Tom's lips made it sound like a father scolding his child.

"Of course not, Tom", Abraxas tried to awkwardly smile and scoff at the mere thing that had been suggested," I was just wondering. It would have been lovely for you to get to know Miss Vulpecula more. If anything…"

Abraxas sneered suddenly, like he had a secret of his own," It probably would have helped her like you more."

Tom's black eyes flashed hot, and he felt his posture stiffen," What do you mean by that?"

Abraxas shrugged, clearly enjoying that he felt that he had the upper hand. Tom would have to correct that.

"I don't know, really. She just didn't have fond things to say when you were brought up yesterday. I believe she said something along the lines of you coming off as, what was that word she used? Pompous. That was the weird."

Abraxas had a look of amusement on his face that Tom wanted to slap to get rid of.

"Did she?" Tom nodded slowly," I suppose I'll have to rectify that opinion."

Like he had slapped it, the look of amusement disappeared and was replaced by anxiety," Oh, I don't know Tom. I don't think she meant anything by it."

"Nonsense!" Tom waved his hand away from him and continued to match Abraxas pace for pace," Clearly you felt the need to bring it up, so I'll have to correct my first impression on the poor girl. And since you brought it up, you can invite her back over so I can do so."

The man said nothing. His face looked grim.

"You will invite her back over here Abraxas and you will alert me when you do so, have I made myself clear?"

All humor disappeared from Tom's voice as he spat his order out at his follower. He would not let it slide easily that Abraxas Malfoy felt that he had the upper hand on Tom Riddle when it came to the girl he was wanting to conquer and destroy.

Slowly Abraxas nodded," Yes, my lord." He quietly said.

"Very well. You're dismissed", Tom didn't even dignify the man with a wave of his hand. The orders were clear. Get out and leave me alone.

Abraxas knew this and turned promptly to leave but stopped as Tom's deep voice echoed through the library.

"You are not nearly as clever as you think you are Malfoy. You would do well to remember your place", Tom warned as he watched the man's retreating back, the library doors closing behind him. The power he got from scolding his followers and making sure they stayed in their place nearly drove him to the edge like his little fox did. He planned to confront the girl when it was just the two of them as to why she would think his black notebook was anything of value to take.

Turning his gaze back to his desk, he envisioned her sitting on his papers on the edge, splayed out for him like a damn dinner feast. He imagined how delicious she would taste and how soft her clit would be clamped between his teeth, yelling out his name until the windows around them shattered. With those thoughts in mind and knowing no interruptions would be coming anytime soon, he relieved the pressure the only way he could without her being here.

Soon, little fox.

Soon.

xoxo