"Hello, darling." His voice curled around her face, whispers tucking themselves in the smallest of crevices. His breath was warm but his hands were cold where they touched themselves on her jaw.

"Tom," she whispered as she recognized his cool tone.

"Little Dove," he murmured. "Did you miss me?" He brought his hands lower and swirled his long fingers on her collarbone. She gasped, though whether it was at the chill or the feeling of his touches penetrating something deep inside her, she didn't know. All she could focus on was the smell of musk and the sound of his deep voice intoxicating her. Just like with the voice, it entranced her every being.

Coherent thoughts weren't coming to her mind so Evelyn could only gasp out, "Y-yes," in between the gentle strokes of his fingers. It was dark in the room but somehow she knew he had a wicked smile.

Silence. Tom was studying her, still brushing his hand over her collarbone. They protruded slightly, a result of her skinny frame that her father had passed down to her. She didn't have many curves, just harsh lines like that. But the way Tom touched her made her feel almost beautiful. Like her body was a piano he used to play a haunting melody when no one had ever dared to try before.

Then, Evelyn felt the gentle presence in her mind. It was cold and dark and yet it felt right. Just... just like Tom. She felt the fingers of the presence gripping her. "W-what are you doing to me?" she stuttered breathlessly. Because despite the lack of control, it felt incredible to lose herself in him. His scent. His touch. His power.

Evelyn realized that losing control to a man like Tom wouldn't be so bad. She welcomed the presence into her mind, allowing it to explore the maze of her thoughts and memories.

"You're mine, darling," Tom said softly but not gently. His voice was firm and hard, which she didn't quite understand. She had never given him a reason to think she belonged to anyone else. From the moment she saw him in the corridor, she had been his. He had consumed her every thought, her every desire. She had always been completely and utterly his.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm yours."

A voice sounded from next to hers, a quiet whisper that held a promise within. His breath curled around her when he spoke. It brought shivers to her spine and goosebumps to her barely covered arms. "You belong to me, Evelyn Black."

She gulped, then nodded. She felt as if she was in a trance. Perhaps she was. Nothing made sense anymore, nothing but Tom.

"You will listen to my every command," he muttered, gripping her chin again with a harsh force unlike his gentle touches earlier. "You are mine. You will only allow my touch. You will only speak with me and my people. You will only do my bidding. Your every thought, every word, every touch, every gaze, every fiber of your silly being belongs to me. Your soul is mine, Little Dove, from this moment on. Do you understand?"

Perhaps there was a part of her that should have been afraid. Perhaps there was a part of her that should have tried to escape from the claws of his control. Perhaps there was a part of her that knew she shouldn't give herself to anyone mind, body, and soul. But there was also a part of her that felt the care behind his words, that was desperate to be held as he was holding her, that knew, despite his harshness, he treated her with more respect and adoration than anyone ever had. So perhaps she shouldn't give herself to this man but she had lost so much of herself over the years that she was happy to find a home with a man like him. A man who already made her feel safe, cared for, and appreciated when she had a life of everything but.

"I-I..."

He gripped her chin harder. "I said: do you understand?"

She practically moaned at the feeling of pain caused by his cold hands. Maybe there's something wrong with me, she thought. Hearing a voice, feeling a presence controlling her mind, giving herself up to a man who had a darkness in him that couldn't be contained. Yes, something was definitely wrong with her but if being wrong meant that she could be like this with Tom Riddle, she didn't want to be right.

"Yes," she gasped. Her body was beginning to burn with need for him. Evelyn's knees felt weak and she struggled to keep herself upright. The only thing that kept her standing was him."Yes, I understand. I'm yours, Tom."

When he spoke, his lips were only millimeters away from hers. "Good," he murmured. "Because I don't like to share and I'm not planning on ever giving you up."

She wanted desperately to close the gap between them but a part of her knew that she shouldn't. Tom was the one in control. Tom was the one who decided what moves to make and when. She was just his little pawn, his little dove trained to do his body.

Was it insane that she liked that?

A cold presence came even closer, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in attention. Her breath hitched as she waited... waited...

"Sleep," Tom whispered in a distorted voice that somehow echoed inside of her head. And immediately, she did. The world turned black and Evelyn fell, barely registering the cold, hard hands that grabbed her before she could hit the floor.

Evelyn gasped awake. She was lying on top of the softest bed she had ever felt, feeling several thick pillows and luxurious blankets surrounding her. The fabric of her peignoir drifted around her body and her nightgown had moved up during the night, leaving most of her body exposed to the chill that surrounded her. It was dark in the room yet many candles were lit, all of them surrounding the bed. She almost felt as if she were at a seance performed to summon her.

Where am I? What happened? she wondered as she stared at the unfamiliar room. It was dark and completely black save for the dim yellow light of the candles in faded black holders. Unlike the other Slytherin dorms, this room had only one bed, a regal, black poster bed with thin fabric surrounding it, making the room around her look blurry and distorted.

Evelyn sat up and attempted to rub her eyes. The strap of her nightgown fell, exposing even more of herself. Her mind was too focused on the dream to care. It had felt so real, like Tom was really in front of her, really caressing her, really calling her his. It felt fuzzy, like a memory so distorted by both her confusion and lack of sleep. But it wasn't real. It couldn't have been. Tom would never have done that. Her trauma-induced brain probably read too much into what Mattheo had been saying lately. After all, she was completely alone in the bedroom. If Tom really did seek her last night, he would have been there.

Plus, not even Tom had the power to control minds from a distance. No one could do that, not without being in the same room, so of course it was a dream because there was absolutely no way he would have been able to summon her like that.

No, it wasn't real. It couldn't have been real.

But why did she want it to be?

Evelyn sighed and raked her fingers through her waves. She sat up from the bed and was about to stand up when a voice startled her.

"You're awake."

Immediately, her mouth became dry. She recognized that voice. She dreams of it, yearned for it, longed to hear it during every moment of silence.

"Tom," she whispered.

"Little Dove."

Suddenly, he appeared before her, pushing back the curtains on the bed and staring at where she lay on the bed vulnerably. With her nightgown practically falling off and the robe barely covering her, she felt very exposed. But Evelyn didn't dare try to cover herself; she had a feeling Tom wouldn't have liked that.

She wasn't sure where he appeared from. It was almost as if he manifested in the shadows at the edge of the room. The candlelight danced across his face, making him look like a vengeful God who caught a fair maiden in his trap. Her breath hitched as he stared at her up and down with a dark look she couldn't quite interpret.

"W-where am I?"

"My bedroom," he said simply.

"Why?"

"Because I brought you here. I know you remember, darling. I can see the 'dream' in your mind." So he was a Legilimens, a skilled one at that. She could hardly feel his presence in her mind, almost as if the shadows of Tom were a part of her already.

And... and it wasn't a dream. No. That can't be right. It doesn't feel like a memory. She ignored her thoughts and turned back to him. "Why did you bring me here?"

"My, my, we ask a lot of questions in the morning, don't we?" He taunted, looking down at where she lay exposed with a smirk. Evelyn squirmed as she felt a slight flush rise through her body. "Tell me, my darling, do you truly not remember anything?"

She furrowed her eyebrows as she wracked her mind but it was too difficult to sift through what was real and what was just a vision. And if Tom was truly inside of her head, all of it could have been visions. It could just be a trick, a ploy, a deception—

"Do you truly think this is a deception?" he hissed as his hand gripped her chin firmly, forcing her eyes to look into his. She let out a soft breath through parted lips. His fingers were so cold yet so warm and so... so intoxicating. Waves of desire began to rush through her as her entire body focused on needing Tom. Evelyn felt like she needed him like she needed air to breathe. Everything was so consumed by Tom, by the man's touch she was desperate to receive. "Is the way your body reacts to me deception? Is the way you curl your toes or arch your back a trick? Is the way you need me a ploy? You are mine, Little Dove, your mind just denies it far more than your body does. I've hardly touched you and yet you have melted into my hands that are all too willing to control what you have so quickly handed over. I control you, Evelyn. That is no deception."

His hands moved down to her neck and began to firmly grasp it. She gasped as oxygen ceased to flow to her head. But instead of feeling panicked, instead of trying to wrench his claws from her tender throat, Evelyn felt delirious. There was something about handing over her very life force to the man she had surrendered herself to fully. Tom allowed her just enough air to stay calm, though his firm grip suggested that he could take it away instantly if he wanted. She only felt her core clench as he stared into her eyes with dark irises that made her feel desperate for more.

"Tom," she whimpered, which made him grip her even harder.

"Little Dove," he growled. "You will speak only when asked. Do you understand?"

She nodded, which made his lips uptick. "Good girl," he crooned, leaning closer to her face. "You have surrendered to me so easily. I wonder, my darling, what else you would do for that ounce of love you've been denied." With his other hand, he grabbed her right forearm and stared at it with a smirk. "Would you mark yourself as my father's followers did for him? Would you scar your body to be reminded of me? Would you burn for me?"

He chuckled darkly. "No, you wouldn't burn for me. But I would. I would burn for you, Evelyn darling. I would flush out every corner of this Earth so no man, woman, or child could ever keep you from me. I would set this entire planet aflame so no corner could conceal you from my gaze. You are mine and I have only just begun to claim what I desire."

She whimpered again at his words. They made her legs tingle and her stomach flip. Evelyn had never felt so wanted, so pursued. All throughout her life, she had felt alone and undesired, left behind by parents who barely knew she existed and grandparents who tried to forget the fact that she did. She was always a shadow at the edge of the room, someone other's eyes glazed over whenever they tried to look at her.

But Tom saw her. Tom desired her. Tom wanted her.

And who was she to deny the Dark Lord?

"Such a good girl, you are. I can feel your willingness to give in to me in your mind. I can smell your wetness. I can sense your submission... You may speak, Little Dove," he whispered, letting up some of his grip on her throat.

She looked into his eyes, his dark, beautiful eyes. They enchanted her weeks ago and they enchanted her now. "Tom," she whispered. "Why do you want me? Why me?"

He pushed her back onto the bed. Perhaps it would have been rough if it weren't for the many black pillows that broke her fall. Tom kneeled on the bed, moving forward until hovered over her. His legs straddled either side of her body. Then, he lowered his lips to her neck but he didn't make contact. He was so close that she could feel his minty breath as he spoke. "Because," he muttered. "You call to the darkest parts of my soul, Evelyn Black. I sense shadows within you that call to my own. Your eyes see into parts of me I didn't even know I had. You have been mine since I first laid eyes on you. Mine. I will be damned if I let anything stand in my way of having you."

She shuddered. Suddenly, Tom's lips descended onto her neck, placing one, long kiss. His lips were cold but deliciously soft. Goosebumps immediately appeared onto her arm and she couldn't contain her gasp from escaping.

"I fucking hate the way you make me feel," he growled. "It's pathetic."

Heat began to make its way up from her toes to her head, lingering in her core and shielding her mind from any rational thought. If this is what only a kiss did to her, she wasn't sure she could handle more. "Tom," Evelyn moaned.

He smirked. "Such a needy girl, are we? Don't worry. We have plenty of time to remedy it." All too soon, though, he pulled away. "But not today. You've had a long night and I cannot afford to lose myself in you right now."

"But—"

"Don't argue with me," he commanded, his voice just as steely and hard as his eyes. Evelyn gulped and nodded. "Good. Never forget that only I know what is best for you. Your body might be ready but your eyes are fearful and your eyes are dark from exhaustion. Tell me why you haven't been eating and sleeping."

"How did you—" Mattheo. She couldn't be upset with him; he admitted during their first conversation that she was spying on her for Tom. At the time, she thought it was because of his promise to Snape. Now, she knew otherwise. Despite his cold exterior, he cared for her. Cared enough to have a thirteen-year-old report on her. It was more than anyone else had ever done for her.

Tom just stared at her and waited for her to speak. She looked down at the bed and ran her hands through her long hair. "I just... I don't like Halloween."

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him. His eyes were softer, his grip gentler. It was a subtle difference but she noticed it, the way he held her a bit more tenderly. It seemed that desire, to Tom, was hard and firm but it wasn't the only way he treated her. She smiled to herself softly. "Why?" he demanded.

"I had a very bad Halloween when I was six." She winced as the memories came back to her. The beater's club, the screaming, the pain. If Tom truly was in her head, he saw it. Based on the way his jaw clenched and his eyes darkened, he did.

"I hate Halloween too," he muttered. "It was the day my father died, leaving Mattheo and I as orphans subject to the pity of others. When I was seven, on the first anniversary of his death, I remember feeling such darkness uncurl inside of me. It's never gone away but it's always worse on Halloween."

When he was seven... Tom seemed to realize it at the same time she did. He felt darkness on the night she was first beaten by her grandmother and continued to feel it afterward. "Do you think..." she trailed off. Do you think you could feel it? My sorry and pain?

"Yes. I do." Confusion immediately flooded her body. Why could he feel these things? Why did they have such an odd, unexplainable connection? "I don't know." Right. He could read her mind, which sucked considering she couldn't read his.

Tom grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it gently. It was amazing how he went from literally choking her to tenderly holding her hand as if she might break. "I will figure it out," he vowed with a dark voice. "But for now, I must watch over you."

"Because of the Death Eaters?"

His jaw clenched. "Yes. Because of them."

"Why?"

His gaze darted to her. "I will tell you later, when you are ready and when I know more. But for now, you must listen to whatever I tell you, no matter how much you disagree. I care only of your safety, even if it means you are unhappy with me."

"Alright," she whispered. She had already surrendered her control to him anyway.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Good. You will be staying in my dorm until the threat is extinguished and I will be keeping an eye on you at all times you are not in classes."

Her eyes widened. Stay with him? Have him as her guardian? "But—"

Tom's hand appeared at her throat again. All traces of gentleness were gone. "Do not argue with me, Evelyn, and do not question me. Not unless you want to die."

She had wanted to die, she'd wanted to die ever since she was six years old and felt the cold embrace of darkness surrounding her. She didn't ask for this life, didn't want it. Evelyn had wanted death for years. No one cared if she was alive. If anything, it probably made things better for everyone—

"Do not finish that fucking thought, Little Dove. Because it's pure and utter bullshit when you have someone right in front of you that fucking cares."

Evelyn gulped and nodded. "Sorry," she whispered. "I'm not used to having someone that does."

Tom loosened his grip on her throat and brought his forehead to hers. "Well, that's over now. You are mine, darling, and I protect my belongings. So you will not be dying, not for a long, long time."

His hands moved to her cheek, long fingers curling into her hair as he held her. Evelyn brought her hand up to his, grasping it softly. "Alright," she whispered. "I will stay here until the threat is eliminated. But you cannot watch me at all hours of the day. You're a student, too, and Head Boy—"

He chuckled. "Little Dove, you forget that a part of my mind lingers in yours. I always know where you are, what you're doing, what you're seeing. Even when I cannot be with you, a part of me is."

"How?"

Tom shrugged, though she could tell from the tenseness of his body that he didn't like being in the dark. "We have a bond, one that amplifies my powers with you. My legilimency is stronger, my shadows darker. I suspect that if you need me, you would be able to reach down the bond and use it to your advantage."

She frowned but closed her eyes and tried to find the bond. She focused all of her energy on finding that tether between them, the part of her soul that was connected to him. There was a darkness inside of her, one that made it hard to search. But then, she felt it. A glowing cord inside of her that reached for him, that focused all of its energy on the man whose musk was filling her every pore.

Evelyn followed the cord until she reached a pit of darkness, a place with a malevolent aura. She was in the devil's lair and yet... and yet there was a part of tenderness. It was small and barely distinguishable but there was something soft in the darkness, something connected to the bond. In his mind, Evelyn saw his shadows but she also saw his budding feelings for her, feelings connected by a cord neither of them could explain.

Tom, she whispered inside of his mind.

Little Dove, he responded instantly with a slight smile in his voice. If you need me or if anything feels off, you are to reach out to me immediately. Do you understand?

"Yes," she said out loud. Evelyn remained silent for a moment before quietly whispering, "Tom... am I safe?"

His eyes studied her for a moment. Then, Tom leaned forward and kissed her forehead. It was so tender, so soft compared to the shadows within him. "Yes," he said quietly. "As long as you are with me, you are safe."

She leaned into the hand on her cheek. "I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

"Good," he said simply. "I wouldn't have let you. You're mine, Little Dove. You won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

And she didn't want to. She would remain there surrounded by Tom's darkness for eternity as long as he allowed it. She was his, utterly so.

Completely.

I sincerely hope you guys are liking this story! It's a little different from my other's and Tom isn't exactly a role model for male behavior so even though I love it, can't always help the insecurities haha. Please consider leaving a review and letting me know what you think. Thanks all! x