I had ever intention of posting YESTERDAY, but...as you can see, it didn't happen! Not because it wasn't finished...noooo, it was because I was starting to put up Christmas on my only day off. I'd have liked to just sit ALL day in my jammies, working on this, but I felt guilty that our house had no lights outside. *sigh*

And then I decided to clean up C27 and sent it off to Sharie...thank you, my friend, for the British fixies!

Then finally I got to C17...for formatting...but I was just too sleepy last night to finish and post, so I set up my Kindle to watch Downton Abbey in bed...and promptly fell asleep before the opening credits had even finished rolling. Haha.

Last, I don't think I've responded to comments from C16...sorry. Today after work I will reread them and comment where necessary. I'd really like to comment on all of them, but the anonymous ones..."Guest"...are impossible. *sigh*

Anyway...here you go!

Chapter Seventeen
"Caught"

"So," Buffy started, clearing her throat. "How many classes will we have?"

Tom glanced up at her and frowned. She had her head tilted to the side, her eyes staring at him, but shifting back and forth between him and the doorway—then he realized she was discreetly gesturing at the door.

"Oh. Um. A fair few," he said with looking over there. "There are nine main courses. And electives too."

"Hmm. That's a lot and I'm so behind. I doubt I'll have time for extras," she said as she closed her book and handed it to Tom—then looked at the door. "Oh. Hi guys."

Billy Stubbs eyed her, as did the boy with him.

"I'm Buffy," she said as she stood up, crossed the room, and held out her hand in greeting to the boy she didn't know.

Billy just stared at her. The other boy blinked, then took her hand. "I'm Eric Whalley. Buffy you say? Is that short for something?" he asked.

"Nope. It's just Buffy," she responded, giving the boy her brightest smile.

Eric looked at Buffy and smiled back, his gaze sort of goofy-looking.

From across the room, Tom rolled his eyes, then snapped his book closed loudly—startling Eric.

"You're not supposed to have girls in your room, Riddle," said Billy, his eyes now turned on Tom.

"Gawd, you're like a broken record," Buffy said with a roll of her eyes.

Billy narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not sure this concerns you."

Buffy huffed. "You're talking about me as if I wasn't here, so...it concerns me plenty!" she snapped. "What's it to you if Tom has a girl in his room? You're not the one to get in trouble, are you? Maybe you could just butt out!"

Billy glanced at Tom. "Letting a girl fight your battles, eh Riddle?"

Tom gnashed his teeth with anger and stood up. Tom was the tallest in the room—and he looked a bit scary when he was angry.

Buffy glanced between the boys, her eyes telling Tom that she didn't need help and that he didn't need to care what Billy Stubbs thought of him.

Relaxing a bit, Tom chuckled. "I neither need someone to fight for me, nor do I care what you think, Stubbs. And you ought to be careful where Buffy is concerned," he warned. "For a girl, she'll surprise you. She did me."

Billy eyed Buffy again, then backed out of the doorway. "Come on, Eric, let's go!"

Eric nodded, but looked at Buffy. "It was nice to meet you."

Buffy smiled at the boy. "Yeah. Same here," she said—then glared at Billy.

Turning, Billy walked away, taking Eric with him.

"Well, that was fun," Buffy said once the two other orphans were gone. "Such a pleasant bunch."

Tom smirked. "We're all one of kind here at Wools," he said.

Buffy snorted. "I can see that," she said. "Eric seemed nice though."

Tom snorted. "I assure you, he's not. It was just you. How do you manage to put everyone under your spell?" Tom asked.

Buffy laughed. "What spell? Billy certainly isn't under any sort of spell."

Tom harrumphed. "Eric sure seemed to like you."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I see the green-eyed monster has gotten to you again," she said. "But I assure you, you have nothing to worry about."

Tom frowned. "I do though, don't I? At some point you're going to leave here...to go home," he whispered.

"Can't we worry about that...if it happens?"

"When it happens," he corrected.

"We don't know that it will," she said. "They might find a way to send me home today or I could be here for the rest of my life. As far as I'm concerned, I'm here for the unforeseeable future."

Tom felt the panic building again and had to work to push it away. This girl, that he liked far too much for his liking, was not permanent, he told himself. She was here now, but she could be gone tomorrow. He really shouldn't allow himself to get any closer to her than he already had. The entire situation with her was ludicrous!

"We should stop this," he said with a sigh. "Now. Before it's too late."

"What?! No! We are not stopping this!" Buffy burst, making a quick gesture between them. "At the very least, I don't want to lose a friend."

"So...we're friends?" he queried.

"Buffy smiled. "Uh huh," she said, bobbing her head as she moved toward him with a gleam of...something...in her eyes.

He smirked as she neared. "I'm not accustomed to having friends, Buffy," he said as he reached out and grabbed her wrist—and pulled her close. Again, he knew she could wrench free if she wished, but he was overjoyed that she made no move to disentangle herself from him.

Pressed against him, Buffy sighed contentedly—then huffed. "We have incoming," she grumbled with irritation.

Tom frowned, unsure of her meaning.

"Someone is coming again," she said grumpily. "I suspect we've been tattled on."

Tom chuckled—and held on tight when she moved to separate from him. "I'm not surprised. Billy does not like me."

"So you've said. And with good reason, you say?"

Tom nodded.

"How much trouble are you going to be in?" she asked, letting herself be held. "For me being in here."

Shrugging, he leaned down slightly, so that his lips were nestled in her hair by her ear. "I'm not sure I care," he whispered, ignoring the figure he could feel in the doorway. He could tell it was Mrs Cole, but he was not going to look at her. Maybe she'd go away.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle!" snapped a voice belonging to Mrs Cole. "What is going on in here?!"

Sighing, Tom looked up at the sharp-featured woman glaring at them. "Hello, Mrs Cole."

At this point Buffy separated herself from Tom and looked at the older woman. "Hi again, Mrs Cole."

The woman's eyes narrowed at the little interloper. "You should not be up in the boys' wing, young lady...let alone inside one of the boys' rooms."

"We were just studying," Buffy said. "Honest."

Mrs Cole stared at her, then looked to Tom for a better explanation. One that was closer to the truth.

"We were studying, Mrs Cole," he said, gesturing at his books—which were strewn everywhere. "We just got...a bit distracted."

Buffy tried to hide a giggle—and failed. Sort of. Her hidden giggle came out more as a snort—and sounded a bit rude.

Mrs Cole continued to stare, completely shocked by what she was hearing—and seeing. Who was this boy and what had he done with the discontented, sullen, unpleasant—and possibly malicious—boy who didn't seem to like anyone? And who was this girl who'd managed to break through his tough outer shell?

"Indeed," the skinny woman said. "I believe the studying has come to an end now, so we'll just end the visit as well."

"Yes, Mrs Cole," Tom said politely, giving her a clipped nod.

"Oh. I was hoping to spend the day with Tom, Mrs Cole," Buffy said, pouting just a little. "My...um... aunts asked me to come here and invite him over for the afternoon. And for dinner, if that would be all right with you?"

Buffy waited while Mrs Cole assessed her and her request.

"They allowed you to come on your own to do this?" the woman asked, confused by a young teenage girl walking about freely in war-torn London. It wasn't exactly the safest place.

Buffy shrugged. "Where I'm from, I'm used to doing everything on my own. My parents are super busy," she said, not mentioning that her parents were divorced and that she hardly ever saw her father.

"Hmm. And where are you from?"

"The United States. California."

"Hmm. It's hard to believe you were allowed to travel to London, in these times."

Buffy shrugged. "Yes, well, my aunts needed me here and, like I said, my parents are extremely busy. I hardly see them."

"I would like to speak to your aunts, if Tom is to go out for the day," said Mrs Cole. "Just to verify that he's been invited."

Buffy nodded. "Okay. If you'd like to accompany us back to their house in Soho..."

Mrs Cole's eyes widened. "Soho!? You came all the way here from there alone?"

Buffy shrugged. "It's not that far. Just a few stops on your subway."

"Well, I'm not taking the Tube across town to check with them about this!" the older woman snapped. "I have an orphanage to run!"

"Right. Of course," Buffy said. "So then, can he come over? I assure you he's invited."

Mrs Cole looked unsure and it appeared that she was going to say no, so Buffy continued.

"If you'd like, I could run home and have one of my aunts write out an invitation. Would that change your mind?" Buffy asked—but went on when Mrs Cole didn't answer. "Or if that's not enough, I'm sure one of them would be willing to come over in person to extend the invitation personally...if you'd prefer."

Mrs Cole sighed. "Oh, all right!" she snapped. "Tom may go this time, but I'd like to speak to one of your aunts as soon as possible."

Buffy grinned and nodded. "Okay."

"But you cannot be in Tom's room. Not even for studying," Mrs Cole scolded. "Tom knows better, but I can see he needs reminding. We have rooms for this...on the ground floor...where students can be observed." She looked at Tom and shook her head. "I do not want this to happen again, do you understand?"

Tom nodded. "Yes, Mrs Cole," he said. "We really were studying."

"Hmph! And kissing, I think."

"Just the once," Buffy blurted.

The older woman glared. "It is highly inappropriate for young people to be doing such things."

Buffy nodded. "Yes. It was wrong. It won't happen again," she promised, keeping a straight face.

"Now, I'll stand right outside while you tidy up this room, Tom, then I'll escort the both of you to the entrance door."

Tom nodded and started gathering his books to put away—and Buffy helped him. When Tom opened his trunk, where he stored all his school things, Buffy got curious.

"You still have all your previous years' books," she stated, noticing all the neat piles of books—four stacks, one for each year he'd been at Hogwarts.

"Oh. Um. Yes. I probably should have returned them," he said sheepishly, "but I reread them over the summers...to refresh my mind." And to keep busy over his horribly long and boring summers, Tom added to himself—then looked down at her and frowned. "You know, you could borrow my first year books, so you can start on the basics, if you'd like," he offered, reaching down and picking up the first stack.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah. That would be great if you really don't mind."

"I don't mind," he said. "Here, we'll put them in my book bag, so it'll be easier to carry them back to Vin and Sophie's."

Buffy nodded and watched as he shuffled things around, then went to his wardrobe and got some spare clothing. She could see that he didn't have much in there and thought about the near to bursting closet she had at home in her own time. It wasn't fair, she thought, looking away as he handled his undergarments—he was clearly trying to be discreet. She didn't miss though, that he'd sneaked his wand into the bag.

~oOo~

Back down in the lobby of the orphanage, Mrs Cole eyed the pair. "When exactly will you return?" she asked Tom.

"Oh. Um," was all Tom was able to say. He looked at Buffy.

"Oh! Vin and Sophie are okay with Tom staying for however long," she said. "One of our professors might come over so..."

"Professor Dumbledore," Tom added. "I'm sure you must remember him?"

Mrs Cole nodded. "Nice chap," she said. "But I'm not sure about...Tom staying overnight." She was frowning.

"Oh. Right. Well, it's a big house, Mrs Cole. We have the space," Buffy said, not mentioning that there were only three bedrooms—or the fact that Vin and Sophie went out A LOT! "I'm sure there's enough space for everyone. And it'll keep Tom out of your hair. You don't mind sleeping on one of the couches in the spare room, do you, Tom?"

Tom shook his head. "No, of course not," he said, keeping to himself that a sofa at the Fairweather house was significantly more comfortable than the shoddy bed he had here at Wools.

"Just so long as Tom behaves himself," Mrs Cole said. "His behavior, after all, reflects heavily on our establishment, you see."

Buffy nodded.

"I will be a perfect gentleman, Mrs Cole. I promise."

"Hmm. So, you'll be home...when?"

Tom gnashed his teeth. While he did reside at Wools, he did not consider it a home. "I'm not sure. When would you like me to return?" he asked, turning the question back to the orphanage matron.

"Would a few days be all right, Mrs Cole?" Buffy cut in. "I'm going to start at Tom's school in the fall and I'd really like to get some catch up studying done. The material here is so different. It would be super helpful if Tom was there to assist me. I'm just... so behind."

"That might be all right," she said. "But I'd like you to check in, Tom."

Tom nodded.

"And I need at least one of your aunts to come over here, so that I can verify that all of this is...above board," she went on.

Buffy nodded. "I'm sure that won't be a problem. Vin and Sophie would totally be okay with that."

"Very well then, you may leave," the woman said. She still sounded reluctant, but being rid of Tom Riddle sounded good in her book, so she stopped her objections and would allow the girl's aunts to deal with him. "But remember to behave yourselves."

Both Buffy and Tom nodded as they opened the front door and started down the steps. Mrs Cole watched them descend the steps, then closed the door.

They were a block away before they spoke.

"Well. That was relatively easy," said Buffy.

Tom nodded. "Are Vin and Sophie really going to be happy with me staying for a couple days?"

Buffy nodded. "Of course. I overheard them talking about Wools. They hate that place."

Tom harrumphed. "That makes three of us!"

"I'm sorry," Buffy said quietly.

Tom shrugged. "I hate it, but I'm used to it. It's all I know, really."

Buffy frowned. "That makes me sad."

Tom glanced at her and tried to smile—then reached out and draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close as they walked down into Lambeth North Station.

~oOo~

Once settled on the correct northbound train, Buffy turned to Tom and said, "So. Marvolo, huh?"

Despite himself, Tom blushed. "I really can't say where it came from," he said, glaring at her just a bit. "If I hadn't been told it was a family name...mother's side or father's, I have no idea...then I'd have thought someone at the orphanage really hated me, even as a newborn baby. Mrs Cole once commented that she thought my family had been circus performers, but I don't think that's true. Just her drawing conclusions because of my name."

Buffy snorted. "And you scoffed at my name."

"In my defense, you had just attacked me. And you'd been sitting on top of me...half naked, I might add!" he said.

She rolled her eyes. "First, I woke up in an unfamiliar place... in the dark...with some very strange boy...that I didn't know! And second, I was completely covered... totally not my fault that your maleness," she said with a gesture down at his groin, "was reacting to an innocent girl in her jammies." She grinned when he blushed again—then childishly stuck her tongue out at him when he opened his mouth to counter her comments.

"The encounter was awkward for both of us, I'll give you that," he conceded, glancing away to gather his composure.

Buffy laughed. "Okay...so, enough of that. I have a question."

His eyes went back at her. "All right. I will answer if I can," he said—already regretting giving her the okay to question him.

"Okay. So. If you did have family, why then were you left at Wools?"

Tom frowned. "I don't know if I had family," he said—then shrugged. "I mean, I must have, right? Everyone has parents."

Buffy nodded.

"But if there were other relatives...they didn't want me, I suppose," he said grimly, looking away ashamedly. He loathed his situation—it was such an embarrassment. And he detested talking about himself! How was this girl able to get him to talk? She was a slayer, and now a witch, it seemed. He could imagine that she'd bewitched him. She didn't even have a wand yet. And there was no malice in her questioning. She was truly just curious.

But this was private information that he'd never divulged about himself in the past. At school no one had asked. That wasn't the Slytherin way and he only interacted with the Slytherins, so there really wasn't anyone else. And if anyone had dared, he would either have not responded at all or made some sort of terse retort about minding one's own business. And he would have definitely made sure they never asked again—by any means necessary. Outside of those at Wools, there were now only two individuals who knew of his living arrangements—Professor Dumbledore and now Buffy Summers. Four really, if you counted Vin and Sophie Fairweather, but they had no contact with those at the orphanage.

It wasn't like some of his classmates hadn't guessed though. Not about him living in an orphanage. That, he was sure, no one knew. He was always extremely careful to avoid anyone finding out. But he couldn't hide his lack of belongings when he went to school—or how shabby the ones he did have were. Every year he took great pains to make sure everything he brought with him was in the best condition possible. And he supposed he did owe Dumbledore something for making sure he had all his supplies—and robes that fit properly. His robes were always decent and they hid well his clothing that was not quite up to snuff.

Still frowning, Buffy reached out and took Tom's hand. "Maybe. Maybe not. There might be some other explanation."

"Like what?" the boy asked, his dark eyes going back at the girl holding his hand.

Buffy shrugged and squeezed his hand. "Like, I don't know, your mother was just a girl in trouble and no one else knew about you."

Tom frowned. "How does one hide a pregnancy?" he asked. Every woman he'd seen in her later months, was much too large to hide.

Buffy shrugged. "Or...maybe she'd been attacked by some man and—"

"That's horrid!" Tom snapped, glaring at her. "Then I'd be the product of..." He didn't finish his sentence.

"That wouldn't be your fault...or hers," Buffy said quietly. "Or...maybe one or both of your mother's parents did know and they made her give you up."

Tom shook his head. "That's not much better. I was still unwanted."

"Tom, it was 1926. An unmarried pregnant girl would have had a hell of a time raising a baby alone," Buffy said.

Tom nodded. It was true. The same could be said for 1942, but it would have been worse in 1926. "She was married though. Her name was Riddle."

Buffy frowned. "Was that her married name or her maiden name though?"

He sighed. "Honestly, I don't know."

"Or...maybe your mother found herself homeless...for reasons unknown...and didn't want to put a baby in that situation," Buffy went on, leaning into him. "If that was the case, then she was putting you first. Maybe there was no family. We just don't know."

Tom frowned again. "I wish I knew what really happened."

"We could poke around...see if we can find anything."

"I've tried, but haven't found anything."

"I could help you," she offered.

"You would do that?"

Nodding, Buffy sat up and looked at him. "Of course. I'm a great snoop." She grinned. "And...what are friends for?"

But he wasn't grinning. "I'd hate for you to find out what my background really is," he said. "It's such an embarrassment!"

"Don't be like that," she said. "We would do it together and I'd never tell anyone unless you said I could. I promise."

He eyed her. "I suppose there are many possibilities."

Buffy nodded. "So many. In my time, things are different. We don't have orphanages anymore. Babies are usually cared for by the family...if the girl has family and she can't do it herself. Other babies go into our foster care system, in hopes of someday being adopted by another family. The system isn't perfect, but...I think it's being worked on."

Tom continued to frown. "It can't be worse than the system that's here now."

"To be honest, I don't know," she said. "I don't even know if the orphanages here are gone in my time. But I do know that most girls are able to keep their babies in my time. Not all, but most parents have become much more accepting."

"So...everyone just...has sex any time they want? And has babies without being married and...no one cares?"

Buffy shrugged. "Pretty much. I mean, people do care. Parents don't want their teenagers having babies, but there's decent birth control in my time so it's less of a worry. And there's always the parental talk about 'safe sex' that teens are subjected to. It's horrible! And there's a lecture about it at school too. So embarrassing!"

Tom's eyes widened with surprise—then flashed with anger. Jealousy burned within him. He wanted to ask about Buffy's bedroom activities—and yet he didn't really want to know. The idea of her being with another nearly drove him mad. Especially with that vampire boyfriend of hers that was nearly two and half centuries old!

"Did you...with that Angel fellow?" he finally asked, unable to stop himself.

Buffy's eyes got big and she shook her head vehemently. "No!" she hiss whispered. "As I've said, things with Angel were...really complicated. He'd come to help me, but he didn't tell me he was a vampire in the beginning. That was revealed later. By that time I'd..." She shrugged. "I'd developed feelings for him."

"Oh," was all that Tom was able to say.

Buffy sighed and leaned her head on Tom's shoulder. "I'm not saying I haven't thought about it," she admitted. "Because I most definitely have."

Tom's chest rumbled.

Buffy sat up. "Did you just... growl at me?"

"Damn right I did!" he hissed, his dark eyes flashing with fury.

"What?! Why? I didn't even know you back in Sunnydale," she said. "You can't hold my thoughts against me!"

Tom blinked. Again she'd responded to a question she shouldn't have been about to understand.

"God, in my time you're like... old!" She laughed.

"Not as old at that Angel," he grumbled—not laughing.

Buffy sighed. "Forget about Angel. He's...in 1997," she whispered and looked around the subway train. No one was paying them any mind.

"But he's not, is he?" Tom pushed. "He's here in 1942 too."

Buffy shrugged. "I suppose he is, but...the Angel who's in this time, doesn't even know I exist. He's off brooding somewhere and I have zero clue where that is. Besides I think he would have told me if he'd met me in his past, so...that means I don't find him here."

Tom frowned. "You could try," he said quietly. "Maybe your Watchers have a way of looking into it."

Buffy stared at him.

"What?"

"Are you really suggesting that I look for Angel...after that possessive bit you just pulled on me?" she asked, waving her hand at him.

Tom blushed. "I'd rather you didn't."

Buffy laughed. "Okay then. Shut up, would you?!"

Tom rolled his eyes.

The sat in silence for a short time, then Tom spoke again. "Are you completely sure Vin and Sophie don't mind me coming over.

"I'm totes sure. They said they were going to go over to Wools and extend the invitation themselves. They just haven't gotten around to it yet."

Tom nodded. "All right. I just...don't want to be a burden."

Buffy grinned. "You are so not a burden, Tom. Relax. This will be fun. Think of it like...a vacation."

Tom sighed. "I've never gone on holiday. Hogwarts is the closest I've come to that."