t o u c h

s i x

Tom and Alexandra sat at the fire place once again, Tom's laugh ringing through Alexandra's ears like nothing she had heard before. It was a genuine laugh. One that even startled Tom himself.

Tom and Alexandra spent the night discussing their pasts, presents, and futures to a restricted extent. Since Tom had discovered the picture of Alexandra's friends, and believed they were from the French orphanage, she found no harm in sharing some stories about them. She was explaining the time Ron made himself vomit slugs when Tom started to laugh.

Tom, on the other hand, was wondering what it was about this girl that allowed him to open up so much. He had never spoken a word about his orphanage until she came along, yet he felt comfortable admitting it to her. Maybe, he thought, it was the fact that they both shared similar experiences that caused him to put so much trust in her.

The next morning, the halls were decorated for the holidays thanks to the prefects on duty the night before. Green and red covered the walls as enchanted snow fell from the ceiling. Toy penguins danced around the corridors, blissfully gliding through the bustle of students moving from class to class.

Tonight was the big holiday feast before everybody headed home to their families. Alexandra and Tom, however had no families to go home too, and they decided to stay in the castle. Dumbledore saw this as a perfect opportunity to bring them together.

"I've been made aware that two of my best students will be staying at Hogwarts over the holidays. Is that correct?" The bearded man asked the two students as they stood in his office.

"Yes, sir," Tom answered.

"Now, I know the holidays don't necessarily call for assignments, but I've been very curious about a certain topic of study that I'm sure you two would excel in," the professor explained with a twinkle in his eye.

"What is it, professor?" Alexandra asked, folding her hands together in front of her. Not even she knew what the old man was going on about.

"The effects of conceiving under a love potion on a child," he stated. Alexandra felt Tom tense up next to her, and she did the same. Alexandra knew exactly why Dumbledore wanted them to study such a topic, but Tom did not. He was confused as to why his transfiguration professor assigned him a potions study, and what Alexandra had to do with it.

"A child cannot learn to love when conceived under a love potion, Professor. It's very simple," Tom explained, not wanting to look further into the topic.

"Yes, but is there more to it than what we know, I wonder? I was hoping that you two, both being the product of a love potion, would be curious to research this topic and report back to me at the end of the holiday."

"I-" Alexandra started, huffing as she threw her head back in frustration. She honestly didn't understand why Dumbledore felt the need to  reveal that information for her. Tom was equally angry for the same reason.

"He has to be bloody joking," Tom complained as he and the girl walked back to the dormitories.

"Are you not the slightest bit curious about it, though?" She asked, causing him to stop walking.

"Not at all."

"Do you think the burning we feel when we touched has anything to do with it?" She pried.

"That was nothing but a coincidence. Accidental nonverbal magic."

"Accidental?" Alexandra asked.

"It was simply your mind acting in defense when I grabbed you."

Becoming impatient, Alexandra wrapped her hand around Tom's forearm. He quickly pulled it away before looking the girl up and down. He turned on his heel and entered the common room, closing the door behind him. He was up the stairs and in his dormitory before Alexandra could see him.

Tom locked the door, making sure nobody was in the room before he took off his robes. He rolled the sleeve of his sweater up to see something he never thought was possible.

His dark mark had faded to a dull grey.

"Bloody hell," he muttered to himself, pulling out his wand in an attempt to fix it. He had just recently created the mark, but there was no way it could possibly fade unless... "I'm not weak!"

The girl was somehow weakening him, and that was something he could not and would not allow. He couldn't stop her, though, until he knew exactly how she was hurting him. If she had the power to hurt him, he needed it. Even if he has to kill her.