holding on {t.r.}

t w o

"You haven't eaten," Alexandra's friend and roommate, Melissa Burbank, pointed out the following morning. "You weren't in the room this morning either. What's going on?"

"I slept elsewhere. I haven't been sleeping well, and Parkinson's snoring hasn't exactly been helping," Alexandra explained, playing with her food. She glanced over at Tom, and Melissa gasped.

"You slept with Tom," Melissa smirked. Alexandra awkwardly cleared her throat.

"I definitely did not," she defended.

"But you've mentioned that you would," Melissa winked. "So it is definitely a possibility."

"Oh, leave that alone, will you?" Alexandra blushed.

"Alright, alright. You know, you used to be fun before I introduced you to Tom. Now you're just as boring and serious as he is these days."

"You didn't introduce me to Tom," Alexandra protested, causing Melissa to look confused.

"Yes I did. Last year, remember?" She asked. Alexandra began to worry, not able to remember when or how she met Tom. "In Potions?"

"Right, yeah," Alexandra chuckled, brushing off her obvious oblivion.

"You haven't got a clue, have you?"

"Not at all," she huffed, angrily dropping her fork. "I don't know what's wrong with me. For days now I've had this strange empty feeling. I haven't been sleeping, I haven't been eating, and now I'm forgetting things. I think I'm going mad."

"You could be falling ill," Melissa frowned. "Perhaps you should go to the hospital wing. I'll escort you."

"I suppose you're right," Alexandra sighed, getting up from her seat and gaining Tom's attention. He had little concern at first for her absence until she failed to attend classes. His worry grew, but still, he had much more important things to worry about.

Alexandra spent the night in the hospital wing, worried for her health but thankful for the lack of snoring that allowed her to get some sleep.

Alexandra, however, did not sleep peacefully. Throughout the night, Madame Lilith found her tossing and turning, sweating, crying and even yelling. Upon waking up, Alexandra unfortunately had no recollection of what caused her to act that way. All she could pinpoint was a bad feeling, but that wasn't necessarily helpful.

"There are fortunately no signs of illness or foul play," Madame Lilith explained, handing Alexandra a glass. "This is a Potion for Dreamless Sleep. When you wake, we will reassess your memory block."

Alexandra took a deep breath, holding her nose as she reluctantly drank the purple potion. It definitely looked better than it tasted.

Immediately as she set down the glass, Alexandra dozed off into a blissful, uninterrupted sleep. Hours later, the double doors opened and Tom entered the hospital wing.

"Miss River is not accepting guests at this time," Madame Lilith protested, thinking this was quite obvious given the fact she was asleep.

Tom folded his hands behind his back, glancing at Melissa who was already sitting beside Alexandra's bed. Madame Lilith huffed, allowing the visit and returning to another patient.

"What's happened?" Tom asked.

"She's been in here for two days," Melissa answered, almost angry at Tom for seeming so clueless. "I figured you would have noticed her absence earlier."

"I've been preoccupied," Tom defended. "I had only just learned she was here from Professor Dumbledore. I previously believed she was caught up in the library, invested in one of her studies."

"Madame Lilith doesn't expect her to wake for a few more hours," Melissa sighed, changing the subject. "I don't want her to be alone when she wakes up. You're a night owl, can you stay?"

Tom nodded, relieving Melissa who was quickly becoming exhausted. She thanked him, leaving him with her best friend. He watched Alexandra sleep, occasionally jotting thoughts and ideas in his diary throughout the night until Alexandra slowly began waking up.

"Do you ever sleep?" She chuckled lightly, noticing Tom out of the corner of her eye.

"More than you, I'm sure," he stated, closing his diary.

"What have you been up to?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. "I feel like I've been asleep for days."

"I've just been catching up on some studying," he lied, crossing his legs but keeping his posture straight. "Nothing interesting."

"You make everything seem interesting," she smiled, acting almost as if she was drunk. She turned over so she was facing him, reaching to grab his hand and wincing when they touched. "Why does that always happen? Do you drag your feet on the carpet?"

"That's a ridiculous accusation," Tom defended, pulling his hand away from her.

"Oh, I sincerely apologize, I must be mad to think Tom Riddle drags his feet," Alexandra huffed, suddenly feeling guilty. "Sorry. I know you hate it when I call you by your full name. I just thought it would add emphasis to the exaggeration."

"You could call me by the name I prefer," Tom suggested. "But you're rather stubborn."

"After how you reacted last time, I'm sure it's better to reserve that name for other purposes," Alexandra blushed, remembering their first moments under the influence of the love potion.

"That was entirely out of my control," Tom defended, smirking lightly. He quickly noticed his distraction, cleared his throat and lost his smirk. "I've taken the liberty of retrieving your assignments. We haven't learned anything you don't already know."

"I was hoping they'd exempt me," Alexandra sighed.

"Are you afraid you'll fall behind?" Tom mocked, knowing the two have been competing academically since they began at Hogwarts. Her intelligence was another reason he's been recently considering her recruitment.

"Of course not," Alexandra scoffed. "It's just a load of unnecessary work. I'll call you your preferred name if you do it for me."

"That was a truly pathetic attempt," Tom chuckled.

"Mr. Riddle, I'm afraid you will have to leave," Madame Lilith insisted, eager to question Alexandra while she was still attentive. "You may return in an hour, if you desire."

"Thank you, Madame Lilith," Tom smiled charmingly, swiftly standing up from his seat. "Your service is always appreciated."

Madame Lilith smiled, looking down at Alexandra as Tom exited the room.

"Such a wonderful young man."

"I suppose," Alexandra laughed lightly.

"Let us begin, shall we?" The nurse smiled, sitting where Tom sat previously. "Please recite your full name, age and date of birth."

"Alexandra River. Sixteen. Fourteenth of February," Alexandra answered. There was an uncomfortable pause.

"What is the year you were born, my dear?"

"Sorry, uh," Alexandra hesitated for a quick second, growing concerned when the first year that popped into her head was a year that has yet to happen: 1980. Eventually, she remembered the true answer. "1927. I was born in 1927."