Malefic [BOOK 2]

Aunt Flo is Visiting.

When her eyes fell on Tom, he was already looking at her. His eyes held a hint of sadness. His features looked soft and the corners of his mouth were slightly tilting downward.

He looked so vulnerable that it made Leo even angrier than before because, at that moment, all she wanted was to give Tom the tightest hug and squeeze all the air out of his lungs.

She got out of her seat and swiftly turned away. Her feet stomped on the marble floor as she walked out of the great hall while grumbling under her breath about life being unfair and Tom resembling a sad puppy.

It was getting warmer, now that summer was coming. Yet, as Leo came out of the castle, a cold wind brushed past her, making her shiver slightly. It had been so long since she had a night stroll outside Hogwarts.

Ever since Tom had kissed her, things had been different. Not once did she feel lonely. She could sleep at night. Late-night strolls were never alone. Tom was always there, listening to her weird conspiracy theories about dementors collecting information for a secret society among the wizards.

He would talk about stars a lot. He loved watching the night sky illuminated by the silver light of the moon. When Leo told him that soon, men would land on the moon, Tom looked at her like she was crazy.

"Why would they do that?" He had asked, a bit annoyed.

"Because humans like to explore the unknown," she had answered.

"Is it so hard for muggles to just admire the beauty of nature from far away?"

That was what Leo should have done. She should have admired Tom Riddle from afar. Everything would have turned out so much better if she had stopped when Tom gave up the idea of making Horcruxes.

No, she should have stayed in her world, in that bus accident where she was meant to die. That was the ending that she avoided. Maybe the fates were being absolute bitches and punishing her for escaping her death.

Leo sighed once again.

Her thoughts were all over the place, full of regrets. There was no point in thinking about what could have been done and what should have been avoided. But humans still regret it, hoping to find someone to blame their misery on. Like how Leo was blaming the fates.

How pathetic.

She looked around, frowning at the location she had unconsciously walked to. It was a pond in the forbidden forest, where Tom and Leo had shared their first kiss.

Her heart clenched at the sight of the dark waters. Fireflies illuminated the wildflowers that Leo used to collect for Tom. The still waters provided a tiny bit of comfort to her raging mind.

The dark water of the pond felt so welcoming now that Leo realised that she was acting like one of those depressed female characters in cheesy romantic movies who just went through a bad breakup.

The tiny bit of comfort evaporated and all of her dark thoughts came crashing down on her. Overwhelmed by sadness and frustration, Leo's eyes filled with tears and her throat tightened. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She had to release it. She had to scream.

Glancing around, she scanned the surroundings, searching for any unsuspecting individuals or couples who might get a cardiac arrest by hearing a female shouting in the middle of the forbidden forest.

Once she confirmed that no one was within earshot, she inhaled deeply, preparing herself to unleash a scream akin to that of a T-rex.

Summoning all her frustration, Leo opened her mouth wide, ready to let out a piercing scream. But before she could release the full force of her voice, a rustling sound erupted from the bushes behind her.