When Time Catch's Up

Chapter Eighteen

It was at this moment that Slughorn had dismissed Linmer Joules down the hallway into the night after his party. That's when Riddle decided to put on his charming golden boy face and drag Lania by the hand, "Act drunk."

"Excuse me?!" Lania asked in a hushed whisper.

"Don't question me now, love. Just act drunk."

Slughorn turned his head, "Ah! My two successes, Riddle and Vernise. Are you two off into the night?"

Lania thought about two options. One, she could deny Tom's orders and decide not to act drunk and potentially mess up whatever plans Tom had in store. Or two, she could act drunk. It would be a little fun.

"Ah, professor I just had a quick question-"

"Sluggy!" Lania laughed. She quickly tumbled over to Tom in a 'drunken' state and giggled mercilessly at the sight of him in a high-pitched squeaky tone, "Oh dear, I've spilled my drink..."

Lania was very happy with her decision to act drunk at that moment. Slughorn had never looked so surprised, maybe repulsed if you looked hard enough. Lania knew she wasn't the drinking type. She could hold a glass of champagne but even then she was tipsy.

Tom handled it well though. He quickly put a strong hand around her waist and steadied Lania against his frame. Lania gave a fake laugh and showed a bubbly smile.

'Get what you need to get Tom, this is getting old.'

"I just wanted to ask you a quick question about Horcruxes." Tom started.

Lania almost broke her act. She was extremely curious as to what Sluhorn would say but in this "drunken" state she adopted at Tom's request there was only so much information she could get.

She did watch, however, as Slughorn became increasingly nervous and paced away. Lania took the moment to stand up and glare at Tom before he tugged on her waist again and dipped his head down.

"I need you to pass out." He whispered.

"I want to hear what he has to say," Lania argued. 

"And you will." Tom sighed, "But I need to get the information and I need to do that with him believing you are wasted and passed out."

Lania never had so much reluctance, but her curiosity was greater than speculation at this moment. She frowned. Lania didn't want to do this, but Slughorn was a nervous wreck and trusted Tom more.

"Fine."

Tom placed a soft kiss on her lips before Lania sighed and let herself fall into a state of sleep on Tom's shoulder. This was so much fun.

Tom caught Lania before she collapsed to the floor. He had to give it to her, she could act. She almost seemed asleep if not for the small lines of discomfort on her face when Tom maneuvered her into his arms.

"Oh dear, Tom, set her over here."

Slughorn had turned around by that point and seen Tom quickly cradle Lania as she passed out in a "wasted" state. To Slughorn - who was the most gullible teacher Tom had ever had the displeasure of meeting - Lania had drunk so much she was unresponsive.

However, If Slughorn had taken the time to pay attention to Lania rather than showing off her intelligence like a trophy that Slughorn had made from scratch and polished ready to hand her over to the victor, he might have noticed that she nursed a small glass of fire whiskey.

"It's okay professor, she's just passed out," Tom responded, he had picked up Lania and was taking her over to a couch Slughorn had nestled before the firepit.

Tom looked at Lania, she truly seemed asleep, maybe she truly was. Tom noted how peaceful she looked. Like she wasn't stressed about exams or the underground "club" they had. Lania at that moment looked like any teenage girl. A beautiful, regular, teenage girl.

"Professor, you never answered my question." Tom started.

He watched Slughorn grow more so nervous and begin to lightly pace. Horcruxes were more dangerous than what he first truly believed. But, he was still curious. What exactly was a Horcrux and how did you succeed in making one?

Slughorn stared at him for a moment before smiling in disbelief, "Project for Defense Against the Dark Arts, is it?"

"Not exactly, sir," Riddle shook his head, his eyes still on Lania's expertly fainted figure, "I came across the term while reading and I didn't fully understand it."

"No...Well...You'd be hard-pushed to find a book at Hogwarts that'll give you details on Horcruzes, Tom, that's very Dark stuff, very Dark indeed," Slughorn laughed awkwardly.

Riddle looked up at Slughorn, feigning innocence and the same golden-boy character he had held all of his years at Hogwarts, "But you obviously know all about them, sir? I mean, a wizard-like you - sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously - I just know if anyone could tell me, you could - so I just thought I'd ask-"

"Well..." Slughorn nodded to himself. His eyes falling to Lania's body slumped over the couch still, "Well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is a word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."

"I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir," Tom pushed.

"Well, you split your soul, you see, and hide part of it in an object outside your body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form..."

Tom watched as Slughorn's eyes fell and his face distorted into a disgusted look. Then Slughorn shook his head and looked back up and back into the eyes of the boy who he claimed his favorite student - the golden-boy facade still showed effortlessly.

Slughorn gave him a serious look, "...few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable."

Maybe if Lania were awake she would have stopped the conversation before Tom got greedy with his information. That was if she were awake, however, and she was not.

"How do you split your soul?"