Love & Potions: A Tom Riddle X Reader Story. Part 2 (Fifth Year)

Chapter 18: Not once but twice!

So whilst Tom was working on his exam prep elsewhere in the castle, you decide to sit and think about how to best approach bringing up your relationship with his brother to Mattheo. You needed a way that softened the blow as much as possible. The way he had found out yesterday was possibly one of the one worst ways you could imagine he could have found out about you and Tom.

He was going to find out eventually. That was obvious. The pain would come for him eventually, but you could perhaps stage manage it better so that it didn't fully shatter him in such a way as it had the night before. 

He was your friend and on some level, you had love for him, you didn't want him hurting over you. You look up and wish to Merlin that he'd find another girl to obsess over. You thought you'd gotten away with it when Sera showed some sort of interest in him but that had been short-lived and the Ravenclaw girl he sometimes talked to seemed to have stopped giving him any attention either.

Perhaps you and Tom could take him aside and talk to him? Just as a friend and a brother, to tell him that you were together. Say that you wanted to talk to him as his friend and his brother, aware that the closeness between you all might make it uncomfortable for him. Talk to him about it with no mention that you knew he had a crush on you? That could work... or Mattheo would fly off the handle the way he always did and you'd be back to square one. 

You think about telling him yourself in a one on one conversation. Now that you two were speaking to each other again (albeit awkwardly and with far less affection and fun than normal) maybe going for a walk down at the Black Lake together could be a way to tell him? But then again... being asked to go for a walk alone together... he might get the wrong idea and actually confess his feelings in a moment of mad confidence. And if you did tell him down there... he might storm off into the forest, which could result in more danger and problems. 

Or perhaps you could leave it up to Tom? No... you didn't like that idea either. Tom wouldn't be gentle with Mattheo about this. He'd probably tell him to like it or lump it. Or worse.

 You sigh and rub your temple... wondering in a sort of joking way as you feel your own thoughts starting to give you a headache if there was a way to hide this relationship for its duration? You smile and laugh to yourself, jokingly imagining trying to hide your future marriage and kids from Mattheo. The thought flits across your mind and makes you laugh before your face goes serious at the thought your own brain just had.

Marriage? Kids?! You're sixteen... Merlin, girl, get a grip! You've barely been together any time...that's for like twenty something year olds to think about! you scold yourself in your head and shake it, laughing at yourself.

As you start your homework, you realise that  maybe you should wait and discuss how to tell Mattheo about you and Tom, with Tom after his exams are over. It seems to be a thing where two heads are needed to come up with a sensible answer.

-

On Thursday evening, your girl friends and you decide to join your brains together to tackle more of your homework in the quiet section of the library for older students. You're sat chatting and giggling quietly when you finally see Tom properly for the first time today. He was still in the middle of his exams, so you'd only seen each other for a little while at bedtime and talking to each other a little less than normal via text, his replies slower due to his studying and exams.