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

Chapter 23: Goodbye for Christmas

The morning after the Ball, you wake up a little groggily with Toms' arm thrown over your waist, snuggled together in his bed. You smile and lean back into him, cuddling back into his warmth. When you lift your head up from the duvet, you can feel the cold air of his dormitory hit you in the face so you immediately tuck your head back in.

You look over at his alarm clock and grumble.

"Tom...we missed breakfast..."

Tom doesn't respond at all, he's either sound asleep or not willing to speak so early.

You roll over to face him and his eyes open a little at your movement and he pulls you closer before closing his eyes again. You cuddle into his chest, your head under his chin, your face against his bare warm skin. You can't help but smile at the heavy warmth of his sleepy body.

Almost another hour of quiet cuddling goes by and you feel yourself nodding off a little when Tom finally stretches.

"Morning..." He says in a gruff, half-asleep voice that makes you smile and he leans down and kisses your forehead. He pulls himself up to lean against the headboard and rubs his head before reaching for his phone, his other arm tucked around you pulling you into his side and you rest your head on his chest again.

"So what do you want to do today then?" Tom asks as he checks his phone.

In truth, you hadn't really thought about it. You knew you wanted to go shopping in Hogsmeade but Tom had told you before that he didn't really like going there because of the staring and comments that sometimes came his way because of who he was. You bite your lip a little anxiously on the inside as you try to think of a way to ask him or come up with something else to say. He catches the pause in your reply.

"What is it?" He asks, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head down to look at you.

"I was hoping to go to Hogsmeade...to get Christmas presents and I need to get something for Mattheo's birthday too." You say slowly and quietly, in a tone that tells Tom you know he probably won't want to do that with you. You don't tell him that you need to get him something too.

Tom grimaces as soon as you say the place and then again when you say the name.

"The things I do for you..." He grumbles and you smile widely as he slips out of bed.

"Wait, you mean it?" You ask excitedly and he nods, making you grin.

"I need to get some things anyway. I'm sure a short trip won't hurt." He says as he goes to his drawers and starts pulling out his clothes for the day.

As you watch him you run through your mental list of presents and other items you want to buy when you go to Hogsmeade.

"Oh good! I have a few bits to get. Have you got much to get?" You ask Tom and he just shakes his head as he finds the shoes he wants to wear too.

"So if we're going to Hogsmeade today, and I go home tomorrow... when are you going back?" You ask out of curiosity but you also don't want him on his own for too long, even though you know that's how he prefers it. He prefers to be alone or with you or a very small group of people at most.

"Well the other two are heading back today or tomorrow. I think Draco is going to stay at Astoria's for a few days and I think Mattheo is taking the train tomorrow. I'm not going back for a few days if not for a week. I prefer being on my own here." Tom replies sleepily as he stretches and moves off to his bathroom, closing the door behind him.

You'd gotten used to this now, Tom always had a shower the moment he woke up. You realise you should probably get up and go back to your own dorm to get ready but you're too snug in his bed and don't want to move yet or have him come out of the shower and you be gone. He never took that long anyway, in fact, he probably spent longer flattening his curls down than he did in the shower. It made you smile as you remember him arguing with one particular stubborn curl, cursing it under his breath as it refused to lay flat one morning. You wish he'd leave it curly but you knew it wasn't his style so instead you allowed yourself to soak up the moments where you got to see it in its natural state, like in the morning or when he did wander back out of the shower.