Into Your Gravity ( Luna Lovegood & Tom Riddle )

Chapter fourteen: Weakness

"The simple lack of her is more to me than others' presence."
-Edward Thomas
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The next few days passed painfully slow for Tom. During Potions, Luna partnered with Cat and didn't speak to him. During meals, she avoided his eyes. He told his other friends (or at least those closest to him) that he didn't care, but he did.

On Friday night, a week later, he lay awake in bed once again, futilely trying to sleep. At a quarter after midnight, he finally rose from his bed with a grunt, threw on his shoes and left the common room.

Although he had pinned his Prefect badge to his robe, he still walked quietly, hoping he would meet no one. He made it to the Entrance Hall without meeting anyone, and it was only when he reached for the oak doors to go outside that he realized where he was going.

Bloody hell. What for? I'm going to freeze, first of all. Second, if I get caught, I'll never get the Head Boy badge. Third, there's no reason to go down there at all. These were the thoughts that raced across his mind as he opened the doors and walked down the steps and onto the grass.

He sneered at himself. There I go again, disregarding my own advice. He exhaled and saw a cloud form at his lips momentarily before dissipating. He cursed himself for coming outside in the middle of the night in January, but he still kept walking.

Looking up at the inky sky, he observed several constellations that he had studied in Astronomy. It was not until the trees blocked out his view of the stars that he looked away.

He patted his pocket for his wand, but realized he had left it by his bed when he left. Damn. Now I even get to walk in the dark. He continued walking, not quite sure where he was going, and occasionally tripping over a root that he couldn't see in the dim light provided by the moon and stars. After several minutes, he looked around. Am I going the right way? Well, this looks familiar. But it's all a bunch of bloody trees, so it all looks familiar.

He walked for several minutes, slowly coming to the conclusion that he must be going the wrong way. He was finally about to turn around, when he came upon the clearing.

All the black beasts were missing, save for one. This one was lying down in the center of the clearing, but it was not asleep. Its red eyes followed him as he slowly entered the clearing. It didn't budge, for it seemed reluctant to move. As Tom drew closer to the thestral, he saw why.

With a sharp intake of breath, he saw Luna leaning against the body of the thestral. She was asleep, and he stared at her blonde hair cascading over the thestral's back, contrasting beautifully with its dark skin.

He went up to her, the thestral never taking its eyes off of him, and kneeled by her side. He silently admired the way her long eyelashes gently rested on her cheeks, and the way she smiled slightly in her sleep. Finally shaking himself mentally, he took her shoulders and gently shook her awake.

She yawned leisurely and stretched. She opened her eyes slowly and observed him knelt beside her. A smile twitched at the corner of her lips as she patted the thestral affectionately, who then stood and meandered into the trees to find its fellows. "I thought you'd come here, Tom," she said sleepily.

He fought the urge to argue with her, and instead said, "Why would you think that?"

Her eyes danced merrily as she looked at him. "I fell asleep waiting for you, you know. I know you."