Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

Changing The Dark Lord (Tom Riddle)

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Somehow during our now regular sessions where we worked on Transfiguration, I had managed to crack the puzzle that was Tom Riddle. I wasn't stupid enough to think that I had managed to break him down completely and change him into some semblance of a normal human being. But he did seem to act differently around me.

Not that the difference was so noticeable that it was glaringly obvious. It was little things; tiny mannerisms that alerted me to the fact that his perception of me had changed.

Whenever Riddle passed me in the corridor, he would stop to talk to me rather than passing me by with a nod of his head. Or if he was pushed for time, he would say a passing greeting to me - his voice significantly warmer to me than to others. Or rather significantly warmer for him. So not very much at all.

After one of our sessions we were making out way down to the great hall for lunch. Stepping into the great hall I gave him a parting smile and turned to head back to my own table for lunch. He stepped into my path to block my way.

"Tom?" I asked curiously looking up at him.

"Join me for lunch today," he suggested, tucking his hands into his pockets. "We were planning on heading back to the library afterwards anyway. I don't see the point in separating for a few minutes just to meet once again."

"Really Tom, I should go the Gryffindor table."

"Come on," he said dismissively, taking a hold of my hand to try and persuade me to follow after him. I chewed on the inside of my cheek when he glanced at me over his shoulder and flashed me a genuine smile - one that many people didn't get to see. I remained in my spot and his smile faded. He raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Tom; Slytherins and Gryffindor's don't sit together." I took my hand out of his hold and lowered it back to my side.

"Maybe not," He agreed, "But friends do. Besides, I had thought that you were too smart to buy into all of the house rivalry rubbish."

"I don't buy into it," I insisted and cast a glance in the direction of the Slytherin table; most of them were watching us. "But other people do."

"Why does that matter?"

"Because people in your house, especially, are open about their obsession with blood status and blood purity." I looked back up into his eyes; his eyes were calculating. Figuring out what it was that I was trying to say and coming to the conclusion without me needing to say another word. But I said them anyway. "To those people; my blood is the worst kind."

"You are muggleborn," he stated, taking a step away from me. Just like that, with that one step I knew that he was rearranging his defences, fixing the crack that I had made in his walls.

"Yes I am."

"Then perhaps it would be best for you to sit at your own table," he said as a parting remark. Turning away from me, he made his way over towards the Slytherin table.

I did the same; heading over to the Gryffindor table and settling in beside Mary. She gave me a prodding look, trying to get me to spill about what had happened in our session. I rolled my eyes and spouted off some nonspecific details and turned back to my lunch.

Lunch soon finished and waited in the library for Riddle to turn up. It didn't surprise me when he was nowhere to be found.

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The entire castle was filled with the news of the recent attacks that were happening in Hogwarts. The target every single time had been a muggleborn and it was beginning to set me on edge. It wasn't so much as the fact that I was a potential target but that it was all anyone seemed to be able to talk about.