holding on {t.r.}

s i x

"I'm exhausted. This isn't working," Alexandra frowned, sitting on the couch as she watched Tom wandlessly repair the prophecies she had just shattered for a third time.

"Perhaps repeating the action isn't the answer," Tom mumbled, becoming aggravated that he couldn't figure out what was going on with the girl. Surely he should have figured it out by now.

"I was thinking of asking Dippet if he would allow me to stay at Hogwarts through the summer holidays," Alexandra explained, attempting to shift his mind towards a different subject so he wouldn't make her spend another unnecessarily long period of time shattering those damned prophecies again.

"He'll never allow it," Tom argued, sitting on the couch across from her.

"I figured I would try," Alexandra shrugged, relaxing when she felt Tom was successfully distracted. "I hate traveling all the way to France only to be locked in a bloody room all summer. My aunt is absolutely horrid."

"She's a muggle," Tom said with obvious hatred rolling off of his tongue. "She'll never appreciate your full potential. She's obviously intimidated by your superiority and thinks locking you away like an animal will protect her from your power. They're all cowards."

"She is awful, but that doesn't mean all muggles are," Alexandra defended, slightly sinking back in her seat at the sight of Tom's glare. "It's the same as saying all wizards are murderers because of what Grindelwald has done."

"That's different."

"You know it's not," She argued. "Muggle-borns and half-bloods didn't ask to be born the way they were, so why should they be punished? I would think you'd understand."

Tom stayed silent. He became angry at the mention of his true blood status, but he decided to let her continue. He wanted to hear what she had to say. His silence, however, made her uncomfortable. Instead of continuing to argue, she apologized.

"You are allowed to have your opinions, though they may be opposite of mine," Tom explained. "The real test, I believe, is on which side you would stand if there is to be a war. If you would be willing to stand against your friends, or if you would be willing to stand against what you truly believe in order to stand beside them. After all, Slytherins never leave their own behind."

"I truly hope there never comes a time where I must make that decision," Alexandra sighed. "I've always hoped that one day wizards and muggles can live in peace, whether they choose to coexist or stay separate, as long as it means there is no war. But I suppose the idea does sound crazy."

"I'm curious as to why you were sorted into Slytherin when you clearly disagree with the beliefs of our great founder," Tom wondered aloud, staring at Alexandra in a way that made her nervous. "You can be ambitious, and you clearly strive to be the best in many categories, yet you don't strike me as cunning. With these qualities, I'd reckon you'd fall better in Ravenclaw."

"That's because you don't know me outside of the classroom," Alexandra pointed out. "You and I may have differing opinions regarding blood status, but that does not make me any less of a Slytherin than you. If you knew me better, I'm sure you'd understand that I can be particularly persuasive at times, but you don't because you, being so self-regarding, can't bother to actually get to know someone if it isn't beneficial to you."

Tom smirked, particularly enjoying the attitude she responded to him with.

"In fact, even when we took the bloody love potion, you still didn't bother to ask a single question about me. All you wanted to do was snog or... participate in other related activities. I mean, honestly, do you even remotely value anyone other than yourself?" Alexandra asked, evidently becoming frustrated.

"In the time we've known each other, despite the 'lack of conversation' you continuously claim, I've told you secrets that only very few others are aware of," Tom explained. "You may not have put all the pieces together in that deteriorating mind of yours quite yet, but I've given you a lot of information about my... ambitions. Information that I would take any measure to ensure is not revealed, especially if it were to fall in the hands of an individual that does not exactly agree with my standpoint on certain situations. In simpler terms, I can, theoretically, kill you for knowing this information, but I have chosen not to, even though your survival does not benefit me. I believe that fits your definition of value, yes?"

Alexandra wasn't quick to respond, but she instead attempted to make sense of everything Tom had just told her. Hours ago, he insisted he didn't trust her, yet he just admitted to providing her with this information that 'only few others' know. Perhaps he was referring to the information she knew about his past, or his plans to become a first-class wizard. Either way, she was still unsure of why he had given her this information in the first place if it was something he wasn't eager to share.

"How are your independent studies coming along?"

Alexandra furrowed her eyebrows, unsure of how Tom could change the subject so quickly after 'theoretically' threatening her life. Tom was, however, still attempting to prove her argument wrong by attempting to 'get to know' her.

"Well," she hesitated, still very uncomfortable with the sudden shift in tone. "I can't truly study the effects of time unless I experience, or know somebody else who has experienced, traveling through it. It's interesting to think that you and I may know someone who has travelled through time."

"How so?" Tom asked. Alexandra noticed Tom lean slightly closer to her as she spoke as if he was genuinely intrigued, making her want to continue.

"Normally, an individual can only stay in the past for five hours at a time, However, the Ministry has a set of special turners that not only allow for an extended time restraint, but can send a person both backwards and forward in time," Alexandra explained, excited that someone was actually interested in her studies. "There are some limitations, of course, but what I find the most interesting is that individuals who remain in the past or future for longer than the time restraint ultimately adhere to that timeline permanently. This would mean that the traveler and all individuals they have been in contact with, past present or future, would either lose all memories of the travelers role in the original timeline, or their memories would be replaced with new ones that fall within the new timeline. Does that make sense?"

"You're horrible at explaining things," Tom pointed out. "But yes, it makes sense."

"It's only a theory, though. Nobody has been able to prove it, for obvious reasons, but it fits with what has been proven about altered timelines."

"It is a rather interesting theory."

"Imagine if I'm from the future," Alexandra laughed, mocking the idea. "And these ridiculous visions are all just memories from my previous life."

"That seems highly unlikely," Tom stated. "I'd believe you can see the future before I'd believe you're from it."

"Did the laughing not make it clear that I was joking?"

"Jokes are supposed to be comical, love."

Tom pulled a book out of his bag, beginning to read it and leading Alexandra to assume their conversation was over. She crossed her arms, mocking him under her breath.

"Jokes are supposed to be comical, love," she repeated in a deeper voice that in no way resembled Tom's. "Git."