holding on {t.r.}

s e v e n

Alexandra found herself sitting in the common room alone now that her and Melissa weren't speaking and Tom was usually preoccupied. Both girls wanted to apologize, but neither of them felt as if it was their fault in the first place. They were stubborn, but they missed each other.

"I'm sorry," Alexandra frowned, approaching Melissa when they were alone in their dormitory later that night. "I know you only intended to help me. I just don't exactly trust Dumbledore, and I thought you would understand why."

"It's got nothing to do with whether or not you trust him," Melissa admitted, crossing her arms. "I felt as if you didn't trust me. You know I wouldn't have suggested his help if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary, but you wouldn't even take a second to consider the idea before shooting it down."

"Of course I trust you," Alexandra frowned. "You're the only person in this world that I trust."

"You seem to trust Tom," Melissa pointed out, figuring that now was the perfect moment to bring up her suspicions. "I've seen him looking through your journal. And not the fake one you made for divination, the real one. The one you wouldn't even let me look through."

"He's been helping me, you know. I've still been seeing strange things in my dreams, but the voices have stopped and I've finally been able to sleep through the night," Alexandra argued. "I swore to him I wouldn't mention it, but I'm telling you because I trust you."

"I don't trust him."

"What do you expect me to do, then, stop speaking to him?" Alexandra asked. She grew angry when Melissa didn't respond, meaning the answer to her question was yes. "I'll go talk to Dumbledore if it makes you happy, but I won't stop speaking to Tom. This doesn't even make sense. Last time we spoke you were encouraging me to snog him, and now you don't want me near him at all."

"That was before you began sharing your secrets with him. It was harmless until then," Melissa pointed out. "He's literally asked you to refer to him as 'My Lord', does that not seem strange to you? If he hates his name so much, he can change it to Mark!"

"I thought it was a kink! He only asked me to call him that when we were... you know," Alexandra shrugged, turning red. "You swore you'd never bring that up! He'll kill me if he finds out I told you!"

"Kill you?" Melissa asked. Alexandra froze for a moment, remembering the 'theoretical' conversation she had with Tom that night in the Room of Requirement. It sent shivers down her spine. "He's threatened you, hasn't he?"

"I didn't mean it literally," Alexandra lied.

"Alexandra, I'm worried for you," Melissa sighed. "He's never had a close friend, yet you two become closer every day. I'm just afraid his reasons for that are far different from yours."

"What if they're not?" Alexandra asked. "Is it really that hard to believe that he could actually like me? Am I honestly that horrible to be around?"

"You know I didn't mean it that way," Melissa gave in, finding no point in arguing anymore. Neither of them were going to change their minds. "I'm sorry."

"I understand that you're worried for me, and I'm very thankful to have you as my best friend," Alexandra sighed, sitting on her bed. "But we're going to disagree on things. Hell, you and I always disagree on things, but we always find ways to compromise when we can, and it's worked pretty damn well so far."

"What do you think we should do, then?" Melissa asked, sitting on her own bed.

"If the voices come back, or the visions get worse, I'll speak to Dumbledore," Alexandra gave in. "But the second I become uncomfortable with his questions, I'm done."