holding on {t.r.}

t w e n t y s i x

"Alex," Melissa's voice echoed, shaking Alexandra awake. "Alex, you need to wake up."

"What's going on?" Alexandra asked, barely waking up. She knew Melissa was due to return from the holidays this morning, but she didn't expect her to be so eager.

"It's Tom and Lestrange. It started as banter and now-"

Melissa's sentence was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash. The noise startled both girls, causing Alexandra to sit up quickly. She didn't blink an eye before grabbing her wand.

"Are you mad? You're going to get hurt!"

"Why would you wake me up to tell me what was going on if you didn't expect me to do something about it?" Alexandra asked, gripping her wand tightly. "I'm fully aware that Tom can handle himself, yes. But, in the event that he does get hurt, I won't let Lestrange stand there and soak in an ounce of glory. You would do the same for Avery, would you not?"

"Most of the students have already cleared. Slughorn is expected to arrive soon," Melissa quickly recapped, sighing when she realized there was no way she could convince Alexandra to stay in the dorm. "Just stay hidden. I'll be behind you."

Without responding, Alexandra turned on her heel and quickly made her way to the common room where she noticed Tom was not only dueling Lestrange, but Nott as well.

The battle in the common room was primarily quiet on Tom's side, seeing as he was quite skilled in nonverbal magic, while Lestrange and Nott fell slightly behind having to shout most of their spells leaving Tom a half step ahead.

Alexandra knew Tom wasn't invincible, at least she thought he wasn't, but she was still shocked to see a few scratches on him. She looked around the room, examining the broken glass shining underneath piles of books and chess sets.

"Where is Avery?" Alexandra asked, hearing Melissa approach behind her.

"At a meeting," Melissa explained. Alexandra sighed, wanting to jump in but being unadmittedly afraid of what would happen if she did. She was less concerned about herself and more about the fact that even a second of Tom's attention falling elsewhere could get him hurt.

"Do you know what they're fighting about?"

"I'm not sure," Melissa explained, wincing at Nott getting thrown into yet another bookshelf. Still, neither side backed down. "Lestrange mentioned something his father had been telling him about Grindelwald, then he said something much more quietly which caused Tom to jump up. Lestrange must've gotten scared and casted the first spell."

"What is the meaning of this?" Slughorn yelled, finally entering the room. The dueling didn't stop until Dippet and Dumbledore followed in behind him, the three of them disarming the students while they were distracted. Tom started forward, eager to end the duel with or without magic, but a much larger seventh year student approached and held him back. He didn't struggle, at least until Lestrange seemed to whisper something and laugh. In seconds Tom was free, getting at least two punches in before he was pulled away yet again. Alexandra watched, disheartened as he was pulled out of the common room with Dumbledore following behind. Lestrange and Nott followed with Slughorn, and Dippet ordered students to return to their normal activities before exiting himself.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Avery asked, finally entering the scene. Melissa ran over to him, quickly whispering something that caused enough of a reaction for Alexandra to notice.

"What aren't you telling me?" Alexandra asked, looking not only at Melissa and Avery but at the rest of the students in the room who either avoided her gaze or kept their mouths shut. She huffed, knowing she wasn't going to get an answer here, and instead made her way to the Room of Requirement where she knew Tom would end up eventually.

"You skipped breakfast," he stated calmly as he entered, holding up an apple he had brought her.

"I skipped breakfast?" She asked in disbelief. "You nearly get yourself expelled at that's what you're worried about?"

"You have no reason to worry," Tom said, still calm.

"Of course I have reason to worry! You're not invincible!" Alexandra repeated angrily. "What even started this?"

"He threatened you," Tom explained, his voice growing more intense.

"He's threatened me before, he never-"

"This time was different," He stated, repeating the conversation in his head.

"Grindelwald may be gone now, but we haven't seen the last of him. He'll be back," Lestrange said to Nott, getting Tom's attention. "You got something to say, Tom?"

Tom stated silent, but Lestrange continued.

"You must hate him, since you're a bloody Muggle lover now alongside that little girlfriend of yours," Lestrange chuckled. "Poor girl. Heard from my father that her parents were slaughtered while transporting Grindelwald to prison the first time he escaped. Such a shame."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Tom glared. "I suggest you leave."

"I suggest you be a little nicer to me, Tommy Boy," Lestrange smirked, leaning in to whisper his next remark. "If Grindelwald can't carry out his plan, his followers will. It would be a shame if your girl's name came up in a conversation."

"This time I believed him," Tom finished quietly, looking Alexandra directly in the eyes. "Everything is different when you're fighting for someone you love."

Alexandra stood before him, her mouth open slightly as if she was about to speak but no words came out. She was conflicted, taken aback by not only the fact that he said he loves her, but by the fact that her life was believably threatened not even an hour ago.

Tom understood her reaction, realizing he may have spoken too soon or at the wrong time. Truly, until the moment he stood up to defend her, he didn't know that what he felt for her was love. As he fought, however, words he heard from Avery echoed in the back of his mind.

"You'll know the moment you realize you love her. Your world will change. You will be living for her, fighting for her, planning your future around her... You will be willing to die for her, if you must ever face such a moment in your lifetime," Avery explained. "Above all, you won't be able to imagine life any other way."

While he initially felt sick at how disgustingly genuine Avery sounded in the moment, he held onto those words in hopes that they would someday make sense. Today, they did. That didn't make him feel any less sick, though. The only difference is that he is the person being disgustingly genuine.

He quite honestly felt relieved that he was finally beginning to understand his feelings, and he was willing to give Alexandra more time to do the same. With that being said, he wasn't upset or angry that she wasn't saying anything at the moment. He attempted to show her that by leaning in to kiss her, but she stopped him.

"I haven't brushed my teeth," she admitted. He chuckled lightly, kissing her forehead and feeling her relax at his touch. She felt her heart beating through her chest, and her next words left her mouth almost uncontrollably. "I love you, Tom."

"You don't have to-" he started, feeling as if she was only saying those words because she thought she was obligated to. She knew he would feel that way, and interrupted.

"I'm not saying it because I have to," Alexandra explained. "I've actually wanted to say it for some time now, I've just been afraid because I wasn't sure if you felt the same and I couldn't-"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me," Tom smiled. Alexandra nodded, laughing lightly at how ridiculous she must have sounded.

"Let's go get cleaned up, then," Alexandra suggested, examining the small cut he had above his eyebrow that still seemed to be bleeding slightly. "We can properly greet our friends, and maybe sneak back here before supper. Unless, of course, you'd like to finally show me your dormitory."

"Funny how I'm not allowed to see yours, yet you feel entitled to see mine," Tom joked, causing Alexandra to roll her eyes.

"If you don't want me to, you could just say so," Alexandra stated, making her way out of the Room. Tom followed quickly behind her.

"I was only joking!"