TORMENT (Harry Potter Sequel)

Chapter Fourteen

Tom audibly growled. He opened his eyes and sat up firmly.

"Get out," his eyes bored into Alannah's.

"Woah, woah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," said Alannah quickly before conceding, "I guess you're right, it is rude to call people that but that's just what everyone calls you."

"Are you a Gryffindor?"

Alannah gave Tom a weird look, "That's a weird question."

"Are you?" Tom repeated.

"No! Duh!" Alannah pointed to the Slytherin crest on her uniform, "Slytherin, right here."

Tom breathed out slightly in relief but then perked up again, "Did Aubyn send you?"

"Aubyn Young? I wish," Alannah lay back to get more comfortable on her seat.

"What do you mean?" asked Tom. Alannah smiled to herself and stared upwards into space.

"I mean... he's just so dreamy and so handsome and he's got that blonde hair and-" she paused, seeing the expression on Tom's face, "You don't like him do you?"

"No."

"Why?" Alannah honestly couldn't think of a reason. To her, Aubyn Young was the perfect boy. Tom stayed silent. He still didn't trust this girl. Not after last time. This was too similar to the way that Aubyn just swaggered in here and started asking a bunch of questions. He wouldn't fall for that again!

"O-kay..." Alannah said slowly. She knew she wouldn't get any conversation going if they stayed on that subject matter, "So what is your name?"

Tom sent her a tired look "What year are you in?" he asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Third year, why do you ask?"

"Same as me. You know my name, you probably just forgot it."
Alannah leaned back and raised one of her little fingers close to her mouth. Thoughtfully she began to suck on the tip of it lightly. Tom gave her a weird look.

"The hell you doing?" he asked. Allannah instantly removed the finger from her mouth, embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry. I just do that when I'm concentrating," she went back to thinking and eventually found what she believed to be the right answer, "Tom..." she said uncertainly, "-Malumis?"

Tom nodded, "And you are Alannah...?"

"Alannah Estevan," she introduced herself before changing the subject yet again, "Wait aren't you that guy in the first year who tried to open the Chamber of Secrets?"
Tom groaned in annoyance, "No," he said firmly, "I was set up."

"They said something like that," Alannah said, "Apparently someone was doing a prank and you stumbled in on it by accident. Still most people don't believe that."

"Why?" Tom's voice was agitated. He hated talking about this.

Alannah shrugged, "I don't know. Guess you looked guilty."

"Do I look guilty now?" Alannah looked up at Tom and turned her head on each side to see what he looked like from all angles.

"I guess not... you looked a lot worse than in the first year."

"What do you mean?" Tom asked. He generally hadn't paid attention to his appearance all that much. He didn't know what people thought of him.

"Well I mean you looked like a ghost. You were thin, pale, you had a skeletal face- I'm sorry but it does make sense that people called you a freak. You definitely looked like one," Alannah was nervous that Tom might explode in anger. His face was so unreadable that it could happen at any moment. It didn't help that she had a tendency to let words fall out of her mouth with no care or tact whatsoever.