holding on {t.r.}

t h i r t y e i g h t

"Domestic life has taken some getting used to, but it's better than I could have imagined," Alexandra smiled, sitting across from Melissa in her newly finished kitchen. It took a few months, but the new house was finally modeled to their liking. "Tom has been working at Borgin and Burkes and I've been working at Tomes and Scrolls for the time being. The days can be long, but it's all worth it when I can end them with Tom by my side."

"Look at you," Melissa grinned. "I'm so glad you're finally getting the happiness you deserve."

"For the first time, I know this is exactly where I'm meant to be," Alexandra continued. "The first night here, when I fell asleep next to Tom, it was as if a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. Like all the uncertainty from my past suddenly drifted away. I got so excited I almost woke him up and asked him to marry me."

"Why don't you?" Melissa asked. "If you're so sure, there's no sense in waiting. Avery and I can be your witnesses, you'd be married before sundown tomorrow."

"You're mad," Alexandra laughed.

"Am I? For years now you've been going on about how you want to take back control of your life, so put on your big girl trousers and bloody do it!" Melissa encouraged, her grin growing with her excitement. "I'm having dinner with Avery and his parents tonight so I must get going, but I'll be awaiting your owl."

"How convenient," Alexandra joked, hugging her friend before letting her go on her way. She sighed, jumping at the sound of Tom coming back from work.

"Burbank left already?" Tom asked, noticing the girl was nowhere to be found.

"Yes, she had another commitment," Alexandra explained. "Dinner is in the oven, it should be ready soon. I got the recipe from a new-"

"Book?" Tom smiled, hanging up his jacket.

"Sorry I didn't exactly grow up with the luxury of learning how to cook on my own."

"I'm only joking," he assured, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her lightly. "I'll cook tomorrow night."

"Whenever you say you'll cook we end up going out instead."

"Well, you're so very gracious every time I volunteer to cook that our attention drifts from the food long enough for it to burn," Tom explained. Alexandra rolled her eyes, but couldn't hold back her laugh. He had a point.

"Fine, I'll make myself busy until after the food is done, then" Alexandra smiled. "I can't let you expect such an act of gratitude every time you cook, anyway."

As they ate, Alexandra couldn't help but think of what Melissa told her. She had made a good point... a few, actually. As much as she loved the idea of being proposed to, something just felt right about her being the one to propose instead.

"Are you alright, love?" Tom asked, noticing that Alexandra seemed to be distracted.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something," Alexandra smiled lightly. "Go on, I'll take care of the dishes."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes," Alexandra chuckled, excusing herself from the table before collecting their dishes and bringing them to the sink. She laughed as Tom came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She turned around, kissing him. "I have a question."

"What would that be?" Tom asked, raising his eyebrows. She bit her lip nervously, contemplating whether she was making the right decision, but she knew she was.

"Will you marry me?" She finally asked. Tom raised his eyebrow, acting surprised, and that made Alexandra nervous.

"I don't like you," he told her, laughing when she hit his arm. "Of course I'll marry you. Although, I do wish you'd waited a few moments more."

Alexandra was the one to raise her eyebrow this time, watching as Tom pulled a ring out of his pocket. She laughed as Tom slipped the ring on her finger, glad they were on the same page for once.

"All we need now is a baby," Alexandra joked, thinking Tom would turn pale. Instead, he smiled. "By now I mean a few years from now. When we can give them the life they deserve."

"I'll teach him everything he needs to know."

"Him?"

"It'll be a boy. I'm confident," Tom explained, remembering the first time he looked into the Mirror of Erised. He believed that somehow having a son was written in the start for him. He already had a list of names and ideas for Christmas gifts. He was invested, to say the least.

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see," Alexandra smiled. "But I do love the enthusiasm."

Tom respected Alexandra's wishes to wait to have children, and five years later, during Tom's first year as a Hogwarts professor, Tom and Alexandra had a baby boy named William Thomas Riddle. Tom had considered naming his son after himself, but didn't want his son sharing a name with his father.

The boy grew quickly, much to their dismay, and the year he turned eleven William and Alexandra both began their new chapters at Hogwarts as a student and professor. William knew what his parents believed were the most important things about Hogwarts, such as where the Room of Requirement is hidden and not to trust Dumbledore. Unlike his parents, and much to the surprise of many of the professors, William was sorted into Gryffindor where he was quick to make more friends than he could count. He was everything his parents hoped he would be, and everything they wished they had been.

"We did good," Alexandra smiled, sitting beside Tom at supper as they watched William talk and laugh with his friends.

"We did great," Tom agreed. Alexandra almost cried when she saw his eyes light up. He was always eager to be a father, but when the time came, he was terrified. He wanted William to have a father he could confide in, that he could trust, and Tom wasn't sure at first if he could be that person for him. Now, Tom is the person William trusts the most. Even more so than Alexandra. "He's just like you. He has the same light in his eyes that you do."

"He has your confidence and drive," Alexandra added. "And your looks."

"Do you think we should be worried?"

"Absolutely."