imagine:
you're a shifter, laying in the grass on a sunny day in hogwarts, and tom riddle joins you.
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One last hour to spare. The ticking of your watch filled your ears as you closed your eyes, inhaling the hot air of Hogwarts, taking in all its glory and joy one last time before you find yourself back in your sheets. It was nearly impossible to bring yourself to tears over this farewell; you had used every bit of your emotions on this immense rollercoaster of a journey with the people you cherished in Hogwarts, and now you couldn't even say goodbye.
As you laid in the field of grass, feeding yourself to the warmth of the sun, a cool breeze caressed your bare feet and exposed skin. Through all that enjoyment nature was feeding you, it was still difficult to shake off the discomforting feeling of being watched closely. You slowly opened your eyes to see Tom Riddle towering you, his tall figure blocking the warm embrace of the sun.
"You look sad," he said, his voice monotonous as always.
Your eyes fixed at the sky and replied with a sigh, nothing more. You couldn't say anything without letting out a croak or any sign of distress, so you laid there in silence. Emotions were rather difficult to hide in a magical environment, especially with someone who's in touch with energy. Your desolation engulfed Tom as he gazed at your expressionless face. He grew concerned as your emotions grew stronger, but what could he possibly do? Without a word, he laid down next to you in a field of grass, staring at the blue sky as you both watched a lonely cloud gradually go by.
"I'd suggest talking about it, but-" he said, but you cut him off.
"I must confess something."
Silence fell between you two as you paused, slowly turning your head to him. He breathed out, waiting patiently for you to continue, and as you were about to continue, an overwhelming feeling crashed upon you, forcing a mere croak out of your throat. Tom turned to you in concern, breathing rapidly as he watched you find the courage to begin.
"Are you... in lo-"
"Please, don't flatter yourself," you chuckled, finally able to speak once again. You had a feeling he said that for a reason as throughout the times you and Tom had spent together, he noticed humor had always somehow calmed your nerves. "As I was saying, I'm not who you think I am."
Tom turned back to the sky, gazing at the cloud that was barely moving.
"How so?" he asked.
"For starters, I'm no witch," you began, stammering along the way, "and I'm not from this... reality either."
You awaited his reply, but nothing came out of him but a mere sigh.
"You're... I should've known."
"What?"
"A shifter, aren't you?"
Your heart began pounding out of your chest as your eyes widened in shock. You laid there speechlessly, perplexed by his acknowledgement of reality shifting as you anticipated a baffled expression. He turned back to you, raising an eyebrow as he smirked cockily.
"Really? You should've known better," he chuckled at your shocked expression. You quickly looked away from him, still as speechless. "Is that all, Y/N?"
"No," you said, sighing. You had to tell him. "I leave in less than an hour."
Once again, silence fell upon you two as you turned away from him, staring at the singular cloud. It had almost disappeared, but somehow with a flick of Tom's wand pointed at the sky, it had returned yet again, as lonesome as before.
"Could've given it some friends, you know?" you chuckled, gazing at the cloud. Tom turned to you as his hand laid on yours, his fingers subtly intertwining with yours as his thumb caressed your hand softly.
"I'm going to miss you," he said, gazing into your eyes.
"I hate my current reality, Tom," you sighed, your voice slightly croaking, "I really do."
Tom looked at you sympathetically, nearly melting at the thought of you gone as he replied softly, "I reckon it'll nearly be as similar as this... 'reality'."
"You don't understand, you're a mere fictional character, Tom."
That, he did not expect. Tom glanced at you, confusion in his eyes. He furrowed his brows as his thoughts rummaged through his mind, his panics gradually taking over his head.
"Let's not dwell not that, it's not important," you sighed, biting your lower lip as you realised what chaos you've created revealing one little truth. "How are the horcruxes?"
Tom's worries grew the moment the word 'horcrux' escaped your lips. He quickly jumped up, staring at you as a mixture of feelings stirred inside of him. He stuttered, unable to find the right words as his thoughts began swirling left and right as his panics consumed him from deep inside his core. Worrisome found its way to his heart—where he was most vulnerable—and drove his hand to his wand as he hastily yanked it out of his pocket and pointed it at you mercilessly.
"First of all," you sighed, shutting your eyes, "fuck, why did I ruin this moment? 'twas the most affectionate you've ever been in my whole entire years of being in Hogwarts."
"How'd you kno-"
"You're not as slick, my dear, you sneak out every night to the restricted section," you cut him off, raising your brow at him. He sighed in defeat, falling back into the grass. "But Tom, listen to me."
"What now?" he snarled grumpily. You rolled closer to him, bumping into his arm as you both gazed up.
"It's not worth it, Tom. What you're doing at this moment, it'll lead you absolutely nowhere. You're going down a steep path of failure and it pains me to see such potential go to waste all because of your thirst for something nearly impossible."
He closed his eyes, letting the wind fondle his skin as the warm rays of the sun caressed his pale face. He quietly laid there as your gaze on him intensified, in hopes of him comprehending each word you had spoken. His silence gradually killed you inside, and you feared you were left no choice but to face the chaos he had stubbornly made because of his immense crave for power.
"Tom, please," you croaked, the tears you were unable to bring out finally blurring your vision.
"It's too late," he muttered softly, unable to bring himself to even look you in the eye without feeling guilty. "I can't undo the her death, can I?"
"You could be so much more, Tom."
"You don't underst-"
"No, you don't understand. Knowing your f-fate yet spending all my time with you had been the most p-painful thing I... have ever experienced."
He slowly turned to you, his eyes filled with fear and misery, though dry. "It doesn't work out, does it?"
"No," you shook your head, tears spilling down your cheeks from a mere flicker of your eyelids. He lifted his hands to your face, cupping your cheeks as he tried his best to wipe off your uncontrollable tears off your face.
"You don't need to go..." he whispered, gently pulling you into a hug as you both laid in the grass, tightly holding each other.
The ticking of the clock grew louder you realised you were only seconds away from waking up in your bed. Without a care in the world, you held him close to you for as long as you had. Tom could feel your anxiety, your distress; he knew the time had come. You took in whatever you could—his warm, homely embrace, his laughs and sarcasm, his constant need to somehow patronise you, though would be utterly lost without you in the castle. It was only a matter of time before his arms around you vanished.
Seconds before your departure, he whispered into your ears, "I love yo..."
and you were back to square one.
You slowly opened your eyes to a warm ray of sunlight beaming through your translucent, little window by your bed. Your body felt awfully drained of energy as your head ached. You sighed tiredly as you turned to your nightstand. A familiar stick rested on the edge of table. You drew closer to it, squinting your eyes through the blurriness of the your morning vision and something about its familiarity sent shivers down your spine.
You hadn't owned any Harry Potter merchandise, but there laid Tom Riddle's wand, clear as day.
"What the fuck..." you gasped in disbelief.
There's no way, you thought. It was still possible, but you were nearly certain he wouldn't.
Or would he?
_________________
a/n
yea yea amortentia part 2 is next, dw to that frank dillane stan.