"There you are! Where have you been?! I have been waiting for you for years!"
Tom stared at her with the most boring look on his face. He was wearing a crisp black suite. His hair was neatly parted at one side with his long curly locks hiding one of his eyes. His black blazer was hanging on his left shoulder.
For a moment, Leo felt dazed.
"It's midnight. What are you doing in front of the Slytherin dormitories?" He asked, looking quite tired.
Leo snapped back into reality. She pulled a large book from behind her with a toothy grin on her face. She waved the book around in the air like it was a trophy.
"I found the greatest book in the world and I just had to share it with you," she exclaimed excitedly while bouncing on her toes.
Tom merely rolled his eyes and grabbed the book from her. Leo had to bite her lips to keep herself from screaming in excitement. Tom squinted his eyes, trying to read the title of the book.
1000 things to try when bored.
"This is ridiculous," Tom deadpanned.
"It's not. Come on, we need to start moving," she slapped his back and pushed him foreward.
"Where are we going?" He asked as the girl failed to push him even an inch. He stopped her by placing a hand against her head. She even tried to push her head into his palm but the boy didn't budge. Admitting defeat, Leo slumped against his hand.
"If I tell you where we are headed, it won't be exciting anymore," she whined out.
"I have known you for too long to know that you are always looking for trouble. Therefore, I must prepare to face any kind of disaster," he stated calmly. Leo gasped and placed a hand against her heart, clearly offended by such absurd accusations.
"When did I ever-"
"Every single time."
Leo blinked at him twice, realising that he was not entirely wrong. Yet, she was not ready to admit defeat.
"Fine! At least I bring a little bit excitement in your boring life," she stated and flicked her hair that hit Tom against his chest. Without wasting any more time, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards their destination.
Riddle only rolled his eyes but followed her nonetheless. To be honest, even he was a bit curious. But he would never admit it in a million years, not even to himself.
They walked in silence for a while before and Leo couldn't take it anymore. Realising that she was still holding onto his hand, she let go of him while clearing her throat. Tom shot her an unreadable look which she missed being the oblivious queen she was.
"So, why are you all dressed up and was outside after curfew?" Leo asked while wiggling her eyebrows.
"I do not owe you any explanations," Tom answered making her smirk even wider.
"Did you get yourself a girl that I do not know of? I thought you would at least tell me. I need to decide whether she's the right one for you being your only friend," Leo shook her finger in front of his face while lecturing him.
"Why do you always imply I should associate with a girl. I am not capable of falling in love, Leo," Tom stated nonchalantly but Leo suddenly halted in her steps. Noticing that, Tom also stopped walking. He turned back with a stoic look on his face.
Leo couldn't believe he shared such a sensitive information about himself with her without any hesitation. She had to bite the inside of her cheeks to maintain her expression. However, Riddle thought that she was only waiting for him to explain the meaning behind his words.
He swiftly turned away from her and started walking again. Leo didn't know what to do so she followed him.
"I hope you know what Ammorentia is," he started with a grave voice. Leo glanced up at him and nodded slightly.
"My mother, Merope Gaunt, was not the most beautiful lady. In fact, she was an ugly wrench. As far as I know, she had fallen in love with my father. My father didn't love her back for obvious reasons. So, she used a love potion on him. I was conceived when he was still under the effect of her magic. Thus, I am not able to feel positive emotions."
Leo pursed her lips. She didn't know what to say. Sympathy would be the last thing that Tom would want from her. She sighed thinking what she could possibly do for the boy. She was not an expert in the emotion field either.
With puffed cheeks she grabbed Tom's hand to stop him from walking. He had a hard look on his face, already expecting a sympathetic look from the girl. But when he turned back, Leo had the most ridiculous look on her face. To him, she looked like a chipmunk suffering from constipation with her puffed cheeks and furrowed eyebrows.
"Don't try to kill me after this because I'm not good with emotions either," she said through her teeth. Before Tom could say anything, Leo pulled him into a bone crushing hug. She wrapped her hands around his waist and placed her head on his shoulder.
"Give me one minute before shoving me away because I have a few things to say," Leo mumbled. When Riddle didn't move, she took in a deep breath and started.
"You don't have to fall in love, okay? Don't think that love is everything. As long as you don't go blasting people with your magic, everything will be fine. Apart from that, I don't think you can't feel positive emotions. I mean, you have been keeping up with me for almost two years now. Now, don't tell me that it was all your duty as a student because I swear I will cry. No matter who you are or what your past is, I do not care. It will take more than your anger and hatred for the world to push me away, Tom. Just know that I will always be there to pull you into awkward hugs."
Leo pulled away from him as her own words settled inside her mind. Suddenly she realised how cringe worthy it was and she flinched in internal pain.
"Forget whatever I said just now. In fact, ignore my existence for the next two days and let me die peacefully. You don't even have to come with me. I'll go to the forbidden forest by myself. Goodbye!" Leo said in one breath and tried to dash away from the boy. Yes, tried to.
"You are not going to the forbidden forest all by yourself," Tom declared while grabbing her by her collar.
"If you die tonight, I would the last person who interacted with you and I don't want to be questioned for that."
He started dragging her towards the exit of the school that lead to the forest. Leo freed herself from his grip and walked ahead of him, still not being able to forget her cringe worthy stunt.
Leo felt suffocated due to the awkward energy that she had created. She just wanted to obliviate into another dimension.
"You never answered my question. Why are you dressed up?" Leo asked once again, desperate to get rid of the awkwardness.
"I was at professor Slughorn's party. I had to discuss something important with him. Thus, I was late," he explained.
"Something important?" Leo enquired, even though she already had an idea of what he was talking about. She wondered whether he was ready to share that bit of information with her.
"I came across an interesting book yesterday," he stated hesitantly. Leo held her breath in anticipation. Her mind rushed through several scenarios all at once. He already knew about horcruxes. When he failed to make his first one, he decided to ask Slughorn and now he was already making a plan for his quest. He already knew about the gaunt family so he would go there. He was definitely planning to murder his father. But who gave him the book in the first place?
Tom waited for Leo to ask something but when she didn't say anything, he continued. He sensed no harm in telling her his intentions. She had been promising to stay with him even if he chose to be a monster.
"The topic of horcrux really piqued by interest. So, I decided to ask professor Slughorn about it," he stated calmly, waiting to see her reaction.
Leo didn't even know what to say. She never thought that a day like this would come when he would trust her this much and tell him his darkest secrets. Maybe it was his way to manipulate her to spill all her own secrets.
She finally glanced up at him. Her face was full of concern. Tom was slightly taken aback to see such a serious expression on her face. They were already approaching the forbidden forest. She opened her mouth and closed it again.
Her expression hardened. She looked away and cleared her throat. She forced a delighted smile on her face ignoring the prickling coldness that was gnawing at her heart. Her hand itched to soothe the pain in her chest.
She opened her book to search for the topic for which they needed to go inside the forest. Even though the grin on her face didn't reach her eyes, she shoved the opened page on Tom's face. He took the book from her hand and skimmed through the contents.
Firsprout- A bioluminescent mushroom. When consumed, the skin of the consumer will glow in the dark for two hours. There are no side effects. Have fun!
Tom looked sceptical. When he turned towards the girl, she was already gone. Her mass of raven hair could be seen in the distance. With a frustrated sigh he followed after her.
Leo felt like running even faster. But she didn't want to break her neck while trying find a bunch of wild mushrooms. That would be embarrassing. The way the cold wind felt on her face didn't help with her heavy heart. She was even scared to admit that she expected Tom to change.
How could she allow herself to think that Tom could become a better person? When did she become so blinded, so attached to the one person she needed to stay away from?
She wanted to scream when Tom caught up with her with his long strides. She was slightly thankful that he didn't say anything.
A loud howl suddenly made them come to a halt. The animal was definitely very close to them. Leo unconsciously stood in front of Tom in a protective stance. Her head snapped towards the sound of some leaves scrunching.
What ever was lurking in the darkness, was right beside them. Leo stepped back, trying create some distance between them and the unknown beast. Tom retrieved his wand from the depths of his blazer. He grabbed Leo by the shoulder and tried to pull her back. But she didn't budge. She wanted to protect him.
She glanced up to see him already glaring down at her.
It's my fault. I brought him here.
She didn't give him a chance to respond to her thoughts. The beast finally emerged out of the thick bushes. It was a wolf. Not a lycanthrope but a wolf. Only, it was very big, towering over Tom. It's thick, black fur was dripping wet.
Leo could see it's sharp teeth through its snarl. She couldn't breath. She made sure that she didn't see directly into the wolf's eyes. Tom tugged at her wrist but she yanked her hand out before pushing him hard. Tom stumbled a few steps which distracted the wild beast.
Leo panicked and without thinking Leo started jumping and waving her hand in the air, "Hey! Over here. I bet taste better than him!"
The wolf snapped it's head towards the girl. A growl erupted from its throat. Leo glanced at a bewildered looking Tom and flashed him a small smile.
In the next second she ran into the forest being followed by the beast. She wanted to slap herself for doing such an absurd thing. Tom was capable of dealing with it better than her. He might not even care about her right now.
Leo closed her eyes shut as she felt the ground shake behind her. She could hear the angry growls of the beast. Her heart thumped in her chest.
This was a mistake. This was a mistake.
The thought repeated in her head like a broken record. Being the clumsy piece of toast she was, she tripped on her own loose shoelace and skidded across the rough forest floor. She could already sense the thousand cuts on her arms and knees.
Back in her own reality, she used to laugh at the girls who tripped while running away in the movies. Now, she regretted it. With much effort, she lifted herself off the ground only to come face to face with a jaw full of sharp teeth.
Her breath hitched. The wolf had trapped her under it. Leo was leaning on her injured elbows. Her lower half of the body trapped in between its legs. As the beast came closer and closer to her face, she leaned away until she was laying on the ground with her eyes tightly shut.
The wolf's warm breath was burning through her skin. If only she had listened to Tom.
The wild beast snarled at her, ready to snap her neck in half. Leo didn't know what came over her but she opened her eyes. She was met with a pair of big blue eyes staring at her intensely. The wolf's snout smelled her neck and hair a few times all while growling softly.
It's just like a dog. Yeah, a hungry, overly grown dog. Just like Cerebus.
Leo puffed her cheeks trying to gather all her courage. She sighed softly and hovered her injured palm under the wolf's neck. She flinched when the beast growled in warning. She closed her eyes once she felt it sniffing her hand.
Minutes passed and she finally felt the beast stop growling all at once. She opened her eyes ever so slightly. The wolf lowered it's face and smelled her hair once again, but it was different now.
Relief washed over her when she was sure that the beast won't hurt her. She pushed off the ground and sat up properly. The wolf eyed her curiously. She decided to do the small trick she did for the unicorns.
She closed her fists tightly and concentrated. Soon, she produced a handful of beef jerky. The wolf almost pounced at her. She yelped in fear of loosing her hand but it only licked the food from her opened palm. Soon, all the beef jerky was gone.
Leo placed a hand behind its ears and caressed it's wet fur lovingly. The big boy wagged his tail and snuggled into her embrace. She giggled and finally gave him the attention he needed.
Under the soft moon light her eyes suddenly fell on the wolf's back. There was a fairly large gash, probably from some broken tree brunch.
"You're hurt," the girl gasped and stumbled towards the injury, "that was why you attacked us."
She pursed her lips thinking if she could actually heal him. Contemplating her options for a minute she nodded in determination. She stood up on her feet.
The wolf eyed her curiously. She hovered her hand over the bleeding gash, "Vulnera Sanentur." Her eyes widened as a purple mist formed around the wound. It was the first time she actually used her magic properly and saw it in action. Ignoring slight pain in chest, she watched the wound heal slowly.
It took a few seconds but the gash finally closed. However, she could see the faint scar hidden by the wolf's fur. She smiled to herself and patted the wild beast on his head, "There you go buddy. I should start heading towards the school."
With that, Leo finally left the wolf alone.
She wondered whether Tom had retired to Hogwarts already. She started walking blindly, a bit disappointed because she didn't get to eat the glowing mushrooms. Her knees were burning due to the numerous cuts she had received.
She was tired and sleepy. Her stomach growled in hunger. She pouted and pressed her hand against her empty stomach. She didn't even know what happened because in the next second she was pressed against the rough bark of a tree.
Her eyes met a pair of familiar black orbs staring straight into her own brown orbs.
Tom squeezed her cheeks in between his slender fingers making her look like a puffer fish.
"You are one crazy women!"
"Wot?" Leo mumbled trying to pry of his vice grip. Tom pressed harder making her wince in pain. She wanted to kick him. She saved his life and he was scolding her for that!
"Let go of me!"
"No! You listen to me," he growled, "I don't need you to protect me. I am very capable of doing that myself. Do not make me feel weak ever again! Do you understand?!"
Not knowing what to do, Leo nodded. She had tears in her eyes due to how hard Tom was holding her face. She knew she would have bruises on her cheeks.
Tom finally let her go. Leo rubbed her throbbing cheeks while sending him daggers through her eyes. Her eyes fell on the book that he was holding. She snatched it out if his hand and started walking away, not in the mood to even see his face.
"Hogwarts is this way," he called out. Leo wanted to punch herself. She swiftly turned and started walking towards the correct direction. She heard him huff in annoyance before starting to follow behind her.
"How did you escape?" He asked deciding to break the silence between them.
"Don't ask if you don't care," she fired back. She was really beyond angry. How dare he scold her like that when she was ready to give her life away for him?
So much for staying by him all this time. I take back all the promises I made. This friendship is over! I hope Olivia would smooch his face tomorrow. That is what he deserved. Who cares about a grumpy pixie like him?
Leo grumbled all the way to Hogwarts. She decided that it would be better to spend her night in the astronomy tower rather than her dorms. She started growing extremely frustrated when she noticed that Tom was still following her.
That lousy foot-licker!
"Leave me alone, Riddle," she finally snapped.
"I am simply heading towards the astronomy tower. Why do you assume that I'm following you."
"Mother of funky monkeys!" Leo clutched her hair. She turned around making Tom halt in his steps. Leo grabbed his tie and pulled him closer, "Don't play games with me, Tom. You cannot just act like you didn't crush my jaw in your bare hands. I had enough! I don't want to be your friend anymore. I-"
"Maybelle?"
"What?!" Leo snapped her head towards the one who dared to interrupt her.
Her eyes narrowed on none other than Peter.
"What are you doing? I haven't seen you for a week! Why do I always have to see you with him?" Peter asked.
Oh no. Not today.
"I don't know! Sod off!" She exclaimed before going back to strangling the heir of Slytherin.
"Maybelle! You cannot do this to me. We will be getting married in two years!" Peter raised his voice. Leo stopped shaking Tom like a rag doll and grimaced. A shadow fell on her face. Tom stared down at her to see a murderous look on her face. She released Tom from her death grip and slowly turned around.
"You lied to me, Peter. How long did you think you could hide your truth. You lied about being tortured! You lied about your family! You knew about me and my family all along. You thought I wouldn't know?" Leo spat out. Peter looked horrified.
"I'm not blind, Peter. I received an owl yesterday from my house elf. He told me everything. All of your schemes to take over the Wright's business. Guess what? You will get nothing. I abandoned my family. Go find someone else to manipulate, you piece of soggy bread!"
Leo patted her pockets to search for the engagement ring. When she found nothing, she chuckled bitterly.
"Great! I even lost the ring. You know why? Because I don't care! Now off you go before I throw my shoe at your face," she stomped her feet making the boy flinch. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times like a fish out of water.
"Why him, Maybelle? Why Tom? Is it because you love him?" Peter finally asked.
Leo could not believe the boy. He still had the audacity to talk with her. She bared her teeth in anger, ready to pounce on him.
"Yes! I love him! Now, get out of my face!"
Leo proceeded to open her shoe when the boy finally backed away. When he was finally gone, Leo turned back towards Tom who looked slightly amused. Deciding that he was not worth her attention, she started walking away.
She had enough. No more boys. She would go and live in a cave for the rest of her life if needed.
The duo reached the astronomy tower in silence. Leo was close to passing out due to exhaustion and her injuries. She settled on the cold floor with her back against the wall. The moon light provided enough light to at least see clearly.
Her eyes followed Tom who leaned against a pillar facing her but his eyes were looking up at the sky. She scoffed to herself. She took out her wand and held it in between her thumb and index finger.
"Lumos," she whispered and the wand shone with a light purplish glow. She opened her book and started reading, completely ignoring Tom's existence.
She was so into the topic of magical tattoos when she felt a hand on her face. She jerked away from his touch.
"Let me heal you."
"Get away from me, Rupunzel," Leo slapped his hands away. Tom pursed his lips but didn't move. In fact he came even closer and started muttering healing spells under his breath.
Leo bit the inside of her cheeks and decided to let him do whatever he wanted. She went back to reading her book. Tom folded her sleeves and sighed seeing her numerous cuts. One was a bit too deep and it stained her shirt with blood. He sometimes wondered if the girl felt any pain at all.
Once her hands were done, Tom proceeded to heal her knees. When he shifted her skirt a bit, Leo jumped once again and glared at him. He may not be affected by such acts, but Leo was still a normal girl. She couldn't just let him lift her skirt.
"That's enough," she stated coldly and pulled her skirt down. Tom nodded slightly and sat down beside her. She scrunched her nose at his odd behaviour.
She glanced back at the new paragraph.
This is a spell that was lost in history as it had no use at all. But trying it could be pretty interesting. All you have to do is grab your friend's hand and intertwine your finger.
Leo stopped reading. She tilted her head while staring down at her hand. She didn't get to try the mushroom. Might as well try a harmless spell. Her eyes fell on Tom's larger hand that was resting on his lap. Being as nonchalant as possible she took his hand in hers. Tom shot her a confused look when she intertwined her fingers with him. Tom's grip was loose but he didn't pull away. Leo stared at their hands before going back to reading.
The spell will take a bit of concentration. When the hands will be intertwined, just say a simple spell. Confusasis.
"Confusasis," Leo whispered. Tom leaned behind her shoulder to read about the spell that she just used. He read through the page and his eyes widened.
Once the spell is done, the user will feel a slightly warn sensation and a slight tugging in the mind. But do not worry! Your souls would easily switch after that for a day. Have fun living in your friend's body!
Leo didn't even have the chance to talk. Without a warning both Tom and Leo collapsed on the ground.
A/N: This is a 2k special chapter. Fun fact: it was not planned and Leo was only going to eat a mushroom. Any suggestions on what will happen when Leo would be inside Tom's body?
Anyways, don't feel shy to vote and comment.
Byeeeee(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧
-Mahee.