"I'm here to collect the body of a deceased student who went by the name, Tom Riddle," Leo said with the most serious expression she could manage.
"Oh dear, what in the Merlin's name are you taking about?!" Hogwarts' healer cried out, her hand pressed tightly against her mouth.
Leo rolled her eyes at her exaggerated response. Old people simply didn't have the perception of jokes. She was still standing by the threshold, wondering if it was the best idea to visit Tom just after she found out how she felt towards him.
"He is alive, my dear. He is currently asleep on the last bed by the window. But please do tell me who said such an awful thing about the poor boy. I must send a complain-"
"T'wast a gleek, Madame," Leo said theatrically, waving her hands and pulling a distant look on her face. The healer gave her a very confused nod.
"If thou shall guide me, I shall venture forth and seeketh mine beloved friend, who hath returned from death's door. Bestow thy mercy upon me, I beseech thee," she curtsied dramatically and started walking towards Tom's bed.
The healer contemplated whether she should stop her but decided against it at the last moment.
It was late in the afternoon. Tom had missed his second last exam, History of Ancient Ruins. But she heard from a little birdie that Tom would be given a second chance to sit for the exams. Very unfair indeed.
Leo reached Tom's bed quicker than intended. Tom was fast asleep. His body was crouched like a baby. Leo didn't know why but she always assumed that Tom would sleep like Count Dracula ready to wake up and suck the blood of his enemies. But now Tom looked so innocent.
Leo flinched as soon as her heart started beating faster. That was her cue to leave and never come back. But before she could escape, miss healer came with a bowl of water and a white towel. She had a soft smile on her face. A smile that said 'I need your help and you cannot leave'. Very specific but that was exactly what it looked like.
"Poor guy is getting constant fevers. None of my healing potions is working on him," miss healer placed the bowl on the table that was beside his bed. Leo bit her lips which were still quite raw from previous incidents.
She knew that there was no escape. Leo simply accepted her fate and stood there letting miss healer continue her monologue to drain out every bit of sympathy Leo had in her system.
"I have been so busy thinking of a special potion that I barely have time to look after him. There are other students too who need my attention," the lady paused and looked up at Leo with a wide smile making her flinch.
"I know you care about him. If you could help-"
"Sure," Leo sighed in defeat.
It was clear that miss healer didn't appreciate being cut off in mid-sentence but she didn't say anything else. She handed her the bowl of cold water and pulled a chair for her to sit. With a quick thank you, the lady disappeared, probably to go and talk with the new librarian about her new set of tea cups.
Leo huffed. She eyed the bowl of water in her hold. She could see her own reflection on the surface. Her face was littered with several small cuts that she had earned from the merpeople. Well, it was better than the huge gashes on her hands. Her lips were bleeding once again. Her under eyes looked purple due to how tired and worn out she was.
So much for saving a stupid leprechaun.
Leo placed the back of her hand against Tom's flushed cheeks. Her eyebrows furrowed at the temperature. She then caressed his forehead and bit back a gasp. He was burning with fever. That was the reason why he was sleeping like a baby. He was trying to keep himself warm under that thin blanket.
The audacity of some people! Miss Healer had one job. She was to take care of her one patient and she just left him with the thinnest blanket in the entire wizarding world!
The girl placed the bowl of water on the table and stomped towards the closet that was there at one corner of the infirmary. She yanked it open and shuffled around until she found the fluffiest blanket.
She smiled proudly at herself and walked back to Tom. She tucked him under it and finally settled down. Tom snuggled into the blanket, welcoming the warmth which made her smile unknowingly.
Leo was never good at taking care of sick people. How could she? She was the clumsiest person in the world. She needed people to take care of her.
So, when she placed the wet towel on Tom's forehead, she expected him to just wake up and blast her to another dimension. Leo backed away when he started moving. But fortunately, he only shivered a bit.
She sighed in relief. It had been long since she saw him so calm and quiet. Without knowing her eyes started to inspect the smallest details on his face. His hair was all over the place. His wild curls finally had the freedom to appear however they wanted. But it would be a lie if Leo said that the bed hair look didn't suit Tom.
His nose and cheeks were decorated with light freckles. Leo unconsciously started tracing them. It was like joining stars to form a constellation. Leo was in a daze and she could barely pull herself out of it.
"What is going on in here?!"
The sharp voice startled the poor girl. She fell out of her chair and landed on her bum. Her eyes squinted in pain as she looked up to see the intruder who dared to scare Leo.
Long, silky hair, flawless skin and an elegant posture. Olivia Smith stared down at her like she was a worm. Well, Leo probably looked like that compared to Smith.
"What were you doing staring like that at Tom while he was sleeping?!"
Leo clenched her jaw. She stood up ignoring the sharp pain and placed her glare on the girl in front of her.
"I was assisting the healer," Leo muttered under her breath. Smith scoffed loudly.
"I don't think so. You were just trying to get his attention."
Leo's left eye twitched in anger. Several thousands of unpleasant words tried to surface on her tongue. Her eyes burned with tears of anguish and embarrassment. If she wanted she could just pulverise the girl in front of her.
But she didn't. She kept her words to herself. It would be a waste of energy if she were to insult Smith. Not that Leo was saying the girl was stupid. She was just not smart enough. Therefore, the situation was to be ignored for the time being and stored in the depths of Leo's brain for a perfect time to take revenge.
When Smith realised that the wild-haired girl would not say anything further, she shot her a smug look and turned towards the aloof boy who was in his own dream world.
Leo cringed when she saw the lovestruck look on Olivia's face. She cringed one more when she realised that she must have had the same expression on her own face not very long ago.
"Awh, such a brave man! Don't you worry, Tom. I'm here to take care of you now," Olivia sighed and started soaking the wet towel once again and placing it on Tom's forehead. She didn't even bother to squeeze out the excess water which resulted in drenching the poor boy's head completely.
Leo bit back another insult, "I see that I'm no longer needed here," she glanced down at Tom, "Goodbye."
Before she could walk away, Tom's warm hand grabbed her own wrist.
That little snake was awake all along!
Leo tried to pull against his grip, just not hard enough to hurt him.
"Leo, stay," he mumbled with his eyes barely open.
"Leo?" Olivia questioned haughtily.
"Olivia is here. She can take care of you," Leo stated coldly.
"No. You," Tom's voice was barely audible. Leo rolled her eyes at his childish behaviour. She knew it was due to his increasing temperature. The real Tom would never say these things out loud.
"I need to study," Leo said once again. Olivia just watched the awkward exchange between them with green eyes. Her entire aura screamed jealousy. But poor Olivia was being ignored by both Tom and Leo.
"Please," Tom shivered and snuggled into the soft blanket before closing his eyes.
Well, he did say please.
Leo sighed, once again defeated by Tom's words, she sat back on the chair. Olivia scoffed loudly, "I cannot believe this! Why would he want someone like you to take care of him?!"
"Honestly, Smith, I have been asking myself the same question," Leo deadpanned, " but clearly, you don't know how to squeeze water from a towel. I wonder how you make lemonade."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
This buffoon!
Leo gritted her teeth and started wiping Tom's hair and face with a clean towel. She replaced his cold towel with a better one and finally placed her glare on Olivia.
"Olivia, you don't have to give all of your time and attention to someone who will never return it. Look at you! You are smart, beautiful, rich and everything that I can only dream to be," Leo paused and looked at Tom, "you find someone who can take all your love and return it twice as much. Trust me, Olivia, you will find the perfect one for you. Apparently, Tom isn't the one. He is a bit special."
A soft look took over Leo's face as she brushed some hair out of Tom's forehead. Olivia stood there with her mouth hung open.
"I...," The Slytherin tailed off, not knowing what to say as she had never expected the odd girl to speak something so meaningful.
"I should go," Olivia fumbled with her words and scurried off.
"That was quite a speech," Tom mumbled sleepily. Leo rolled her eyes.
"Stop talking. You need sleep," the girl grumbled under her breath, trying to fight back a blush.
"Why did you say I'm special? It's quite rare to get genuine compliments from you," Tom asked once again. Leo wanted to just open a window and dive into the black lake. Why did he have to hear everything?
"Because not everyone can speak to snakes."
•••••••••••••••••
Leo couldn't believe that she had already finished her O.W.Ls. Unlike others, Leo was worried. The next few years would be very challenging for her. Stopping Tom from going on with his plans was like stopping a lion from attacking its prey. It was near to impossible and almost life-threatening.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she was suddenly engulfed in a hug.
"Thank you for everything. I hope we both succeed with our plans."
Right. Everyone is bidding their farewells.
Leo smiled awkwardly and backed away from Hazel, the girl from her little club.
"Yes. Good luck," Leo smiled once again but she was sure she looked constipated.
Hazel flashed a a polite smile and walked towards her own friends. Leo waited for the train to come as students all around her hugged and promised to write to each other. Some would often come and say a few words to her too. They were mostly from the club.
"Leona!"
Leo whipped her head towards none other than Tayden who was running across the path to get to her. She looked around frantically to see if anyone had heard her name. Thankfully they were still busy with their farewells.
She glared at the boy who shot her a sheepish smile and an apology.
"Here," Tayden suddenly took her hands and placed setting inside it.
"A charm bracelet?" Leo questioned.
She inspected the little piece of jewellery on her palm. It was a small, black, circular plate with what looked like tiny, white dots painted on it. The little charm was attached to a silver chain perfect for her wrists.
"It's the constellation, Leo."
Leo nodded at the little explanation. A genuine smile plastered on her lips, "What's the sudden gift for?"
"For giving us hope. Thank you," Tayden smiled showing his perfect teeth. Leo couldn't help but smile back at him.
"If you ever need any help, just owl me. I'll do what ever I can," Tayden promised her with a serious look on his face.
"Well, there is this one thing...." Leo trailed of and pretended to think where as the boy waited in anticipation, giving the entire attention to the girl in front of him.
"What toothpaste do you use," Leo asked in all seriousness. Tayden was taken aback. He stuttered to give an answer but Leo stared at him with expectation.
"We-well I-"
"Come on. The train has arrived," out of nowhere Tom grabbed Leo by her collar and pulled her inside the train, her trunk following behind, courtesy to Tom's magic.
Tayden could only stare at the empty space where Leo stood with a small smile on his face. The girl truly was one of a kind.
"Hey, hey, hey! Where are you taking me? That is the Slytherin compartment!" Leo tried to pry off Tom's grip on her collar. Ever since he had recovered, he hasn't left her side. After every exam, he would make her answer all the question all over again.
He would make sure she ate more healthy food which meant no cakes or cookies for lunch and dinner. He even forced her to comb her hair every single morning. He would go to the extent to fix her tie every ten minutes to make sure it was not crooked.
She didn't know how much water he had gulped while drowning in the black lake, but she was sure that he had surely hit his head a few times down there to completely transform into a mother.
The only time she could relax was during night, if she would stay in the dorms or during a little nature's call. The past week had been hectic.
Tom literally shoved her inside an empty compartment and locked the sliding doors behind. He settled on the seat and Leo took a seat opposite to him. She sat down with a huff and glared outside the window.
"How come you have so many friends all of a sudden?" Tom was the first one to speak up.
Leo smirked when she picked up the undertone of slight jealousy in his words.
"So, you were stalking me." It was not a question.
"I am not a predatory animal and you are not my prey. So, why would a stalk you?"
"Oh my god, grandma! Why is it so hard to converse with you?!" Leo exclaimed. Tom certainly did not look happy to be called a grandma.
"I am capable of making friends other than you, Tom," she said with a roll of her eyes, "but I must admit. I never thought you would be the jealous kind."
Tom clenched his jaw, "I'm not jealous."
"Sorry, what was that?" Leo teased.
Tom glared at her but it was not one of those cold glares that he usually gave her. He almost looked like a kid with his eyes big, eyebrows furrowed and a subtle pout on his lips. He looked normal.
Leo burst into fit of giggles. She couldn't take the current Tom seriously. Tom scoffed loudly and turned away from her. Leo wiped her tears away and clutched her stomach from laughing so hard.
She got up on her feet and walked towards Tom who still looked quite upset. Feeling her presence he looked up at her.
"What?"
Leo flashed him a toothy grin and without any warning, she started pinching his cheeks, "When did you become so adorable? What happened to my grumpy little grandma? Oh, look at you all angry. What happened to my good ol' Tommy boy?"
"You know, I could kill you right now and no one would even know," Tom warned and Leo immediately released his cheeks. The compartment had turned a bit cold due to the sudden drop in temperature.
She shot him a nervous smile and started backing away slowly towards her seat.
Tom finally stopped glaring at her and started taking out a very familiar diary out of his bag. Leo gulped at the sight of it. She noticed that his cheeks were still red which brought a smile to her face once again.
Tom noticed her stare and raised and eyebrow, "What?"
Leo shook her head from side to side, "Nothing."
Tom didn't look convinced but went back to scribbling in his diary once again.
The train started with a loud whistle. Leo also took out her own story book about vampires and wolves and started reading.
Time went by as she flipped pages after pages. She had to get off in the last stop. The address that was given by Dumbledore was located on a very remote place, probably near the mountains in a forest like area. He had said that it was her father's house, her own father.
At first she was sceptical to go there but once she realised that it was near Little Hangleton, she immediately agreed to go there. The location was perfect. It was near Tom's home but not near enough to raise suspicions.
Leo nearly jumped out of her skin when Tom placed a hand on her shoulder. The heir of Slytherin didn't look surprised at her exaggerated response. Leo placed a hand on top of her heart and faced the boy who had teleported himself beside her.
"What is wrong with you?
Tom opened his mouth and closed them again. Leo calmed down seeing his troubled expression. It was as if he was struggling to voice out his thoughts.
Leo placed a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened up under her touch but relaxed once again. Leo tried to find his gaze but he was staring at the wooden floor.
"Tom," she called out softly. The boy hesitated but finally turned to her. She gave him a genuine smile.
"You can tell me anything. I would never judge you, Tom."
When did this change happen? When did the Tom riddle ever hesitate to speak his mind? Was Leo the reason behind it? She would never know.
"Where are you planning to stay?"
Leo was taken aback by the question.
"Oh. I'm...I...well, I'm staying a-at a-" Leo cut herself off. She couldn't bring herself to lie. Tom stared at her expectantly.
"Dumbledore found a place which belonged to my real parents. I'm going to stay there," she explained with a sigh.
"All by yourself?"
"Oh? Are you implying that you want to stay with me, Tommy boy?" Leo flashed him a cheeky smile while wiggling her eyebrows. Tom gave her a look to which she raised up her hands in surrender.
"What about you?" Leo asked even though she knew the answer very well.
Tom shifted his gaze towards the small window of the compartment. He had a hard look on his face.
"I'm going to visit my hometown," he said as he looked at Leo once again, waiting for a reaction.
"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked softly, trying to read his current mood.
The way his eyes softened at her words left her breathless. She had to look away in order to hide her blush.
"No. I can do it myself."
"Okay," Leo squeaked out, trying her very best from thinking anything at all. She forced herself to sing some random Disney songs to keep her thoughts at bay.
Do you wanna build a snowman?
Come on let's go and play
I never see you anymore
Come out the door
It's like you've gone away...
Tom sighed but refused to comment about her weird choice of songs.
Leo cleared her throat, "So, was that all you had to ask?"
Tom fell silent. Leo's gaze travelled to the diary that he was holding. His grip on it seemed to tighten by the second.
"If I-" Tom was cut off by the whistling of train. Leo wanted to pull her hair in frustration.
Every single time Tom wanted to say something important, the universe would just manage to stop him.
"We should go," Tom stood up in a hurry. Leo wanted to stop him, tell him that whatever he was going to do won't be worth it. But she didn't. She knew there was no way to stop. If she would face him directly, Tom would push her away and maybe never let her in.
She had made much progress with the boy. She couldn't afford to ruin it.
Tom secured his bags on his shoulder and looked back at her expectantly. Suddenly with a burst of confidence, Leo offered her hand towards Tom. He stared at it for a while making Leo almost drop it. But at the last moment he grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
Leo hid her grin by grabbing her own bag as they went to collect their trunks.
The train station was filled with parents. Students were hugging and laughing in joy. Among them, the dynamic duo looked quite lonely. Tom noticed the solemn look on Leo's face as she eyed the other children's happy faces.
"Come on," Tom grumbled and started pulling her away.
Leo couldn't help but grin like an idiot as she was being pulled by Tom. She stared at his side profile like a love sick puppy.
Feeling her stare, Tom glanced at her. His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance when Leo tripped on her open shoelaces and almost landed face first on the ground.
Tom sighed and released her hand. Leo nearly tripped once again when Tom kneeled in front of her. She looked around to see a few adults on the side walk giving them looks. She gulped and looked down at Tom who was busy making complex loops with her shoelace, a science she could never understand.
What would I ever do without him?
Tom stood up on his feet as he finished tying them and stared down at Leo, "Without me, you would loose a few teeth and crack you head open ever time you take a step."
"I'm sorry," Leo mumbled while looking at the ground with her hands folded behind her. She dared not to look up at him. She was not confident in keeping her thoughts to herself if she met his intense gaze.
Quite unexpectedly, Tom patted her head, "It's not your fault that you are an idiot."
Leo finally looked up. She didn't know whether it was an insult or he was actually trying to comfort her but Leo felt ecstatic. She didn't know on what rock did the boy hit his head but God bless that thing. She would built a temple for it if necessary because Leo absolutely loved the new side of Tom Riddle.
"Marry me," she sighed out not knowing that she spoke out loud. Her eyes widened as soon as she realised her little confession. She gasped and covered her mouth out if embarrassment.
Tom decided not to comment on it as it was not very surprising for the girl to just spew out absurd things. But not even he could suppress the small smile that threatened to come on his lips.